Bulimia Treatment: Advice and Options

Bulimia can be an eating disorder compels visitors to binge on food and purge through self-induced vomiting, diuretics or laxative abuse, or excessive exercise. People who have bulimia have a tendency to feel guilty and disgusted about food and fat. Despite the fact that a lot of people with bulimia begin at normal weights, they think about themselves as fat. Roughly 90 percent of individuals with bulimia are women, and the disorder usually begins a couple of years after puberty. Genetics, social pressures, and emotional problems like depression, low self-esteem, and extreme perfectionism donate to bulimia's development.

Without bulimia treatment, people who have bulimia become dehydrated and malnourished. This causes mineral and vitamin deficiencies, leading to dry skin, nails, and hair. Lots of people with bulimia are constipated from laxative abuse. Constant vomiting introduces gastric acid that irritates the throat and mouth. Lots of people with bulimia have heartburn, gum infections, swollen salivary glands, and cavities from the acid eroding tooth enamel. With no treatment, some of unwanted effects, like kidney failure, may become fatal. Dehydration can lower your body's electrolyte levels, causing heart disease as well as death. About 10 percent of individuals with bulimia will die as a result.

Bulimia, however, is totally treatable. The earlier an individual begins bulimia treatment, the earlier the recovery. Successful recovery depends upon the task of psychiatrists, doctors, dieticians, and the individual. Psychiatrists use the individual to break the binge-and-purge cycles also to educate the individual about what she actually is doing to her mind and body. The psychiatrist and patient must identify the triggers of a binging-and-purging episode, along with help the individual deal with an unhealthy body image. The individual must figure out how to communicate openly and must increase their self-esteem. Doctors use the patient to take care of the consequences of bulimia's dehydration and malnutrition on your body. A dietician helps the individual develop healthy diet plan.

Group therapy and organizations are also ideal for people dealing with bulimia. Information regarding many organizations are available online.