Health Advice An answer to your medical questions » Bulimia Nervosa

How to treat Bulimia Nervosa

Kevin — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:36:33 +0000

Treatment for Bulimia Nervosa must include psychological counseling and at times requires medicines, which are mostly antidepressants. Normally the treatment does not require that the patient should get admit into the hospital but there are chances that the patient may also need that.

Counseling as well as antidepressant medicine helps you to reduce the occurrence of bulimia in fact it also helps you to recover from the ailment. These are some of the long term treatments that take weeks ore even months to show some excellent results. Bulimia that arises with another symptom may require longer treatment and you may also require more than one kind of treatment for the same.

If you are suffering from that common symptom that usually occurs with the disease like depression or substance abuse your medical professional may treat that symptom initially.

People who take treatment for bulimia or any eating disorder may also face some other health crisis because of the
disorder. If you are suffering from bulimia for a long time and you are not taking any kind of treatment, then you may face serious health crisis.

What are the causes, incidence and risk factors of Bulimia Nervosa

Kevin — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:35:16 +0000

The exact factors causing Bulimia Nervosa are not yet known. But, a lot of people believe that it is caused by a combination of the family history, definite personality traits like perfectionism and the social values like admiring thinness.

The risk of the development of Bulimia increase in case your sister,parent or your brother has condition, but it does not mean that it
exclusively happens due to these reasons. It is just the part of cause.The stressful life like divorce, moving and the death of some one whom you loved may trigger the bulimia in a lot of people.

A lot of young women like the girls in high school or the college girls have a very unhealthy outlook toward their bodies and eating habits. Socially, they accept and promote the destructive behaviors such as extreme dieting or purging and binging. All these behaviors and beliefs are not at all healthy and normal.

They may play just a part in the development of the eating disorders which may require a treatment. The women who religiously follow the hard core diet in order to lose the extra weight are more at risk for the development of bulimia.Just like the other eating disorders, bulimia is also a complex psychological and physical condition. The recovery of this disorder needs treatment which helps in change the behavior. It also deals with deeper feelings and attitudes which may cause you to purge and binge.

What are the symptoms of Bulimia Nervosa

Kevin — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:34:06 +0000

The symptoms of Bulimia basically include:

1.Excessive eating, as you do not realize the exact quantity of food to consume.
2.Frequent eating in less than two hours time span.
3.Have the binge purge cycles.
4.Getting anxious about putting on extra weight and feel ashamed of the overeating habit.
5.Getting rid of calories, which you have eaten through processes like fasting, vomiting or exercising a lot or even misusing the diuretics, laxatives, enemas and ipecac syrup. The misuse of all these medicines may cause a lot of serious health troubles and at times death too.
6.Base the value and self esteem upon the shape of the body and weight.

The above symptoms are the sign of bulimia or some other eating disorder, which needs to be treated. If you think that you are affected by any of these symptom or your friends has it, then taking help from the heath professional, family and friends is very necessary.

The other eating problems and bulimia may be difficult to treat or diagnose as the people often keep the unhealthy thoughts and the
behaviors secret which may deny them to accept their disorder.Frequently, a person will not get the treatment and evaluation till the
time an outsider notices the symptoms of the bulimia and ask the person to take help from the professionals.

Some other symptoms of Bulimia Nervosa

Kevin — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:32:32 +0000

Other than basic symptoms of Bulimia Nervosa, some of the very common symptoms of bulimia which a person may develop are:

If a person is always busy in exercising.
Often talks about weight, body shape and dieting.
Very secretive about their eating habit and do not feel comfortable eating in the company of others.
Have unbalanced menstrual cycles.
Hides the food where ever they get place. You may see that a lot of food goes missing every time.
Has a very frequent change in the weight. Like, a person tends to lose and even gain weight at a very small period of time.
Overuse the diuretics and laxatives.
Has a very low level of blood electrolyte imbalances and potassium.

Looks very sick or may have the following signs:
- Very dry skin.
- Dull or thin hair.
- Mouth sores or sore gums.
- Erosion of the tooth enamel or tooth decay.
- Fullness or bloating.
- The swollen salivary glands.
- g.Inadequate energy.
Diuretics, laxatives or shoplifts foods.
Use illegal drugs or takes in a lot of alcohol.
Feels guilty, anxious or depressed.

The conditions, which are normally seen in people suffering from Bulimia, for example, substance abuse, depression or the anxiety
disorders make the process of the treatment more and more problematic.The recovery from this disorder may take a very long time and the relapse is very normal. If you think that the person is discouraged, then you should speak to the doctor so that immediate help is provided to the person suffering from bulimia.

In few cases, the people who have the eating disorder may also feel suicidal.

The warning symptoms of the possible suicide in teens and children may include giving away all their belongings, getting very angry,develop failing grades, withdrawing or being always occupied with the suicide or death.
The warning signs of suicide in the adults may include substance abuse, alcohol, job loss, giving away all the belongings, divorce or depression.

If you have these symptoms or anyone who have it should take immediate help from the doctors.

The disorder of bulimia is very different from the anorexia. The people with anorexia normally weighs less or 85% of the weight of their normal body. But the people who suffer from bulimia are usually within their shapes. Few people with anorexia make themselves to vomit, but it is a dissimilar eating problem. In order to know about it, go through section based on Anorexia Nervosa.

Preliminary Treatment of Bulimia Nervosa

Kevin — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:30:50 +0000

First, you need to find out how long and how severe the ailment is. If there are no other symptoms that need to be treated first, then bulimia treatment usually have:

Counseling:

This is a nutritional counseling which needs certain changes in the behavior and thinking of the patient.
Its main goal is to: Avoid any kind of unhealthy food and wanting the patient to eat three meals in a day.
Stop thinking about your body weight and the shape.
Also try to develop certain talent that may help you to learn proper coping skills to avoid relapses in future.

Medicines:

Antidepressants are used to get relieve from the symptoms of depression that often arises with eating problems

What are the causes, incidence and risk factors of Bulimia Nervosa

Kevin — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:29:12 +0000

How to prevent Bulimia Nervosa

Kevin — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:26:42 +0000

The way of preventing bulimia is also not known till today. An early treatment in order to treat this may be the best way to prevent this disorder. Knowing all the signs of the bulimia and taking regular medical help may help in preventing the long term problems which are caused by bulimia.

A lot of ways are present to the adults that may help the teens and children to develop a strong view about
them. It helps to develop a positive attitude towards exercise and food. It may help in prevention of bulimia disorder in a lot of kids.

In order to develop this, look at the tips mentioned below:

A positive approach to exercise and food:

Become a role model for regular exercising and healthy eating. Do not reward or punish your child every time with food.
A healthy and positive thinking about one self and others: Teach your kids to take a good care of their own bodies.
Do not make any comments which may link being healthy or being popular.

Home Treatment of Bulimia Nervosa

Kevin — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:24:53 +0000

Home treatment is very important for the people who have the disorder of bulimia. You need to set some individual goals with your
nutritionist, professional counselor and the doctor. Few of these goals include :

Concentrate on daily care:

Remember that you have to feel healthier and better with each passing day.

Self Care:

Do not blame yourself for whatever you are going through. Just try to spend as much time as possible with the people whom you love and who care about you.

Avoid self blame and guilt:

Instead of going deeper and deeper about the reasons of your condition, simply work hard to change things for
your own well being.

Show your support to bulimia patient:

Support the person who has bulimia as they may get discouraged by the long treatment. Just listen
to his/her feelings and show that you are always with him/her.

Bulimia Nervosa Treatment if the situation worsens

Kevin — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:22:24 +0000

If your body has other health problems like dehydration because of bulimia it may require that the patient should get admitted into the hospital as soon as possible.

Sometimes people suffering from bulimia get disheartened because recovery takes more than weeks or months and relapse becomes common. If the patient get disheartened or feels like killing himself/ herself then call the health professional immediately.

What to think about treatment of this disease only with medicines may not be as such beneficial. Both psychological counseling as well as medicines treatment can be very effective. But eating disorders can be difficult to treat. Recovery may require
months to years.

You may sometimes think that you don’t need treatment because you believe treatments are not bad enough and you can recover on your own. But don’t forget that your body may require that treatment in order to overcome from this disease.

So if you think that your body is showing any signs of bulimia or any of your loved one has it, then go to the doctor for your treatment as soon as possible before the condition become worse.

Bulimia Nervosa-What is it?

Kevin — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 18:50:34 +0000

Bulimia Nervosa, commonly called as Bulimia(pronounced “boo-LEE-mee-uh”), is a severe eating disorder
characterized by binge eating followed by some strange behavior like self-induced vomiting etc., to prevent the weight gain from the act of overeating.

This disorder affects physical and mental health of the victim. When left untreated,Bulimia may even lead to death.It is a very common disorder among the adolescents.

Binge eating is a state in which the person eats more food than what most of the people would eat in the given time frame.The victim associates this over-eating to their loss of control.The Bulimia victims’ time is totally consumed in thinking about food,more food and after that how to get rid of it.

Feeling guilty for what they have just done(binge eating), a person with Bulimia tries to prevent the weight gain by taking to
“compensatory behavior”.The compensatory behavior generally unfolds into one of the unconventional acts of weight control like laxative abuse by excessive usage of them, purging through self-induced vomiting,fasting for longer periods only to end up in binge eating again,stopping insulin intake,excessive use of enemas etc.

If not treated,the cycle of ‘binge and purge’ will lead to serious long-term health problems like tooth decay,gum
disease,osteoporosis(bone thinning),heart problems,kidney damage,loss of tooth enamel etc., and may even cause death.