Home Nursing Care in Loss of Appetite

Home Nursing care has important role in loss of appetite elders.Appetite decreases with age  due to physiological changes in the body and lifestyle, such as reduced metabolism, less sensitive taste buds, and lower activity levels.Anorexia is the other name of loss of appetite.

It is not a normal part of ageing. It may signal underlying conditions that require medical attention. This occurs when the patient’s body experiences a deficiency in one or more nutrients.

Causes 

Oral condition and swallowing difficulty: It is observed that when the patient is thirsty or dehydrated, he or she finds food less palatable. This happens as a result of a medical condition called dry mouth. 

Mainly common oral problems that directly affect the ability to eat and enjoy food include:

• Dry mouth
• Chewing difficulty
• Reduced taste.
• swallowing difficulty.

Poor Digestion: In old age, poor digestion refers to an impaired ability to absorb nutrients due to a variety of gastrointestinal causes such as acid reflux, ulcerative colitis, etc.

Poor digestion could also refer to digestion, which occurs when the intestinal walls are unable to absorb the nutrients due to a disease of the intestine, such as stomachic disease.

Bacteria and viruses: Bacterial and viral infections can result in a lack of appetite. A lack of desire to eat is part of the systemic body response to fight infection, possibly to save energy for the purpose of healing.

Mental illness: In old age, patients losing their appetite and refusing to eat is commonly seen when they go through stressful experiences such as a grieving period.

Home Nursing care plays important role in increasing an older person’s appetite:

• Ruling out any medical issues that might be reducing the elder’s appetite.
• Patient attendants can provide food that is visually appealing.
• A trained attendant can encourage regular snacking.
• Offering a wide variety of food options dense in nutritional benefits.
• The caregiver should make sure patients receive proper hydration throughout the day.

Weeheal is providing patient care and elderly services at home in Mohali and Chandigarh. To know more. Kindly contact us at 9056667111.