A change in appetite is a sudden increase or complete lack of desire to eat, sometimes accompanied by the appearance of atypical taste preferences. It occurs with somatic and infectious diseases, mental illness, hormonal disorders. Psychiatric examination, ultrasound, radiography, blood tests are used to identify the etiology of changes in appetite. To eliminate eating disorders, etiotropic medications, methods of physiotherapy and psychotherapy are used.
general characteristics
Appetite is controlled by higher centers in the brain. Its changes cause various somatic and psychological reasons. Eating disorders are often the first sign of an onset of illness. A person sharply reduces the amount of food consumed or skips lunch or dinner altogether, when trying to eat something, disgust and nausea occur. The symptom is accompanied by malaise, severe weakness, dizziness.
Some teenagers and young women stop eating in order to lose weight, even if they have good body parameters. At first, the appetite remains normal or even increased, there is a spontaneous restriction in food, but then the appetite decreases, the entire daily diet may consist of tea, fruit or a light salad.
With an increase in appetite, the patient constantly wants to eat, regardless of the amount of food consumed earlier. The frequency of full meals increases up to 5-6 times a day, constant "snacks" are characteristic. Changes in appetite due to pathological causes, as a rule, do not cause weight gain. BDD patients usually vomit after a large meal or dinner to avoid gaining weight.
With a perversion of taste preferences, patients love non-standard combinations of products, there is a craving for inedible objects - they want to eat earth, hair, chalk. Some people themselves understand that such eating habits are not normal, but in most cases, relatives and friends pay attention to strange taste preferences. Appetite changes that develop for no apparent reason are an indication for a doctor's consultation.
Reasons for changes in appetite
Reasons for lack of appetite
Conscious refusal of food usually indicates the presence of a serious illness, accompanied by intoxication and damage to the autonomic centers of the brain. Starvation causes weakness in the arms and legs, darkening of the eyes, constant drowsiness. Causes leading to lack of appetite:
- Psychological problems : prolonged stress, depression, anorexia nervosa.
- Infectious processes : respiratory system (flu, pneumonia, tuberculosis), digestive system (viral hepatitis, salmonellosis, food poisoning), genitourinary system (acute pyelonephritis, cystitis).
- Endocrine diseases : hypothyroidism, hypopituitarism, Addison's disease.
- The defeat of the gastroduodenal zone : gastritis, peptic ulcer, duodenitis.
- Intestinal diseases : chronic enteritis and colitis, dysbacteriosis, irritable bowel syndrome.
- Cardiovascular diseases : acute and chronic heart failure, ischemic heart disease, myocarditis.
- Autoimmune pathology : rheumatism, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus.
- Malignant neoplasms .
- Complications of pharmacotherapy : taking antibiotics, psychotropic drugs, chemotherapy drugs.
- Rare causes : digitalis intoxication, Alzheimer's disease.
Causes of increased appetite
Increased appetite is typical for pregnant and lactating women, whose body must work "for two." Children and adolescents eat a lot during the period of active growth and the final formation of organs. An increase in appetite is also provoked by pathological causes:
- Emotional factors : nervous exhaustion, stress.
- "False appetite" with dehydration .
- Premenstrual Syndrome .
- Convalescence period : after prolonged viral and bacterial infections, severe somatic pathology.
- Helminthiases : ascariasis, strongyloidiasis, teniarinhoz.
- Endocrine diseases : diabetes mellitus, thyrotoxicosis.
- Mental illnesses : schizophrenia, senile dementia.
- Complications of pharmacotherapy : the use of oral contraceptives, insulin and oral hypoglycemic drugs.
Causes of food cravings
Sudden changes in taste preferences for no apparent reason are one of the first signs of pregnancy. The symptom becomes the result of sharp fluctuations in the concentration of female sex hormones. The perversion of food addictions also causes the following diseases and pathological conditions:
- Psychological trauma : an act of violence, bullying, in children - lack of attention from parents.
- Mental illness : oligophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, delusional and overvalued ideas.
- Deficiency states : iron deficiency anemia, beriberi.
Diagnostics
Changes in appetite can provoke various reasons, which are detected by a general practitioner. The initial examination includes a detailed collection of complaints and anamnesis of the disease, then, depending on the identified symptoms, a set of instrumental and laboratory diagnostic methods is selected. The most informative are:
- Blood tests . In the general analysis, the level of hemoglobin and erythrocytes, the leukocyte index and the level of ESR are specified. Determine the concentration of iron and ferritin, the most important vitamins, trace elements. To study the work of the digestive system, analyzes are made for the content of pancreatic enzymes.
- Hormonal profile . The list of standard research methods includes measuring the amount of free thyroxine, pituitary thyroid-stimulating hormone, corticosteroids. Be sure to evaluate the concentration of sugar on an empty stomach, with a clarifying purpose, perform an oral glucose tolerance test.
- Neurological examination . They study the safety of superficial and tendon reflexes, muscle tone. With the help of special tests, the level of intelligence and cognitive abilities are checked. If changes in appetite are combined with atypical behavior, aggression, a psychiatric examination is prescribed.
- ultrasound . The method is indicated as a non-invasive screening of the digestive and urinary systems. Sonography helps to detect diseases of the stomach and intestines, volumetric formations. A targeted ultrasound of the liver, pancreas, kidneys is carried out. In women, the ovaries must be examined.
- EKG . Registration of an electrocardiogram is necessary for elderly patients in whom changes in appetite occur against the background of shortness of breath, edema. ECG allows to exclude inflammatory and ischemic damage to the heart. To determine the contractility of the myocardium and the level of blood flow, echocardiography is performed.
- Additional Research . For the complex diagnosis of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, radiography with oral contrast agent, EGDS is used. In pathologies of the nervous system, EEG, CT or MRI are informative. Microscopic and biochemical examination of feces is recommended to assess digestive function.
Change in appetite - a reason to visit a doctor
Treatment
Help before diagnosis
Changes in appetite, provoked by psychological problems and stress, do not require medical treatment. Patients are advised to take a vacation to recuperate, add more fresh vegetables and fruits, lean meats and fish to the menu. It is important to give the body feasible physical activity, walk more in the fresh air, which promotes metabolism and increases appetite.
An increased desire to eat, due to premenstrual syndrome, is a variant of the norm and disappears after a couple of days. To avoid severe swelling, women are advised to limit the consumption of salty foods and smoked meats. In cases where changes in appetite are accompanied by general malaise, fever, pain, you should seek medical help as soon as possible.
Conservative therapy
Along with drugs, non-drug effects play an important role in normalizing appetite. With depression, chronic stress, individual and group sessions of psychotherapy, auto-training are effective. Balneotherapy, aromatherapy, reflexology are used to eliminate asthenic syndrome after serious illnesses. After finding out the cause of changes in appetite, etiotropic drugs are selected:
- Antidepressants . The drugs are serotonin receptor agonists. They normalize the transmission of nerve impulses and stabilize the work of all brain structures, improve mood and eliminate apathy. In severe mental illness, tranquilizers and neuroleptics are prescribed.
- Medicines containing iron . Oral or parenteral iron preparations are necessary for the treatment of iron deficiency anemia and the relief of sideropenic syndrome, one of the manifestations of which is changes in taste. For other types of anemia, vitamin B12, folic acid, ascorbic acid are indicated.
- Hormonal agents . For the treatment of diabetes mellitus, rational insulin therapy regimens or hypoglycemic drugs are selected. After normalization of blood glucose levels, pathological changes in appetite disappear. Levothyroxine is recommended as replacement therapy for hypothyroidism.
- enzyme preparations . In order to improve the functions of digestion, pancreatic enzymes are used, which increase the breakdown and absorption of nutrients, and normalize appetite. At the same time, it is imperative to follow a special diet, which is based on high-calorie and easily digestible dishes.
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs . NSAIDs are used for a wide range of diseases - infectious processes, rheumatic pathology. Drugs reduce the production of pro-inflammatory metabolites, accelerate recovery. If necessary, they are combined with corticosteroids and antihistamines.
- electrolyte solutions . Changes in appetite are often a symptom of intoxication, which requires intravenous infusions of large amounts of saline solutions in combination with crystalloid formulations. Medicines also help to normalize the biochemical composition of the blood.