Hypotrophy in a child: causes, symptoms and treatment


It should be noted that hypotrophy occupies one of the leading places in the mortality of infants, this is due to the fact that children do not get enough essential for life and growth of substances, and just nutrition. Accordingly, the body is subject to a lot of dangerous external factors.

The most exciting question for all mothers is how to know in a timely and accurate way that a child has symptoms of hypotrophy. For what reasons does this disease appear and how can we fight this scourge? This will be discussed in this article.

As mentioned above, children's hypotrophy can be in two forms: congenital and acquired. As well as the disease can occur in three degrees, this is all lower.

In the case of congenital hypotrophy, it is established that it occurs in a child during maturation, there are several reasons. It can be fetal hypoxia, the pathology can develop due to some illness of the mother during pregnancy or the hereditary disease of the mother, in addition, infectious diseases of the fetus are often.

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Symptoms of

At the slightest suspicion, the degree of the disease is established according to the symptoms, the following indicators are considered for diagnosis of the disease:

  • how much the body weight lags behind the normal weight;
  • applies the fatness index of Chulicki;
  • internal organs are examined for violations, and if any, their condition and functionality are established.

Now with regard to acquired hypotrophy. It occurs in children for many reasons, but in one way or another they are associated with an external effect, becauseBefore birth he was healthy. Acquired hypotrophy in young children can arise due to the impact on the body of a large number of negative factors. In addition to existing symptoms, the following symptoms are checked to determine the diagnosis of acquired hypotrophy:

  • the child has significantly lost activity, unlike recent time, although activity should, on the contrary, increase;
  • very small child weight;
  • dry skin and noticeable lack of moisture on the mucous membranes;
  • decreases the turgor of the subcutaneous fat layer;
  • is deficient in subcutaneous tissue.

To general symptoms of hypotrophy, it is worth adding external changes to the child, his face and body, as a rule, they are visible first. The head of the child becomes larger in comparison with the body, the fat layer disappears completely on the body. Accordingly, weight and muscle mass decrease. From rapid weight loss the skin does not have time to contract and wrinkles form on it. Very quickly, leanness comes to the point that even the smallest outlines of the bones are drawn on the body.

In turn, weight loss manifests itself in three degrees: first, second and third.


The first degree of thinning is excreted in all parts of the body, but it is especially noticeable on the tummy, the fat subcutaneous layer disappears. The muscle tone decreases markedly, the skin turns pale, and under the eyes there are large bruises, in addition, the skin dries very much and loses its elasticity. To such an extent the child lags behind the norm of weight by 15-20%, but the growth remains. Also in development, the child is normal, but very much upset, he has increased irritability and poor sleep. Sometimes there is anemia and regurgitation is too frequent.

The second degree is marked by the complete absence of subcutaneous fat on the tummy and limbs, but it still remains on the cheeks. The skin can already become grayish in color, a lot of flabbiness and folds on the skin. Also characteristic is the appearance of cracks in the corners of the mouth, brittle nails become noticeably brittle, and hair breaks and falls out. In this case, irritability is replaced by a strong cry, noticeable lag in development. There is anemia, often diarrhea, due to which the weight is reduced to 30%.

The third degree is the heaviest, while subcutaneous fat is absent throughout the body. The skin is dry and pale, places on the folds appear cracks. A very large weight loss of more than 30%, while the stomach can be greatly swollen.

Reasons for

In order to start effective therapy, it is necessary to conduct a thorough examination and establish the true cause of the disease. It also often happens that several diseases are intertwined and together worsen the condition of the child. To the general causes of the appearance of the disease, besides the already mentioned congenital, you can add the most frequent:

  • malnutrition or lack of nutrition;
  • a number of organic diseases;
  • if the child has diarrhea for a long time, sometimes it occurs with malabsorption, GI disorders;
  • features of the child's constitution;
  • frequent or chronic infections. Very often acquired hypotrophy appears due to infections. These infections have two origins: primary and secondary. Both forms accelerate the development of hypotrophy;
  • often develops in the case of premature birth;
  • and of course the cause can be improper care of the child, the quality of his feeding, the state of the environment plays an important role. Children with a similar disease often meet in families of drug addicts and alcoholics, where there is no care.

Therapy for child malnutrition and child care

As already mentioned, before starting treatment, it is necessary to establish the cause of the disease, so complete diagnosis is necessary.

Children with hypotrophy take place in the full sense of body overheating and excessive cooling, this is due to violations of many processes in the body. Therefore, in order for a sick child to feel comfortable and less capricious, you need to keep in the rest room the optimum temperature from 24 to 27 ° C.You should also pay attention to walks along the street, you can walk freely during the warm season, but in the cold season you should not go out if it's below -5 ° С in the street.

Children with hypotrophy have very weak immunity, this obliges parents especially to monitor the hygiene of the child. When the baby goes to the toilet, you must wash it and treat the skin with a moisturizing cream. It is necessary to choose clothing and make sure that the body does not touch a coarse suture, it is necessary to use natural fabrics. Otherwise, in an appendage, everything else may appear allergic and skin irritations.

It is worth paying much attention to communication with the child, becauseChildren with hypotrophy are very emotional, it is necessary to create conditions for positive emotions. Little children experience good emotions on their mother's hands when they are playing with them, so as much time as possible, give direct contact with the child.

The most important in the treatment of hypotrophy is the right, balanced and healthy nutrition for the child. It is necessary to focus on two key points in the diet:

  • use in nutrition or real breast milk, or use special mixtures that are adapted for sick children and those who have low weight. In such a diet should be an increased diet of vitamins and nutrients for infants;
  • power needs to be divided into two phases. It is necessary to accustom the body to the fact that the amount of carbohydrates, fats and proteins will grow, and when the body gets used it is possible to switch to standard baby food for normal child growth.

If you install the correct mode of nutrition, pick the right food for him, observe the proper care and, of course, timely consult a doctor, then the development of the disease can be stopped. Most importantly, it will be possible to avoid complications in the form of infectious diseases due to a decrease in immunity.

Hypotrophy can develop no matter what, only if the child has an abnormal metabolic disorder or a congenital severe defect.