Losing weight is not always desirable and useful.
Excessive weight loss for no apparent reason can be a dangerous sign, requiring treatment to the doctor.
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| Medical Reasons For Weight Loss |
Basic mechanisms of weight loss may include:
1. Starvation or malnutrition.
2. Reduced absorption of nutrients.
3. The increased needs of the organism (the load of the disease).
Weight loss can be caused by a variety of infectious disease, cancer, gastrointestinal, metabolic, neurological diseases and various deficiencies of nutrients and vitamins.
Medical causes of weight loss include:
1. Anorexia nervosa or anorexia nervosa.
This psychogenic illness characteristic of young women, which manifests severe weight loss (10 to 50% of the initial weight). Patients observed hypotension, weakness, muscle atrophy, loss of adipose tissue, constipation, tooth decay, susceptibility to infections, intolerance to cold, hair loss, amenorrhea.Patients usually show concern about possible weight gain. They can pace yourself loads induce vomiting after eating, use of laxatives and diuretics.
2. Adrenal insufficiency.
In this case, the weight loss is accompanied by weakness, anorexia, irritability, nausea, abdominal pain, violation of the chair. Hyperpigmentation may occur.
3. Cryptosporidiosis.
This opportunistic protozoal infection can cause weight loss, watery diarrhea, abdominal cramps, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, fever and muscle aches.
4. Depression.
Severe depression leads to loss of appetite and weight loss. Depression is usually manifested by drowsiness, apathy, fatigue, pessimistic arguments, feelings of hopelessness, lack of desire for any achievements, sometimes suicidal thoughts.
5. Diabetes.
In this disease can be observed as weight gain and weight loss. Weight loss can be even increased appetite. The disease is accompanied by symptoms such as excessive thirst, increased urination, fatigue, weakness, etc. ..
6. Esophagitis.
Painful inflammation of the esophagus causes the patient to avoid ingestion, which leads to weight loss. Intense pain in the front of the chest and in the mouth accompanied by hypersalivation, swallowing disorders, rapid breathing. Sometimes there is vomiting with blood.
If developed stricture (narrowing), the violation of swallowing, weight loss can be confusing all the time.
7. Gastroenteritis.
Fluid loss and malabsorption in this disease leads to weight loss. Weight loss can be sudden in acute viral infections, or gradual in parasitic infections. Other symptoms of gastroenteritis include: violation of skin turgor, dry mucous membranes, tachycardia, hypotension, diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea, fever.
8. Herpes Virus (Herpes simplex type 1).
When herpes infection painful, fluid-filled blisters around the mouth make eating unpleasant. This sometimes leads to malnutrition and weight loss.
9. Cancer.
Weight loss can be a symptom of many types of cancer. Other symptoms can include: fatigue, nausea, fever, anorexia, bleeding. Symptoms of cancer is strongly dependent on the type of cancer and its localization.
10. Leukemia (blood cancer).
Acute leukemia is a progressive weight loss, which is accompanied by weakness, fever, bleeding gums and other symptoms of a bleeding disorder. May also experience shortness of breath, tachycardia, abdominal pain and bone. As the progression of acute leukemia may develop neurological symptoms.
Chronic leukemia also causes weight loss, fatigue, enlarged spleen, bleeding, anemia, skin lesions, fever.
11. Lymphoma.
Hodgkin's disease (Hodgkin's lymphoma) can cause a gradual loss of weight. Associated symptoms include fever, fatigue, enlarged spleen and liver (hepatosplenomegaly), increased pain and lymph nodes. May also develop itchy skin.
12. Pulmonary tuberculosis.
This infectious disease causes anorexia, progressive weight loss, weakness, fatigue, night sweats, low-grade temperature. Other manifestations of TB include cough, mucopurulent sputum, hemoptysis, shortness of breath, chest pain.
13. Stomatitis.
Inflammation of the mucous membranes of the mouth with stomatitis prevents patients to eat normally, which leads to weight loss. The mucosa is usually red, swollen, ulcerated. The disease is accompanied by fever (not always), hypersalivation, mouth pain, bleeding gums, etc. ..
14. Hyperthyroidism.
Thyrotoxicosis increases the level of thyroid hormones. This causes increased metabolism and weight loss. Other common symptoms include: nervousness, heat intolerance, diarrhea, increased appetite, palpitations, sweating, trembling of the limbs. It is also possible enlargement of the thyroid gland and exophthalmos (protrusion of the eyeballs).
15. Crohn's disease.
In Crohn's disease weight loss may be associated with pain and abdominal cramps, loss of appetite. Patients may complain of diarrhea, nausea, fever, tachycardia, "rumbling" in the stomach, weakness, and fatigue.
16. Ulcerative colitis.
In this disease, weight loss is accompanied by abdominal pain, diarrhea mixed with blood or pus, nausea, tenesmus, and sometimes an increase in temperature. Symptoms of the disease resemble Crohn's disease. Patients lose their appetite, lose weight, look weak and exhausted.17. Whipple's disease.
The disease is associated with damage to the intestinal villi and malabsorption of nutrients. This is a rare disorder that manifests weight loss, abdominal pain, diarrhea, steatorrhea, joint pain, fever, enlarged lymph nodes, enlarged spleen hyperpigmentation.
18. Medications.
Amphetamine and other stimulants, thyroid hormones, laxatives and means for cancer chemotherapy can induce weight loss.In young children, weight loss can be caused by so-called FTT-syndrome (food hypoplasia). Significant weight loss in children may be associated with diabetes.
Chronic, progressive weight loss in children is often caused by starvation, improper diet.
Older people have a slow, gradual weight loss may be associated with aging, a decrease in muscle mass. Other possible causes - difficulty chewing food, tooth loss, alcoholism and psychiatric disorders.
Rapid weight loss for unknown reasons, in the elderly is associated with a statistically higher risk of premature death or disability.
