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Kwashiorkor Treatment
What is Kwashiorkar ? What are its symptoms?
(24 Oct 2008)
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It is usually believed that Kwashiorkor is caused when the intake of protein is not sufficient. However, not everyone accepts that this is the only reason for Kwashiorkor. The age group of people generally affected by Kwashiorkor is children who fall between one to fourteen years.
However this does not restrict it to only children in this age group and very often older children and even, in some cases, adults, are affected by Kwashiorkor.
Kwashiorkor occurs because most people tend to ignore the importance of proteins in our diet. Although people do consume sufficient amount of calories they tend to disregard the importance of proteins in their diet.
This leads to Kwashiorkor. Kwashiorkor is a condition that affects children who belong to areas that have experienced shortage of food. This is usually places where famine has struck. Among the lesser educated classes of society also Kwashiorkor is a fairly common problem since the lack of awareness about a balanced diet often leads to a an inadequate consumption of proteins.
The first signs of Kwashiorkor in a child are complaints of lethargy and extreme tiredness. The child is often irritable and unable to carry out daily tasks. Since there is a deficiency of proteins the growth of the child is affected. The child also has a loss of muscles and a generalized swelling can be observed on the body of the child. The lack of sufficient proteins leads to a weakened immunity making the child susceptible to various illnesses. Infections of various kinds become fairly common occurrences due to the body’s inability to fight them off. You can recognize a children affected by Kwashiorkor because of the protuberant belly. This large belly is an easy way to spot a child suffering from Kwashiorkor. In addition to the large belly children who suffer from Kwashiorkor usually have some skin problems. Their skin may give evidence of some changes in the pigmentation. They also tend to lose their hair and thinning hair in a child is an easy symptom by which to spot Kwashiorkor. The hair also becomes weak and often changes color. A child affected by Kwashiorkor will not be able to realize the full growth potential. Kwashiorkor also affects the mental development of a child and a child afflicted by Kwashiorkor usually has a low IQ. When a child suffers from kwashiorkor which has reached the critical stage the child usually suffers from shock and then usually goes into coma.
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answered by M W on 24 Oct 2008, 6:27:25
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