Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia Nervosa General Information

The etymology of the disease’s name is Greek, composed by “orexis”, meaning appetite and “an” that is the equivalent of privation off or lack of. So, a short description of Anorexia Nervosa might be: lack of the desire to eat. When a person is diagnosed with anorexia he is said to be anorexic, although the adjective refers mostly to the drugs taken to suppress appetite. This disease is a type of anorexia, an eating disorder, being a psychiatric diagnosis. Very often, this disease is used in the short form of simply, anorexia. But you must know that this is not correct because the term used separately is referred to a medical symptom, namely a reduce appetite. The main characteristic is the extreme weight loss and a low body image distortion, with an intense and enormous fear of gaining the weight lost. When a person is suspected of Anorexia Nervosa, the control of their own life and body weight is lost. The voluntary starvation is accompanied by excessive vomiting and physical exercises, purging and other many ways of controlling the weight (using diuretic drugs or diet pills). The persons often refuse to remain at the weight they have, although it might me the minimal one. Anorexia Nervosa is typical for women and adolescents, and only 7% of the patients are usually males. This weight disorder represents a complex condition because it involves sociological, psychological, neurobiological and psychiatric components. Similar diseases are considered to be intentional weight loss and bulimia, although the causes are different, but the same result.

Anorexia Nervosa Symptoms

The causes that lead to Anorexia Nervosa are not known, although the social attitude towards body look seems to be an important factor, along the family aspects. The conflicts inside a family contribute to depression that can cause Anorexia Nervosa as a form of sell-punishment or a way to draw attention from the problems between the parents. It is common among young adulthood and adolescents or in females. The Caucasian women seem to be the most affected by this disorder. The individuals suffering of this disease refuse to admit that they have a major problem, but they can be usually recognized. The sings and symptoms are emotional, physical and behavioral. Physically, the individual may look thin, with brittle nails, dry skin and a hair that breaks or falls because is too thin. The blood counts may be abnormal so that the person may have a permanent condition of tiredness, dizziness and may faint. The heart may present irregular rhythms; the blood pressure is always low. The lack of substances contained in the food may present as constipation, dehydration, intolerance of cold, downy and soft hair that covers the body, osteoporosis and the absence of menses in women. The physical signs are always accompanied by behavioral and emotional signs such as: excessive exercise, refusal to eat, preoccupation with food, lack of emotions, denial and ignoring the hunger and difficulties in concentrating. But these signs and symptoms are not always obvious because the sick people get to disguise their problems, the thin appearance and the psychical irregularities.

Anorexia Nervosa Treatment

Anorexia, in no matter what form, takes over a person’s life, ruining it. They are obsessed with their food and think about it all the time, spend a lot of time with exhausting physical exercises and also in groceries stores. If you have any of these behaviors or you think you have eating disorders, go to your health care provider for a medical evaluation. You must be conscious that you do not control the situation anymore, the anorexia does. It is important to have the proper treatment although many of those who suffer of Anorexia nervosa refuse initially the treatment. All they want is to remain thin, no matter what their health state is. If a person who is close to you has problems like this one, convince him or her to seek medical advice as soon as possible. Only if you have a legal authority you can force someone to go to a doctor and follow a treatment. The exams and tests that are used by a specialist to discover if someone really suffers of Anorexia Nervosa are numerous and various. A complete examination must include laboratory tests, physical exam, psychological evaluation and other tests, such as X-rays and electrocardiograms. Checking the vital signs, the skin for dryness, the blood pressure, the temperature, heart rate and the abdomen are the first step that must be contained by any examination. The electrolytes from the blood and the protein levels and an analysis of the urine must be checked because thanks to them the thyroid, liver and kidney work normal.

During a psychological consultation the doctor will find out about the patient’s feelings, thoughts and habits, especially eating. Because Anorexia Nervosa has a highly rate of mortality, many people ending by suicide, many clinics have developed programs to help the sufferers. Any doctor will try first to determine the patient to gain some weight, especially if some of them require even hospitalization. Some cases are that severe that an involuntary hospital treatment must be done, but only under mental health law (there is such legislation). The patients are usually treated as outpatients by clinical psychologists, physicians and psychiatrists or any other specialized mental health doctors. A very effective form to treat Anorexia Nervosa is the psychotherapy that often determines the patient to decide on a restoration of the weight that may lead, in women, to the return of the menses. A method that gives extraordinary results in adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa is the family therapy. Drugs, especially antidepressants are also used in treating this psychological disorder although they do not give results all the time. A routine treatment is the supplementation with 20mg/day of Zn. After this kind of treatment has been observed that a doubling of weight regain has been often obtained in very quick time. A big number of clinics and non-profit societies, as well as many communities work to offer the best guidance and support for someone who suffers of this terrible disorder or knows someone who does.