MALNUTRITION-SYMPTOMS, CAUSES, PREVENTIONS & TREATMENTS

This post was most recently updated on July 25th, 2023

Overview

Malnutrition is of two types. They are Kwashiorkor and Marasmus.

Kwashiorkor and Marasmus are similar but not equal conditions:

Kwashiorkor and Marasmus are two related concepts but not the same as one might think.

In fact, with the first term we mean an imbalance, prolonged in time, in the supply of nutrients due either to a poor diet and deficient in vitamins or minerals (hypotension) and to a supercharging; while with the second we mean a condition due to an inadequate intake, incorrect, prolonged in time, characterized by the wrong energy / protein ratio.

Malnutrition can be a cause of hunger. Unfortunately, the number of victims more significant than these conditions are children in both developing and industrialized countries.

Malnutrition Symptoms

 

Symptoms and consequences of malnutrition

As mentioned above, malnutrition can be due to both under-nourishment and overeating.

When fasting lasts for more than 24 hours, then the body starts using muscle proteins to get the necessary energy.

The problem is that when the body gets to use these substances, there is a substantial loss of bulk, bringing about a shortcoming and apathy and a reduction in the levels, also, of plasma proteins and edema formation which is called Kwashiorkor in a medical term.

A condition of this type is the trigger for specific diseases linked to malnutrition, contained at the end PEM (protein-energy malnutrition). The viruses in question are Kwashiorkor and Marasmus.

The first mainly affects the firstborn, given that it also takes the name of “second child disease.” Why? Because in developing countries, pregnancies are very close to each other, so when the second child is born, it is no longer possible to feed the first one adequately.

The diet of this is characterized, in particular, by carbohydrates (starch) and very few proteins, which cause a series of problems for the child, such as swelling of the abdomen (due to hypoalbuminemia and consequent edema), fatty liver or fatty liver (due to a reduction in circulating lipoproteins), muscle weakness, growth retardation, depigmentation of the skin with red spots and spots, swelling of the face (“moon face”).

This disease is the cause of about 30-60% of child deaths in developing countries.

Marasmus, on the other hand, is a pathology due to both protein and caloric deprivation. In a condition of an almost complete absence of these nutrients, the body becomes accustomed to the state of malnutrition by exploiting all the primary or essential reserves.

In this case, the children who are affected have an aged appearance due to dry skin, but also inevitably stunted growth, muscle atrophy, hypothermia.

Symptoms of malnutrition in a short way

Malnutrition can be primitive or consequent. The natural is due to inadequate intake of nutrients and can be either voluntary or involuntary.

The most common forms of malnutrition are part of the group of diseases seen above (PEM) and therefore depend on a lack of nutrients that fail to meet the reasonable needs of the body.

In some cases, however, the cause is to be found in disorders or diseases that cause nutritional malabsorption, such as some types of cancer and their consequent therapies (which have nausea, vomiting, neurological conditions, myopathy, cystic fibrosis as side effects). ), some endocrine, gastrointestinal, degenerative disorders.

All of this affects health in general, causing weakness in general, reduction in muscle mass, increased risk of fractures, digestive problems, weight loss, thinning of the skin, dehydration, problems with chewing, oral cavity, walking. Even in the case of malnutrition, the primary victims are children whose body cannot bear an inadequate nutrient supply.

Understanding

Your body needs fuel to work correctly, and if you become malnourished, there is a risk that the metabolism will stop working correctly.

Then, luckily, there are treatment and nutritional supplements that give us the energy we need to feel good. Do you perceive any of the symptoms beneath or are unsure if you suffer from malnutrition? Please contact the healthcare where you live for further investigation.

You can be malnourished if you:-

  • Suddenly involuntarily decreases weight.
  • Are starting to feel tired and mindless.
  • It turns out you have a BMI below 20.
  • It turns out that you have a BMI of 22 and is over 70 years old.

Your body needs nutrition

Nutrition in the body is transformed into energy, strengthens muscles, skeletons, and general well-being. Therefore, it is so essential that you get the right amount of nutrition; it affects your whole body.

If you do not get enough energy and nourishment, then the body takes away from its reserves, which can eventually lead to malnutrition.

Malnutrition makes you ineffective, can cause bodily injury (due to weakened muscles and a weakened skeleton), help you recover more slowly from disease and worsen the general condition if you already feel bad.

One important aspect is that you get some nutrition in you. Because it can be difficult for various reasons, there are nutritional drinks on the market that will help you get the nutrients and energy you need and which both prevent and treat malnutrition.

Even if you can eat everyday food, it may be useful to use these nutritional supplements if you have to enhance your dietary admission.

Planned meals and knowledge about how to cook foods that contain the right amount of nutrition and energy provide excellent conditions for you to have a healthier existence and prevent malnutrition.

It is also useful if the place you eat is calm and pleasant, avoiding any stressful environments that can adversely affect your meal and your eating habits.

Malnutrition can be due to various factors such as age, illness, teeth problems, and mental illness. It is essential to get the nutrition and energy needed for the body to feel good.

Therefore it is good to know what causes malnutrition, to learn to discover signs of hunger and to know little about how to prevent and even treat. Malnutrition.

Causes of Malnutrition

Malnutrition Causes

One factor behind hunger can be an illness. Some diseases are more stressful on your body than others, and then it is particularly important that the body can cope and not suffer from malnutrition.

Examples of causes of malnutrition:

  • CHARCOAL.
  • Infections.
  • Large operations.
  • Inflammation.
  • Dementia diseases.
  • Cancer.

When it comes to hunger in dementia, it is a matter of the person having difficulty eating but at the same time being very mobile – a combination that can cause weight loss.

Even other mental illnesses can make you or the person affected feel hungry, forget about eating or only not interested in eating.

Another factor is age. As you get older, your body weight may change, and your muscle mass may decrease. Then it is especially important to eat a balanced and nutritious diet.

Another cause of malnutrition can occur if you experience problems with your mouth and teeth, such as difficulty swallowing. Then it can lead to you pulling yourself to eat and thus risk getting in for too little nutrition.

Some medications affect nutritional intake as side effects may be dry mouth, which makes eating more difficult or are suppressive. For those who are older, the risk of injuries increases in cases of malnutrition when muscles and skeletons do not get enough with nutrition and energy to grow.

If you discover malnutrition in yourself or someone close to you, it is essential to start treatment to prevent and prevent further malnutrition.

Malnutrition Prevention

Preventions of Malnutrition

  1. Take nutrients and proteins enriched foods.
  2. You should not consider your healthy life and body by taking less amount of water because water helps to increase much minerals and nutrients.
  3. Green and leafy vegetables are the main sources of nutrients and we have to choose organic products while buying such type of green vegetables.
  4. Vegans need to care about the health nutrients enriched organic foods that are found in nature while non-vegans can also take meat on a daily basis.
  5. Dairy products can prevent you from malnutrition.
  6. You have to do regular medical checkup if you have any risk factors and to check the level of nutrients present in your body.

Malnutrition Prevention

Treatments of Malnutrition

Malnutrition not only affects health, physical, and mental development but also makes children vulnerable to weak immunity. So how to cure malnutrition effectively in children?

Malnourished children are often not well-fed, low-calorie, sick, and inadequate diets such as protein, fat, sugar, vitamins and minerals or may be mistaken for giving eat as if you are not breastfed, eat too early, or abstain too much when your child is sick, especially when you have diarrhea.

Whatever the cause, when the child is malnourished, s/he will leave significant consequences on the development of both physical and mental and intellectual of the child.

Therefore, overcoming the malnutrition effectively depends on the cause as well as the degree of malnutrition in the child.

Malnutrition Treatment

Usually, children will be supplemented with missing substances and cure malnutrition-induced diseases, correctly:

Children with mild and moderate malnutrition

This situation can be found in the baby’s weight, if the weight is still 60-80% compared to the average level, and the baby shows signs of anorexia, digestive disorders, the mother can treat the baby at home By adjusting your baby’s diet so that all 4 essential food groups are sugar, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals.

Also, she should monitor her growth chart to assess her change. If the child is malnourished when weaning, the mother should add the appropriate type of milk according to the age of the child, and need to give the child adequate and scheduled vaccination.

Children are severely malnourished

If the child is severely malnourished, the mother needs to take her to the hospital for the best treatment. Besides, she can also combine with home treatments to help her improve her condition. The earliest, it is:

  • Mothers should gradually increase protein, sugar, fat, vegetables, and divided into many small meals for babies while supplementing with breast milk or substitutes if mothers are busy working or losing juice.
  • Children with rickets are due to a lack of essential nutrients such as calcium, vitamin D3, and vitamin K2 because it not only helps young bones to grow and be healthy but also helps children increase resistance, reduce sickness effectively. At the same time, the mother does not forget to supplement the children with essential vitamins and minerals such as vitamin A, Iron, Potassium, Zinc, Magnesium according to the instructions of the doctor.
  • To avoid the case of children suffering from hypothermia at night, the mothers also need to pay attention to, keep warm and lie next to the child. In particular, care should be taken to clean the baby’s skin to prevent bacteria from invading and affecting the baby’s health.

Besides, when the child has been malnourished, the mother should also supplement some micronutrients such as vitamins and mineral salts, she should choose unique treatment for children with a unique formula for malnourished, low children.

Whistle as GrowPLUS + product of Nutifood helps children to absorb nutrients in the best way which provide give them a healthy weight and gain quickly.

For advice on products and ways to take care of your baby, don’t hesitate to call NutiFood’s Nutrition Specialist at (028) 38 255 777.

Hopefully, the above information will partly help mothers to have more knowledge to care for children better when they encounter malnutrition. Wish your beloved baby soon get the right weight for age and develop comprehensively in all aspects.

Help get in the event of malnutrition

There are different ways to go when dealing with starvation. The most important thing is to regain nutrition and energy again.

Libra becomes a vital tool to see if you have succeeded in turning the underweight to a healthy weight; it is good to write down weight changes to follow up that it goes in the right direction.

For those who are older, the taste sense can be influenced by age, and you can experience flavors differently, something that you and the person helping you with the food needs to think about.

Everything may not taste like before, but you still have to get in nourishment and energy in some way.

A well-balanced diet is, as mentioned, a step on the way – that you combine the main goals with snacks, for example, and adapt the food so that it is energy-rich.

In some cases, however, it is good to supplement the meals with an energy-rich nutritional drink that can provide that little extra dietary supplement.

The nutritional beverages are easy to drink because you can quickly get in these and thus get a dietary supplement. In connection with, for example, children can suffer from malnutrition and even where nutrition drinks can be an excellent supplement to give the body the nutrition and energy it needs.

There are various types of dietary supplements, complete nutritional supplements, energy and protein-rich nutritional supplements, and disease-specific nutritional supplements.

Just as it sounds, complete dietary supplements are designed to replace a meal entirely. In other words, the content is balanced so that you get the nutrition you need.

Energy- and protein-rich dietary supplements, on the other hand, are designed as a supplement to your regular food and can serve as a snack. If you suffer from a disease such as diabetes, COPD, or cancer, a specific type of nutrition is required. ,

It is then disease-specific dietary supplements used to be sure that you, as a patient, get in the right energy and food.

Symptoms of Marasmus

 

Important with adaptation

The various products available on the market are adapted to your needs, and it is good to examine what is right for you. Ask your pharmacist, doctor, or dietician for advice if you are unsure – there is help available.

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Written by Dr. Ganga Sapkota
Updated on July 25, 2023

A graduated medical physician with years of experience in the medical field. Working as a full-time physician in Puspanjali Hospital, Chitwan, Nepal.

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