bulimia nervosa

• 1.Bulimia Nervosa
  By: Kathryn Johnston
  

2. Background
Bulimia nervosa is more common than anorexia, and it usually begins early in adolescence. It is characterized by cycles of bingeing and purging
Bulimia is often triggered when young women attempt restrictive diets, fail, and react by binge eating.
In response to the binges, patients compensate, usually by purging, vomiting, or taking laxatives, diet pills, or drugs to reduce fluids.
Patients then revert both to severe dieting and excessive exercise.
The cycle then swings back to bingeing and then to purging again.
3. Risk Factors
Age
Gender
Ethnic Factors
Personality Disorders
4. Causes
There is no single cause for the eating disorder. bulimia. Although concerns about weight and body shape play a role in all eating disorders, the actual cause of these disorders appear to result from many factors, including cultural and family pressures and emotional and personality disorders. Genetics and biologic factors may also play a role.
5. Complications
Many medical problems are directly associated with bulimic behavior, including:
Tooth erosionFluid loss
CavitiesSwallowing problems
Gum problems Esophagus damage
Water retentionIrregular periods
Swelling
Abdominal bloating
6. Symptoms
Possibly the most bewildering symptom of eating disorders is the distorted body image. People with bulimia were more likely than those with anorexia to overestimate their size. There were also a greater disparity between what they wanted to look like and what they believed they looked like.
7. Regularly going to the bathroom right after meals
Suddenly eating large amounts of food or buying large quantities that disappear right away
Compulsive exercising
Broken blood vessels in the eyes
Pouch-like appearance to the corners of the mouth due to swollen salivary glands
Small cuts and calluses across the tops of finger joints due to self-induced vomiting
Dry Mouth
8. Diagnosing Bulimia
Younger and female doctors are more likely to detect bulimia. A doctor should make a diagnosis of bulimia if there are at least two bulimic episodes per week for 3 months. Because people with bulimia tend to have complications with their teeth and gums, dentists could play a crucial role in identifying and diagnosing bulimia as well.
9. Treatment
Some experts recommend a stepped approach for patients with bulimia, which follow specific stages depending on the severity and response to initial treatments:
Support groups: This is the least expensive approach and may be helpful for patients who have mild conditions with no health consequences.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy: Along with nutritional therapy is the preferred first treatment for bulimia that does not respond to support groups.
Drugs: Drugs used for bulimia are typically antidepressants known as selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors
10. Patients with bulimia rarely need hospitalization except under the following circumstances:
Binge-purge cycles have led to anorexia
Drugs are needed for withdrawal from purging
Major depression is present
11. Therapy
Eating disorders are nearly always treated with some form of psychiatric or psychological treatment. Depending on the problem, different psychological approaches may work better than others.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Interpersonal Therapy
Family Therapy