Post by Mel on Dec 22, 2005 22:08:35 GMT -5
Indicators
Anorexic people may:
Physical
be too thin and/or appear to have lost weight;
have dry skin and thinning hair;
suffer from poor health and sunken eyes;
have grown lanugo, a thin hair that grows all over their body as a natural physiological reaction to severe starvation that serves to keep the body warm in the absence of fat;
have fainting spells or otherwise pass out (an effect of starvation);
have amenorrhea, the absence of menstruation. Currently, the DSM-IV lists amenorrhea as a required characteristic of diagnosis, as it nearly always accompanies anorexia nervosa in females. However, while many emaciated women will never menstruate (unless they use a form of hormonal-replacement therapy), some women cease to have their menses before appreciable weight has been lost. Conversely, a small percentage of women reach weights that are quite low and still manage to menstruate regularly. Further, the eating disorders work group of the DSM is attempting to have the amenorrhea requirement removed as it makes diagnosis in males problematic. Researchers have often pointed to lack of sexual potency in males as the equivalent of female amenorrhea, but there continues to be a lack of consensus regarding this criterion.
Anorexic people may:
Physical
be too thin and/or appear to have lost weight;
have dry skin and thinning hair;
suffer from poor health and sunken eyes;
have grown lanugo, a thin hair that grows all over their body as a natural physiological reaction to severe starvation that serves to keep the body warm in the absence of fat;
have fainting spells or otherwise pass out (an effect of starvation);
have amenorrhea, the absence of menstruation. Currently, the DSM-IV lists amenorrhea as a required characteristic of diagnosis, as it nearly always accompanies anorexia nervosa in females. However, while many emaciated women will never menstruate (unless they use a form of hormonal-replacement therapy), some women cease to have their menses before appreciable weight has been lost. Conversely, a small percentage of women reach weights that are quite low and still manage to menstruate regularly. Further, the eating disorders work group of the DSM is attempting to have the amenorrhea requirement removed as it makes diagnosis in males problematic. Researchers have often pointed to lack of sexual potency in males as the equivalent of female amenorrhea, but there continues to be a lack of consensus regarding this criterion.