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Is It a Behavioral Issue or an Appetite Problem ?
I had seen plenty of poor eaters in my practice, but this one had left me with no doubts that he was the worst amongst all. . With a history of bird’s appetite, this time he was breaking all records. It was nearly three days since he had taken a morsel. It looked as if he had taken recourse to some kind of Satyagraha. Any attempt to feed him forcefully would end up in a vomit. The young parents were nearly on the verge of a breakdown, when on the fourth day he ended his fast.
When kids don’t eat, why is it that they don’t eat? What makes them a poor eater?
The Eating disorders are complex disorders. It could be a simple behavioral disagreement to food or as some Research shows that its origins can have more than one reason – Biopsychosocial. A neurobiological brain disorder with a strong heritability component is also under investigation. Some individuals with eating disorders have an imbalance of certain chemicals in the brain that control hunger, appetite, and digestion. The exact meaning and implications of these imbalances remains under investigation. Behavioral disagreement occurs if the child is force-fed or over -fed.
When kids don’t eat, it can be very distressing for their parents, but is this disorder treatable?
Yes, but first it is important to understand the relationship between the child?s total family environment and his eating disorder. The individuality of each child is an important factor in assessing the most suitable approach for dealing with food refusal. It would simply be illustrated by a case that I treated without any medication. A child of two had developed a very obstinate food refusal. It was assessed that the disorder had no biological angle, but was a case of behavioral disagreement. The mother was feeding the child at an inappropriate time, seven thirty in the morning, as she had to leave for her job by eight, which had resulted in an overall refusal to food. A simple adjustment in the feeding time gave the desired results.
In another case a little one had developed disgust for food after her mother used harsh punishment for not finishing meals in time. Such a situations can become a psychological deterrent and the child may sub consciously develop a contempt for food.
Homoeopathic medicines are very helpful in treating eating disorders.. Antimonium Crudum, Lycopodium, Nux Vomica are a few of the important homoeopathic medicines. Antimonium crudum is very helpful for infants who vomit milk immediately after breast-feed. Some peculiar mind symptoms easily identify the child who requires this medicine along with a very weak appetite he is Cross and contradictive; whatever is done fails to give satisfaction. The little one is Sulky; does not wish to speak. Child cannot bear to be touched or looked and gets angry at every little attention.
Lycopodium has a very strange indication. Although the child may be very hungry, eating ever so little satiates him easily. Nux vomica is often an abused appetite stimulant. Nux should only be used only when it is indicated. It should not be used as an appetite panacea. Homoeopathic medicines should only be used with the advice of an expert homoeopath.
Eating disorder can result out of general ill health as in chronic disorders like asthma and recurrent coughs and colds, also at times a result of over or an improper medication. Such children need to be treated with a constitutional and holistic approach where the root cause is identified and remedied.
The child being referred as ?he? in the above feature is just a grammatical connotation. It does not favour any sex.
Doctor Sahib, My grand daughter is of 3 3/4 year old. She is bird eater. She does not eat her proper diet the whole day. She comes back from her school with the tiffin unopened and dose not like eating on home back .She is of 14 kg weight. We visited his family doctor there . He gave iron tabs i.e. Refil. It doesn’t show any result After the two months of medication . Please advise any medication to improve her health.
Dr. Sharma,
This is Harish from India, my 4 years old daughter doesn’t eat anything even milk. We have to feed her forcefully.
please help
how r u sir. my doughter is 3 years old. when she born that time she was very healthy.after that she is slowly slowly weight reduced. she is not eating. only eating very small quantity. she is not drinking milk. she is very bed appatite. plse can u suggest what type of homeopathic I can give to her and how long.
thanks
WHICH IS THE BEST HOMEOPATHIC MEDICINE FOR EXTREME LOSS OF APPETEITE
chelidonium
Dr. Sharma,
I have a 7 month old who has had difficulty feeding since birth. She only drinks 60 ml every 3-3.5 hours, sometimes taking only 40 ml. On a good feeding, she will have 90 ml but this is unusal. She’s a very happy baby otherwise, sleeps well, and is active. No developmental problems. Has had multiple tests done, all normal. Birth was normal and full term. Had problems with latching while breastfeeding and would always fall asleep at breast so has been on formula (bottle) feeding since 1 month of age. Have tried many different formulas without any change in appetite. Please let me know any suggestions or other questions you may have. Thanks for your help!
Hi Doctor,
My son is 5 years old and from past around 3 years he is only taking 1 glass og milk in the morning that he takes 30-40 minutes to fininsh. and other meals also he takes long time and we need to push for each take.
Otherwise he is active he runs whole day and seems normal never complained of fatigue.
He never asks for food very rare he says iam hungry.
Please suggest some homoepathy medicine.
Thanks & regards
Boby
reduce the quantity of milk
boy 6 does not eat, he was induced as was his siblings, all have asthsma problems. very picky eater, heart murmer ear indections
quiet thoughtful child, does well in school eceryone loves him he is affectionate as well. mother says he she loves he is so good.
i think it has something to do with induction, any thots?
drmlevan.com
My daughter just turned 2. Since birth she has wanted nothing to do with eating. She is. Very irritable child, she won’t eat and I’m devistated she pretty much is living of of protein shakes what can I do?
give her a dose of nuv vomica 1m potency
Dear Dr. Sharma,
My daughter is 28 months old and was an IUGR baby (2.1 kg) She has been on her curve, but is still small–now probably 10 kgs. Her appetite is ok, though not like some toddlers who love to eat. I have seen iugr babies picking up within the first 2 years and equalling up to kids their age, but she has not shown that trend.
More than her being chubbier (she has fair amt of chub on her body), I would like to see an increase in her bone structure. She tends to look mousy, even though she is average heighted.
Kindly suggest what can be done and ask further questions if need be.
Much grateful
Dear sir,
I have a 4 yr old daughter.She is very active and smart.Her height is also very gud acc. to her age.But she is very thin and underweight,looks pale.
As i m working ,so goes to creche after school.she’s fine there,finish her meals properly there,tiffin also,but when she arrives in the evening and is with me,she is very irritating at home,becomes very sturborrn,doesnt want to eat,nor milk,cries all the time . Her Immunity is very poor,oftenly gets sick with cold nd fever.All the time bites her nails,which shows lack of confidence.
Can u please suggest something,to increase her immunity,appetite.I regularly take her to a homoepath dr,but no relief,also have given many allopathic medicines,antibiotics,but no solution.
give her chamomilla 30 two times a day
Hi my son is 2 years and 10 months old. When he was 8-9 month old he did Fall ón his head and after that when he was about one year old he became non verbal only sounds and baba and mama and no eye contact. He began after he was 1 and a Half year old to sit alone or for the most lay Down and play back and forth with cars and loving the movement or the wheels that spin. He is now still into cars and dont have social skills with other children or people only family and sometimes he dont react to us. And dont respond when er Call his name. The people WHO Worked with him say his comminication is poor and maybe has autism.
give cicuta 1m single dose
Dear sir , my daughter is 4 year old and she is not able to take her breakfast she feels naucae while looking itself every day . She starts to eat from 12N But qantity very poor. She is very skinny could u plese give me some drugs can improve her appetite and gain some weight
cocculus 30
Hi
I have a four year old son who refuse to eat or drink all day says his tummy is full.
Ive been to the doctors they said his height and weight is average.
Help please
Hello Doctor,
My son is one years old and he is not eating well, either refuses or just doesn’t want it this started when I started to work then only he would eat less and all. He is not gaining enough weight please suggest suitable homeopathy medicine for adequate weight gain. He is one year old. Thank you.
MY CHILD IS ABOUT FIVE YEARS OLD.BUT HE IS NOT EATING PROPERLY.MOST IMPORTANTLY WHEN HE IS FED JUST AFTER HE RISES AFTER A SLEEP HE VOMITS.HE IS SMART AND INTELLIGENT BUT HIS PHYSICAL GROWTH IS POOR.PLEASE GIVE ME SUGGESTION TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM
Hello Dr. Sharma,
I have a kid of age 21 months. Though he is hungry, he is not taking any kind of solid foods. He is now under weight, lean and weak. We tried to keep him wait for few hours to see if he show some interest on rice items. But he is not. As the time passes he will start crying and wants to have milk/water only. We tried different options in liquids also like Pediasure, Junior Horlicks etc, but he shown no interest. We tried different allopathy medicine but they didn’t help him.
Can you please suggest a homeo medicine for him to increase the appetite so that he can start taking solid foods as well.
Regards,
-Surya Prakash.
Dr. Sharma, my 22 months old kid ( Boy) never show any desire to eat . when ever he eats , he eats hardly 2-3 spoon & he is through with his food.. he is underweight & it’s been 6 month that he is under weight. he fall sick very often , once in 2 months be it stomach infection to cold & cough etc.. please suggest. Also because of being hungry most of the time he is cranky..
please help.
How to increase appetite of 5 yrs boy.
I found you website by fluke while searching for help for my 5 year old grandson.
I’m not sure if the website is still current and if you are still practising, but it’s worth a try.
My name is Mineke and my grandson has just been with me over the holidays. He’s been diagnosed as very lightly Aspergers, and what is most important is that he has huge sensory issues.
The family lives Auckland New Zealand and we live an hours drive away. My daughter Janita has been part of a University study, where 6 different specialists studied a group of young kids with eating disorders.
Basically, my daughter was advised that there is nothing ‘they’ can do, except maybe find help from a sensory specialist. “Keep going what you are doing and good luck.”
Janita was advised to give Fletcher (her son) teddybears with vitamins in the morning and rub in several healthy creams in his skin at night. At least he will get some good in his body.
Fletcher does not eat. No vegetables, no fruit, no meat. No potato’s, rice, bread etc etc.
The only thing he drinks is COLD water.
The only thing he eats is dry rice crackers for breakfast (reluctantly) and about 5 or 6.
There is one particular gluten free chocolate cake he eats, and it has to be freshly cut up (sugar). And one particular brand of Eta chips and they also have to be fresh and crispy (salt).
At night he will eat maybe 6 pieces of fries, have to be certain crisp to it, can’t be soft, can’t be brown . . . .
SIGH . . . .
He simply gags if he eats anything else.
He’s got some sensory issues, with the slightest grain of sand in his sock and he’ll scream, but he will walk on bare feet on rocks.
He doesn’t mind having wet hands, but is very careful, he can’t touch any ‘sticky’ like I was making a peanut butter cone for the birds and he didn’t want to stick his fingers in it. He said, “I don’t like ‘sticky’. Or I was making paper/flour/water mixture and he didn’t want to stir it with his fingers. Or making mince balls. He dislikes the stickiness.
Once I tricked him and put some healthy essence through cold water, just a little bit, but it made him gag and he doesn’t want to drink from that bottle ever again.
I have also realised that CHANGE make things worse. Going to day-care, or now, going to school. The little he eats, becomes even more of a battle.
My daughter works as well and also had another 3 year girl, so she is exhausted and it’s heart breaking to watch. He’s got so much potential, he’s a lovely little man, with a huge sense of humour. Surprisingly, he has a lot of energy. He has a warm little heart and always wants to look after his little sister. He gives us ((grandma and grandpa) big hugs, so he’s not distanced with emotions. It’s only the touch/feel/sensory issues.
Do you think there is a homeopathic medicine for this very deep rooted problem? What is your advice?I want to ask you first, before I go to my daughter and talk about it, she already has so much on her plate.
Many thanks and I look forward hearing from you.
Mineke Meyerink (New Zealand)
Hi doctor,
My son is of 4 years n very less eater like half chapati fills his stomach. He never ask for food at any time of the day and on asking he always says no I m not hungry. He gets congested very often but on checking his chest shows no congestion but while coughing I notice congestion which leads to vomiting.
Otherwise he is very active no complaints of fatigue always busy in playing, jumping, running and mentally also very intelligent.
I m facing this problem from past 3years 5months because when he was of 7mnth se got severe green colored loose motions which took a fifteen days to cure after strong medication after which I noticed fall of appetite, he stopped eating n turned into a week n thin baby from a healthy n chbby baby .
Kindly help n suggest some remedy
Thank u
Regards
Supriya goel
Doctor Sharma, I have a 22 month old girl (who was an IUGR) and has had problems with sufficient weight gain She dislikes food, or even if she does eat, it probably is around 2 spoons. I would like to know what can be given for weight and appetite stimulation.
Thanks
helo dr.
my baby is 23 months old and doesnt eat anything, if i doesnt give her anything to eat,she never hungry. pls suggest any medicine for increasing appetite,it will b very helpful
thanks a lot
My daughter has very bad ‘food resistance.’ Extremely sensitive to smell, tastes and textures. She eats the same thing for breakfast and lunch every day. Offers of other foods aren’t met with anger and we don’t push or punish because it is so obvious that this is mostly neurological (experts agree) . Dinner is one of two options. There can be not the slightest variation on the preparation of the foods and this makes us prisoners to our home at mealtimes. Snacks are crunchy and salty. No fruit, occasionally will pick at veggies at dinner. She is being treated homeopathically with Carc and Sulphur is emerging, and remedies for Azith and Bartonella nosode (she was born with tick diseases. Any advice on remedy would be appreciated.
Hi Doctor,
I have a same situation at home.
My son is 5 years old and from past around 3 years he is only taking 1 chapati
i mean to say i in lunch and i in dinner and that also he dont finishes up
In breakfast if we give him 1 bread slice that also he dont finishes up.
Otherwise he is very active he runs whole day and seems normal never complained of fatigue.
He never asks for food very rare he says iam hungry.
Please suggest some homoepathy medicine.
Thanks in anticipation
Regards
vikram
My 1 yr old daughter doesn’t wants to eat. if forcibly we are trying she vomits after some time. her thirst is good enough. as soon as see the food or milk she starts turning her head in other direction.
My 4yr old girl does not want to eat anything.neither she drinks milk nor shake.I am too much worried.she never says she is hungry.I m tired now.I have tried every possible means. She is a pure vegetarian. So I don’t have many options
Hello doctor
My 4 year old son doesnot eat much. He never asks for food . I have to force hin to eat. He keeps his food in his mouth for 10 minutes and when it becomes too soft he vomits it, he is very active otherwise. He is underweight, weighs 14 kg and is 4year 9 months old . He never finishes his school tiffin. I have to run after him to make him finish his single chapatti. He never eats on his own but if I give him maggi noodles he will eat on his own. I don’t give him junk food , prefer giving hom chapatti and vegetables for lunch,dal and chapatti for dinner and sandwiches, macroni, bread pakora for school breakfast. He is never hungry please help me to increase his appetite. Suggest me some tonic so that he eats well and gains weight.
hi doctor
my son is 3years old he is not taking the food
he is taking the same quantity of food which he use to take at the age of 1year.he never asks the food even he feels hungry.and he loves too take watger.so please sugest a good remedy to over come this problem day by day he is becoming very thin
How to increase appetite of 5 yrs boy. He is only take half chapati. He is active & run very fast.plz help me.
Dear Dr. Sharma,
Very good morning to you. This morning has brought a hope in me while searching remedies for low appetite for a kid. As I go through your site, feeling to get fix this problem soon. My daughter is 5 yr 2 mths old. Though there used to be a random refusals in past it has become now frequent and regular. Since she has recently started going for formal school with extended time and education burden, my resuming job has added to the cause. I am not able to judge whats the reason that her food volume has decreased almost 1/6th when compared to earlier. Its concerning since from a month and a half, she insists not to eat and doesn’t demand any variety at all. Her attitude has become very reactive and erratic which is leading depression in me.
Kindly help if supplements can help boost her hunger and bring her attitude subtle. Her sleep is also decreased a lot.
Best regards,
Kalpana
Hi Doctor,
I have a same situation at home.
My daughter is 6 years old and from past around 4 years she is only taking 1 chapati/ rice , Dal and Vegetable .
i mean to say i in lunch and i in dinner and that also she dont finishes up
In breakfast if we give him 1 bread slice/ dosa or idli that also she dont finishes up.
Otherwise she is very active he runs whole day and seems normal never complained of fatigue.
sHe never asks for food very rare she says iam hungry.
Please suggest some homoepathy medicine.
Thanks in anticipation
Regards
Rashmi