Bulimia constitutes a nutritional disorder. It is characterized by episodes of heavy eating. After that, to control their own weight, vomiting is caused or laxatives are abused. We can safely say that bulimia is a mental disorder. Gluttony, as well as further inducing vomiting, can subsequently become an obsession like addiction to drugs.
Bulimia - Causes
At the moment, the causes of bulimia have not been identified. Bulimia begins with the fact that a certain person is simply dissatisfied with his own body. He looks at his reflection in the mirror and what he sees there does not suit him at all. At first, everything leads to the use of all kinds of diets. The diet does not provide the desired result, after which bulimia occurs directly.
The most significant feature of bulimia is its psychological trait, which is associated with increased anxiety for its body shape and weight. There is some evidence that bulimia may be associated with the presence of neurotransmitters in the brain.
Bulimia - Symptoms
As for the symptoms, the patient may experience various kinds of intestinal disorders due to excessive use of laxatives. There may also be an imbalance of electrolytes, which ultimately causes muscle twitching and cramps. Bulimia can include scratched fingers that are constantly placed in the throat to cause vomiting. In some cases, there may be internal bleeding, symptoms of impaired renal function, dehydration, as well as an irregular menstrual cycle in women. These include symptoms that result from constant vomiting, such as a change in the blood vessels of the eyes or swelling of the cheeks, damage to the enamel of the teeth, and more.
Bulimia - diagnosis
Confidentiality and denial of bulimia greatly complicate the diagnosis. Often a person does not seek medical help until certain symptoms or a sufficiently serious psychological problem are found that are directly related to this disease. For the diagnosis, you will need to identify the symptoms as accurately as possible.
Bulimia - treatment
Practice has shown that independent attempts to cure this disease will not yield any results. After all, sooner or later, the moment comes again when a person does not restrain himself and pounces on food. No matter how hard he tries, progress will be quite difficult to achieve.
Thanks to a psychologist or relatives, it will be much easier to suppress bulimia. The main condition is the fact that the patient should not overeat or starve, nutrition should always be balanced.
Of course, it is best to seek the help of a doctor who can ask about existing eating habits, as well as the patient's physical exercises. Indeed, quite often such patients go in for sports and adhere to certain diets, without losing weight.
Having identified all sorts of signs of bulimia, the attending physician already decides how necessary hospitalization is in this situation. In most cases, it will not be needed. Each individual patient will definitely be recommended diet therapy, as well as advice on how to change their lifestyle. In rare cases, hypnosis can be used or doctors teach patients self-hypnosis, which will help to further control the desire for excessive eating. It is highly desirable that all members of the patient's family come to the doctor for a consultation. They must learn to control the situation well and monitor the patient's behavior.
Comments
