Rumination Disorder

 

It’s an unusual behavioral issue called “rumination disorder.” Toddlers, along with confident adults, are affected. A sign of rumination syndrome is the uncontrollable spitting of recently eaten meals. The child often consumes food if they have this problem. However, after an hour or so, the esophagus sends undigested food back into the person’s mouth. Your youngster will either eat the meal again and swallow it or throw it out. This typically occurs every day. Rumination is a response rather than an intentional action. Rumination syndrome is an uncommon issue. It might, however, go undiagnosed because it’s mistaken for something else.

 

Introduction:

 

Rumination syndrome, also called rumination disorder and merycism, is a dietary and eating condition in which an individual regurgitates undigested food from their stomach back into their mouth. When the food is in the mouth, the individual can either chew and swallow it once more or spit it out. This behavior, which usually follows every meal, may look normal. Rumination occasionally follows the sensation of spitting or burping, but typically not vertigo or retching. The food regurgitated during rumination has not yet been combined with stomach acid and fully digested. Therefore, it usually doesn’t taste sour or bitter.

This reflexive behavior of regurgitating may be learned and intentional, or it may be unintentional. People with rumination disorder do not regurgitate food because they are sick or have a stomach ache. A physical and medical assessment can typically be used to identify rumination disorder. In many instances, the patient’s symptoms—specifically, the fact that the patient has been chewing, swallowing, and regurgitating food for at least three months but has not been vomiting—are sufficient to determine whether the patient has rumination disorder.

• Nourishment was regurgitated repeatedly for a minimum of an entire month. Regurgitated food might be consumed, ingested, or spewed out.
• A gastrointestinal or other medical issue (such as gastroesophageal reflux disease or pyloric stenosis) does not cause persistent regurgitation.
• The eating disorder must not only exist in those with binge eating disorder, avoidant/restrictive eating disorder, anorexia nervosa, or bulimia nervosa.
• The eating disorder’s symptoms must be severe enough, and the primary reason for seeking medical attention is if they co-occur with another mental illness (such as an intellectual disability).

 

Causes and Symptoms:

 

Rumination disorder has an unclear etiology. It appears to be caused by increasing pressure in the abdomen. Rumination disorder, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and gastroparesis are commonly confused. Rumination disorder in certain people is connected to rectal evacuation disorder, in which the pelvic floor muscles are not coordinated well enough to prevent prolonged constipation. It has long been recognized that newborns and people with developmental difficulties can develop the syndrome. Given that it can afflict kids, teens, and grownups alike, it is increasingly apparent that the condition has nothing to do with age. People who suffer from anxiety, depression, or other psychiatric disorders are more likely to experience rumination syndrome. If left untreated, rumination syndrome can harm the esophagus, the tube that connects your mouth to your stomach. In addition, rumination disorder can result in:

• Harmful weight loss
• Malnutrition
• Tooth erosive
• Poor breath
• Embarrassment
• Social exclusion

 

Throwing up is not the same as ruminating. Rumination causes the meal to remain undigested and frequently retains its original flavor. Rumination disorder symptoms can resemble those of other illnesses or health issues. Always visit your doctor or other medical physician for an assessment.

• Having diarrhea with food that has been partially absorbed on an ongoing schedule
• There is no clear physical condition causing this behavior.
• Re-chewing and swallowing the food they’ve already consumed
• Concealing their lips or hushing their conduct, such as when they cough,
• Avoiding eating in public
• Staying away from food before socializing
• Loss of weight
• Malnutrition
• Not gaining weight as anticipated
• They find the behavior pleasurable by clenching and arching their backs, holding their heads back, and sucking with their tongue.
• Between meals, they act agitated and hungry.

 

Homeopathic Treatment for Rumination Disorder:

 

Behavior therapy to prevent regurgitation is the primary treatment for rumination disorder. Diaphragmatic breathing is the behavioral therapy that is typically recommended for rumination disorder. At the base of the lungs is a sizable muscle with a dome-like form called the diaphragm. Diaphragmatic breathing aims to assist you in relaxing your diaphragm and correctly utilizing it when inhaling to fortify it. Diaphragmatic, to lessen swallowing back up, breathe.

• Lay on your spine with your knees slightly bent and your skull propped up on a flat surface like a bed. Thanks to this, you will soon feel your diaphragm moving as you breathe.
• Slowly inhale through your nose until your stomach moves outward against your hand. As quietly as you can, keep the writing on your chest. We call this “inhaling like a classical performer” when explaining it to children, with the fingertips on the stomach moving out with each slow inhale and back in during the last one.
• When you breathe through tightened lips, tighten your abdominal muscles and allow them to sink inward. Keep your hand as still as you can on your upper chest.

 

“Prevention is better than cure” is a maxim that applies to health and wellness. However, in this instance, there isn’t a single thing that can be done to successfully shield someone from developing rumination disorder. This is most likely because there are no recognized direct causes. However, a solid bond between an adult and a kid can go quite a long way in preventing other issues that develop when a child is not given enough focus, such as reducing the risk of the child being affected by rumination disorder. You can reduce your risk of developing rumination disorder by developing more effective coping mechanisms for complex circumstances. Some homeopathic medicines can ease the pain of the person in question. The following medications may be used:

• Carbo veg
• Lycopodium
• Nat mur
• Nux vomica
• Pulsatilla
• Bryonia