LOSS OF APPETITE

LOSS OF APPETITE

The appetite is the desire to eat food, felt as hunger. Appetite is regulated by a close interplay between the digestive tract, adipose tissue and the brain. Decreased desire to eat is termed anorexia, while polyphagia (or “hyperphagia”) is increased eating.

Causes of appetite loss

• Depression – This can be described as feeling unhappy, blue, miserable, down in the dumps, or sad.
• Stress – Arising from thoughts or situations that make a person feel angry, anxious, or frustrated.
• Medications – Used to treat high blood pressure, depression, chemotherapy, anxiety or migraines. These can cause loss of appetite and nausea.
• Pregnancy – Lose of appetite is common in foods that are harmful to you or your baby such as caffeine and deli meats.
• Anorexia – Characterized by a lack of desire to eat.
• Anorexia nervosa – An eating disorder that involves limiting the amount of food intake.
• Common cold – Typically comprises of sneezing, runny nose and nasal congestion.
• Dysthymia – A chronic type of depression in which a person’s moods are regularly low.

Anorexia in children

Loss of appetite in children has to be screened carefully because it’s is regarded as an exceedingly abnormal sign if children suffer from this condition. Let us glance through many of the reasons for loss of appetite in children.

• Influenza
  The typical flu is maybe one of the vital common reasons for why children lose their appetite. When there is the influx of the flu, it’s also accompanied by fever, a runny nose, dizziness and loss of taste inside the mouth, which include other symptoms. At any such time when the body is attempting to fight off the bacterial growth and restore the standard bodily functions, it’s noticed that there is general lowered energy levels and your entire other bodily functions do not function well enough either. At this sort of time, someone will experience a loss of appetite because the digestion isn’t perfect either. Once you notice that the baby has suddenly lost his appetite, check to peer if there is a temperature.
• Constipation
  Another common loss of appetite causes is if the infant suffers from constipation. Constipation prevents regular bowel movements and therefore the feeling of bloating, gas and fullness is consistently there. When the bowel movements have not been cleared, the complete system is affected and it could actually cause for a loss of appetite.
• Snacking Between Meals
  Children, especially younger children could be very fussy eaters. If they do not find something it is interesting on the table, it will probably result in a loss of appetite. For an identical reason, junk food or more ‘interesting’ looking things like that may bring about gorging on an analogous before a meal. Thus when it’s supper time, it might bring about a loss of appetite. The way in which this is often handled is that ways of creating the food more interesting should be sought and brought into action.
• Pressure and Stress
  Take a look at it this manner, when you’ve got a selected meeting or are tensed for some reason, don’t you experience a loss of appetite? Similarly, when the infant us facing pressure or stress, either at home or in class it may bring about killing their appetite. When there is pressure and stress, the body produces harmful chemicals that suppress one’s appetite. A technique of checking out if the baby is facing this particular problem is to appear for others signs like the baby becomes aloof or becomes quiet, makes a fuss about going to varsity etc. It’s a must to also confer with them and study if they’re facing any problems in their school or maybe at home.
• Other Causes
  There are specific other causes that result in the loss of appetite in children, both younger and older in addition:
  Intestinal worms is a completely likely cause that will cause a loss of appetite.
  Anorexia Nervosa (Here’s seen to impress the older children more than the younger ones)
  Depression could also be one of several main causes that results in an appetite loss. It is a more common cause in adolescents.
  Uneven meal timings are may act as one of several main causes of a similar.
  Distractions like television or playtime might also act as a hindrance in terms of eating a proper meal.

Homoeopathic treatment

Poor appetite is generally harmless. However, if your symptoms of appetite loss persist, then it could develop into a serious eating disorder which could then lead to nutritional deficiency, malnutrition and weakness.

A few ways to tackling appetite loss is to get plenty of exercise. By swimming or jogging for 30 minutes, or undertaking cardiovascular exercise, you will increase your metabolism which will boost your desire to eat.

In serious cases of appetite loss, you should consult your doctor who will examine you and prescribe the best course of medication to tackle your loss of appetite

Homeopathic remedies are prescribed on the basis of symptoms rather than conditions, as each case of a particular illness can manifest differently in different people. There are many symptoms which can be effectively treated by homoeopathy ­­­­­few symptoms are given below.

1) Appetite – with nausea. Craves raw or indigestible things. Empty sinking in stomach not relived by eating. Anorexia from grief following an unpleasant incident, anorexia from excessive consumption of stimulants like tea and coffee. Long involuntary sighing, obstinate constipation and intolerance of tobacco.

2) Hunger but quick satiety. Eating ever so little creates fullness. Worse from flatulent foods, cabbage, oysters. Desire for sweets, delicacies Likes to take drinks or food hot. Bad effects of onions. Anorexia from constipation and the resultant flatulence or gas. The victim belches almost constantly.

3) Craves piquant food, beer, fat food. Hiccough from over-eating. Eructation’s sour. Nausea “would be better if I can only vomit”. Better vomiting and hot food.Anorexia from leading an irregular or sedentary life and excessive intake of stimulants. An oversensitive nature, frequent ineffectual desire to pass stools and a tendency to catch colds are other features suggesting this medicine.

4)     Craves sugar which disagrees. Desire for cheese. Loss of appetite. Eating provides relief to nausea but  stomach pain becomes worse.

5)     Cannot bear the sight, smell or thought of food unquenchable, burning thirst. Desires little and often. Desires ice cold water which distresses the stomach and is vomited immediately Vomiting and purging from food poisoning.

6)     Desire for lemonade or lemons which agree.

7)     Thirst for large quantity of cold water (also warm drinks) which relives. Aversion to milk, which he relishes after taking.

8)     Craving for indigestible things: chalk, coal, pencil. Also craving for eggs, ice-cream, salt and sweets. Aversion to meat. Milk disagrees.

9)     Hungry and yet want of appetite. Voracious. appetite in emaciation of children. Bitter or sour eructation’s after milk. Quick satiety. Aversion to all food. Loud belching without relief.

10) Hunger, voracious; after eating; after vomiting. Alternating with loss of   appetite. Craving for sweets, bread. Vomiting with a clean tongue. Vomiting and diarrhoea after eating. Aversion to mother’s milk.

11)  Increase and loss of appetite alternately. Aversion to meat, to eggs, to sour fruits. Spits up food by the mouthful. Easy vomiting without nausea.

12) Desire for dainties, sweets. Horrid nausea not amel. by vomiting. Vomits blood, bile, food. Aversion to food. Thirst less. Vomiting of infants at the breast. Clean tongue.

13) Desire for salt, bitter things, oysters, fish, milk. Thirsty drinks large quantity of water. Great hunger, yet emaciates with depressed mind.

14) Aversion to water (Thirst less). Fats, bread, milk, warm food and drinks. Onions disagree. thirstlessness with nearly all complaints

15) Nausea at the thought or smell of food. Boiled milk disagrees.

16)  Craves cold drinks which ameliorate. Drinks vomited when they become warm in stomach. Craves salt and spicy things. Unable to drink, water during pregnancy.