What is bulimia?

What is bulimia? This disease, also known as bulimia nervosa, is a specific eating disorder, sometimes associated with anorexia nervosa. The definition was given to him only in the early 1980s. This is due to the fact that the ailment is often hidden, people who suffer from bulimia look perfectly normal. Most of them are with normal weight, and some may even be redundant.

The main symptom is overeating, followed by vomiting, which is self-induced in order to clear the stomach of food eaten. About 85% of cases are registered in adolescent girls, and about 10-15% in young men.

Many do not know what bulimia is, and do not realize that their loved ones are ill, because everything is normal: a person takes food. Directly binge eating and cleaning can occur regularly or from time to time. Vomiting can be caused by pressing the fingers on the back of the tongue, some can train themselves and freely induce vomiting with one self-suggestion.

Other methods used by patients with bulimia for food purification include laxatives and diuretics. Excessive urination and defecation are the second characteristic sign of this disease. Cleaning can occur after each meal or less. Sometimes cases of bulimia are episodic and do not recur, but for some, this condition can persist for life.

The foods most often eaten with this disease are high in calories and high in sugar (food for pleasure or comfort). After the food has been eaten, the patient feels disgusted and causes vomiting. Therefore, many who are trying to quickly lose weight, are interested in what is bulimia, and how effective it can help you lose weight.

However, the causes of this disease are unknown to date. The main factors: peer pressure and weak self-confidence. It can also be associated with problems such as depression and anxiety. Some people on the question of what is bulimia, can answer that this is a way to control their lives.

One of the main signs that a person has an eating disorder is a visit to the toilet immediately after a meal. Patients can also be very secretive about everything related to food, and do not want to discuss it.
Because of the secretive nature, bulimia is rarely cured. The course of the disease can weaken when a person becomes confident, or he just grows older.

Some of the most common effects of bulimia are:
• Due to repeated exposure to gastric acid, tooth enamel erosion develops.
• Caries, hypersensitivity to cold or hot food.
• Edema and pain in the salivary glands (due to repeated vomiting).
• Stomach ulcer.
• Rupture of the stomach and esophagus.
• Abnormal accumulation of fluid in the intestine.
• Disruption of normal bowel function.
• Violation of the electrolyte balance.
• Dehydration.
• Violation of the heart rate, in severe cases - a heart attack.
• Increased risk of suicidal behavior.

If you have a close person with an eating disorder, then he needs all-round support and help in understanding that he has a serious problem - bulimia. Self-treatment of this disease is extremely inefficient, precisely because most do not even admit to themselves that there is a problem. Some provide active resistance to any help and show aggression in any intervention.

Therefore, if this problem arises for you or your loved ones, be sure to seek professional help, without which you can not achieve success.