Clicky Appetite Problems  - Nhblume.org

Weight loss is a common occurrence both with cancer and its treatment. The overwhelming emotions of fear, stress, and anxiety lessen the desire to eat. On the other hand, children might feel hungry but also may feel full, this can cause them to intake less amount of food. Irrespective of the cause, changes in appetite in children can either cause them to not eat properly or eat too much resulting in sudden weight gain or weight loss. 

If these appetite changes persist, it can cause serious health complications in the child, weight loss can happen due to the body not getting the adequate amount of nutrients which causes excessive fatigue and weakness due to muscle loss (a condition called cachexia). This can slow down the recovery process and also break the treatment process.

If your child does not feel hungry, talk to their healthcare specialist about what can be done. Understanding the cause can make it easier for them to determine a course of treatment. 

Causes for appetite changes:

There are various reasons why a person might experience appetite changes, the following are the most common reason that is experienced, 

The other side effects that tend to occur due to weight loss are,

How to manage appetite loss:

One of the virtual stages of cancer treatment is to relieve any side effects that occur due to the treatment. This is also known as palliative care or supportive care. Your child will be under the constant guidance and monitoring of their healthcare team and if they experience any symptoms or changes in the symptoms it is better to notify them immediately. It has been proven that starting palliative care early can improve the outcomes of the treatment. 

To further improve the appetite of your child, meet with a registered dietician for advice on or to effectively plan the meal and how to manage the symptoms. The dietician might also offer you insight on whether the child may benefit from nutritional supplements or other digestive enzymes. Ask the doctor in attendance if there is a dietician available on the premises of the treatment center. 

Additionally, the doctor will aid in treating appetite loss and the associated weight loss issue with certain medications, 

In some cases, the patient is fed by using a tube that is temporarily placed through their nose into the stomach. For long-term feeding of the patient, a tube is placed directly into the stomach from the abdominal wall. This method however is not recommended in most cases, especially for patients suffering from more advanced stages of cancer. 

Therefore if your child is experiencing appetite changes, it is wise to let their doctor know before it is too late to provide the necessary treatment methods. 

Cancer cachexia

Cachexia is a term that also means wasting. This condition occurs in patients having advanced stages of cancer and causes a complete loss of appetite due to which their weight goes down drastically causing severe muscle loss. This condition is commonly experienced by almost 80%of cancer patients. Treatment for those having cachexia conditions involves their caretakers recommending them to a registered dietician. These registered dieticians conduct a nutritional assessment of the patient’s body and then offer the appropriate counseling on how to start and if the patient is too weak, their caretakers will be given an idea of how to feed the patient. The dietician will give an account of the high protein foods that can be administered and those that should not. Also, goods should be provided only whenever the patient chooses to eat. Tips on how to offer safe and practical feeding.

Based on recent research, the best way to treat cachexia is to not use medications. The reason behind this conclusion is to stimulate appetite and due to the medication having unnecessary side effects. It is for the best that not using them can improve the conditions of the patients due to the absence of unnecessary side effects that might be caused due to the effects of the medications. Also, patients having cachexia conditions are not recommended for tube feeding as they are most likely to experience complications, and doing so does not have any improvement in the patient’s condition. For very specific conditions, creditors may sometimes recommend short-term treatment with a progesterone hormone through an IV or feeding tube. 

How to care for someone having cancer cachexia:

It can be stressful for the caretaker to watch their loved one experiencing weight loss due to improper intake of food. So to make sure their loved ones eat, various tips are offered for guidance. People having cachexia can find it difficult to consume food, even drinking water can be a task for them. This causes tension between the patients and their caretakers. Consider the following tips on how to effectively take care of cachexia patients, 

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