What to do about malnutrition in young children? This should be the biggest concern for moms, right. Malnutrition in babies can hinder their physical development, which can lead to many problems. What are the causes of malnutrition in babies? What are the symptoms of malnutrition in babies?
Reasons for malnutrition in babies:
1. Long term improper feeding and insufficient calories: born without breast milk or with insufficient breast milk, unable to choose a reasonable staple food, and relying on low protein and low calorie foods such as rice soup and rice paste as the staple food; Or if complementary foods are not added in time, mix porridge with vegetable soup at 8-9 months.
2. Sudden weaning: It is not possible to breastfeed the baby in a planned and step-by-step manner, but rather to breastfeed suddenly, from liquid to solid; Or reducing the original six meals a day to three meals a day, causing the baby's digestive system to be unable to adapt, commonly known as milk tuberculosis.
3. Gastrointestinal diseases: Long term diarrhea, congenital deformities such as cleft lip, cleft palate, pyloric stenosis, relaxation of the cardia, allergic colitis, frequent vomiting, etc., affecting the digestion and absorption of food.
4. Chronic wasting diseases: hepatitis, nephritis, tuberculosis, pneumonia, pulmonary abscess, measles, pertussis, sepsis. Due to long-term fever, loss of appetite, and increased consumption, malnutrition has occurred.
5. Weak infants: Low birth weight infants, twins, multiple births, or those who suffer from accidents such as difficult labor and asphyxia are prone to malnutrition.
6. Respiratory infections, diarrhea, and infantile eczema: Due to these factors, it is advisable to avoid high protein foods, such as avoiding eggs, fish, and meat for a long time and only eating vegetarian food, which leads to insufficient protein intake, or weaning due to eczema and switching to rice paste.
Symptoms of malnutrition in babies
Children with malnutrition have delayed development, short stature, dull skin and hair, pale mucous membranes, and no or even reduced weight. In clinical practice, malnourished patients are also classified into emaciated and edematous types. The specific symptoms of malnutrition in babies are:
1. Skinny type: loose skin, reduced subcutaneous fat, thinning without elasticity, dry and yellow hair, frequent bowel movements with less mucus. The child's intelligence and movements are delayed to varying degrees, with body temperature below normal, slow pulse, and low blood pressure.
2. Edema type: Mild cases may only have subcutaneous edema, while severe cases may have depressed edema in the reproductive organs, upper limbs, abdomen, and facial area (with depression). A few children may have pleural and peritoneal effusion, and a few may also have skin scars. Sudden weight gain is a reliable sign of edema in this type of child.
3. Due to long-term malnutrition, children may also develop various complications such as rickets, various infections, diarrhea, otitis media, pyelonephritis, and so on. Laboratory tests can reveal signs of anemia in the child.
Parents need to be aware of the causes and symptoms of malnutrition in their babies, so that they can detect problems in a timely manner and actively seek solutions.
