Bulimia Symptoms

If you think that someone you love is suffering from bulimia symptoms, it can be a frightening and uncertain time.

There are signs and symptoms that you can use to recognize if this disease is a problem in your home but they can be very subtle.

People who have bulimia rapidly become experts at hiding it from the people around them.

This is a very common problem however and one that you want your loved ones to know that they can talk to you about so you can help them deal with it.

Here is some information that you can use in order to watch for the warning signs and to understand a bit more about the disease itself and the health risks it poses.

Bulimia is one of two major eating disorders. The other is anorexia nervosa. Although both diseases involve bizarre and unhealthy eating habits the two diseases are completely different.

With anorexia, people severely limit the number of calories that they take in a daily basis. They lose weight rapidly and can become skeletally thin.

With bulimia however, sufferers binge eat and then purge the food they have eaten in an attempt to control their body weight.

In fact, people who are suffering from bulimia often do not look like they are dieting excessively or that they suffer from an eating disorder.

They are often a normal body weight and may even be slightly overweight.

This should not make you think that this disease is any less serious than anorexia is. There are still dangerous health issues that can come from repeated binging and purging.

When a bulimic purges, they may use one of two methods in order to clean the food out of their systems. The symptoms can vary depending on which method they use.

The first method used to clear the system of food is vomiting. A person with bulimia will often force themselves to vomit repeatedly.

Vomiting

If a person is vomiting, you should look for two main symptoms.

(1) A person who is forcing their fingers down their throat to cause vomiting will have cuts, calluses and scars on their fingers and knuckles.

This is caused by the teeth damaging the hands during the vomiting episode.

(2) The second symptom is yellowing of the teeth.

This is caused by continued exposure to stomach acid.

If a person is using ipecac syrup to cause vomiting, they may not have scars and marks on the hand but the teeth will often still be yellowed and damaged.

Use of Laxatives

Another way to eliminate food is through laxative use.

These medications can cause the body to become dependent on them.

(3) A chronic laxative abuser may have trouble defecating without the use of laxatives and may become constipated.