Anorexia nervosa: A dangerous disease, should not be underestimated

Stress, pressure, anxiety, psychological instability or depression can inhibit hunger, cause nausea, loss of appetite, indigestion... called anorexia nervosa. Treatment of this pathology is mainly with forms of psychotherapy.

In order to treat anorexia nervosa , the patient needs to use a method of psychological relief while adding enough nutrients to nourish the body. To learn more about specific treatment methods, please refer to the following article to find out.

What you need to know about anorexia nervosa

What is anorexia nervosa?

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by excessive restriction of eating, an irrational fear of gaining weight, or bulimia but then trying to vomit food. . The most commonly affected subjects include girls and young women, with onset usually in adolescence and rarely after the age of 40.

The cause of the disease is not clear, but the obsession with obesity, the judgments about the body, the psychology of the fragile body cause anorexia, causing the amount of food to be consumed to decrease much. relative to the body's needs. Excessive anxiety about weight or a history of a strict diet increases the risk of this psychogenic anorexia and may have a genetic predisposition.

Disease identification 

There are two types of anorexia nervosa with the following manifestations:

Restrictive pattern: The patient limits the amount of food that is tolerated in the body but does not often have binge eating behavior and intervenes to eliminate food; Some patients exercise excessively.

Binge eating/rejection pattern: Patients frequently have bulimia and then attempt to vomit and/or abuse laxatives, diuretics, or ileostomy to eliminate food.

Binge eating is defined as a condition in which a person consumes a much larger amount of food than most people eat at the same time and in a similar setting. Constipation is loss of appetite control, meaning the inability to resist or stop eating.

Symptoms for a typical (female) patient 

Female patients with anorexia nervosa will have symptoms such as menstrual disorders (losing 3 menstrual cycles in a row), rapid significant weight loss, soft hair, and growth on the face and body. One theory is that these markers are related to the thyroid gland.

The sick person is preoccupied with food or cooking, may cook dinner for others, but does not want to eat the food they cook.

Obsession with the amount of calories and fat in food is always in the patient's mind. The patient maintains the diet even though he is already very thin or severely underweight.

People with bulimia often use laxatives, weight loss drugs to induce vomiting or to eliminate food. They think that they are  obese , so they regularly exercise with high intensity. Due to fat loss or low blood pressure leading to hypothermia, the patient often feels cold. They are depressed and alienated from family and friends. Because of excessive vomiting, the cheeks can become swollen due to enlarged salivary glands. In addition, patients also have symptoms such as swollen joints, bloating, bad breath, hair loss, fatigue, mood swings, alcoholism, and drug addiction. Skin signs are usually hyperpigmentation, dermatitis, pruritus, erythema, petechiae.

Complications of the disease

If left untreated, the disease can cause many dangerous complications

If not treated in time, the patient will experience many dangerous complications as follows:

• Diarrhea or constipation.
• Water and electrolyte disorders: Hyponatremia, hypokalemia, cardiac arrest, edema, tooth decay, tooth loss, osteoporosis, brain atrophy, leukopenia.
• If this disease appears when the patient is young and lasts a long time, when it becomes severe, it will affect the growth of height, weight or chronic malnutrition, delayed puberty, hypogonadism. 
• Cardiovascular diseases and arrhythmias, neurological disorders: Tremor, convulsions.

Factors that increase the likelihood of disease 

Family history: Your risk of developing this condition is higher if someone in your family has had it.

Prejudice about weight loss: The comments of people around greatly influence the patient's thinking, thereby deciding to lose weight while the body is underweight.

Sudden psychological changes: Changes in the surrounding environment, pressure, stress in work and life can cause stress, leading to a higher risk of disease.

Media and social networks: Weight loss trends, beauty trends posted on social networks also contribute to promoting patients' determination to quit eating to lose weight.

Effective solution to treat anorexia nervosa

Diagnostic techniques

Doctors diagnose anorexia nervosa based on medical history, especially considering weight, diet, and physical examination. The doctor will ask a number of questions about the patient's weight, exercise regimen, weight loss regimen, vomiting, perceptions of thin and fat, anorexia, family history of Anyone with an eating disorder...

If anorexia nervosa is suspected, the doctor may order a number of tests, including:

• Albumin test.
• Check for osteoporosis with a bone density test.
• Complete CBC blood test.
• Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG).
• Electrolyte test.
• Kidney function test.
• Liver function test.
• Test for total protein.
• Thyroid function test.
• Urine test.

How to treat anorexia nervosa

Patients with anorexia nervosa need to be fully energized

The hardest part about treating anorexia nervosa is helping the person realize they have it. Most patients with this condition deny the condition and only agree to treatment when the condition becomes severe. Therefore, a great deal of support from the patient's family is needed to make the treatment easier. Treatments include:

Speech therapy 

This method is used to change patients' thoughts and behaviors to encourage them to return to their previous healthy eating habits. This therapy has been shown to be more effective in patients with a short illness or in younger patients. 

Medicine

Currently, there is no drug that can directly treat anorexia nervosa. The doctor may prescribe drugs such as antidepressants , antipsychotics and neuro stabilizers to support patients during treatment, especially for patients treated for depression and anxiety. settle.

Suitable mode of living

Anorexia nervosa can be controlled if you make the following lifestyle changes:

• Participate in many recreational activities, reduce stress.
• Acknowledge that you have a psychological problem and need treatment. If you do not accept it, you will not be able to cure this disease and the success of the treatment process will not be high.
• Follow the diet exactly as prescribed by your doctor.
• Participate in psychological counseling sessions to regain mental balance in daily activities.
• Buy clothes that fit your body, not clothes that are tight to make you look slimmer or make you want to lose weight to fit.

Diet

For patients with anorexia nervosa, diet is the single most important factor in the treatment of the disease. Patients need to eat enough nutrients, provide enough energy for the body. In particular, zinc supplementation offers therapeutic benefits.

The best meal should provide 1,200-1,500 calories per day and increase by 500 calories per day. Energy delivery will continue until 4,000 calories (for male patients) and 3,500 calories (for female patients). Note that supplementation with the omega-3 fatty acids docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) is beneficial for various neuropsychiatric disorders. Vitamins and infusions are also used.

Olanzapine supplementation is effective in treating several aspects of anorexia nervosa including increasing body mass and reducing obsessions.

In adolescents and adults with this condition, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is suitable.