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 OTHER NAMES
- Anorexia.
- Loss of appetite.
DEFINITION
It is possible to speak about loss of appetite when the food ingestion is diminished and especially when lack exists in the feeding of the necessary basic caloric contribution in every person. Not all the persons add that the same contribution then the needs calculation must be done for each one and his daily activity. What for a person is a contribution balanced for other one can be very low.
The loss of appetite and decrease of suitable caloric contribution usually generates the decrease of the corporal weight.
There are diverse acute or transitory diseases that produce the decrease of the appetite but that, on having improved or to recover the appetite, it turns to the normality.
CAUSES OF THE LOSS OF APPETITE
In general it owes to itself to two big groups of illnesses, one the chronic and tumor illnesses and other one of psychological causes. Between they can be:
- The anorexia nervosa
- The anxiety
- The depression
- Sharp and chronic infections
- The beginning of the pregnancy
- The cancerous tumors
- The hipertiroidismo (goiter)
- The infection for the HIV (AIDS)
- Medicines (Quimioterápicos of the cancer, Amphetamine, Antibiotics, etc...)
DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT
The first thing should be to have a real conscience of the contribution of calories a day, for it it is necessary to do an agenda with the meals realized during the whole day to do an approximate calculation of the ill calories really. If this calendar shows a clear decrease of the ingestion of calories it would must to try to make first of all more eaten of small quantities during the day.
Also it is possible to use extra contributions by means of prepared nutritive of sale in drugstores. Also it is possible to try to eat food that the affected person prefers for his special tastes. In the cases of anorexia nervosa the control of the ill calories must be controlled by another person since there is usually an unconscious concealment of the food decrease in the meals calendars.
If the problem is for certain medication it will have to be evaluated by his doctor to do a balance of the risk - benefit of the treatment.
When the decrease of the corporal weight is major than 8 % in one month it would be necessary to consult with the doctor. In case of loss of appetite prolonged with decrease of the corporal weight objetivable his doctor can request him the following explorations:
- Analytical of hepatic and renal tests
- Study of thyroid hormones
- X-rays of the gastrointestinal transit with contrate of barium
- Abdominal ultrasound scan
- Serología of HIV (AIDS) and other secret infections
- It tries pregnancy
- Drugs detection in urine
If the undernourishment state is very advanced it is possible that it needs a revenue in a hospital to restore the basic nutrients and to do the incomer study.
TO SEE ALSO
WHAT DOCTOR CAN TREAT ME?
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DENOMINATION 
