Starvation is the complete lack of food consumption and this is a serious situation that quickly causes the body to consume its energy stores and the proper nutrients to keep the organs functioning.
If the refusal to eat lasts for many days, a great loss of muscle mass occurs and the individual may die within 4 to 7 weeks of total absence of food.
Symptoms of Starvation
The complete lack of food causes symptoms that appear gradually and worsen throughout the days, the main ones being:
- Decreased belly, the main region of the body that stores fat;
- Skin cold, dry, pale, thin and without elasticity;
- Muscle reduction and aged appearance;
- Bones protruding due to thinness;
- Hair dry, brittle and falling easily;
An adult can get to lose up to half of their weight before starving to death, while children can get even leaner.
Causes of Starvation
Starvation can be caused by refusal to feed or due to a total lack of food, in addition to health problems such as anorexia nervosa, cancer in the gut that prevents feeding, other types of advanced cancers, causing the patient not to feed more, or in cases of stroke or coma.
Starvation occurs even when water is still consumed, but it becomes even more serious when the individual also can not maintain good hydration. See how much water you should drink per day.
How to treat
The treatment of starvation is done with the gradual resumption of food, because after long periods without food, the intestine atrophy and the body may not tolerate large volumes of nutrients, worsening their health.
Thus, you should start feeding with small volumes of liquids such as juices, sugared teas and thin wines. After 2 to 3 days, if the individual is tolerating the liquids well, one can pass to a pasty food, made with soups, purees, lean meats cooked and raspadas fruits. As the body works better, food also evolves back to normal food consumption.
In some cases, it may be necessary to use a nasogastric tube to promote nutrient delivery or, in more severe cases, parenteral nutrition can be offered through a nutritive serum placed directly into the vein.
Difference Starvation and Malnutrition
While starvation is complete absence of food consumption, malnutrition occurs when there is still food consumption, but that is insufficient to maintain weight and proper functioning of the body.
In addition, starvation leads to death in a few weeks, while malnutrition does not always cause death, with more frequent sequels such as short stature, poor bones, poor learning, and poor immunity. See more about the risks of malnutrition.
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