What to do if the child doesn't eat?

Children's poor appetite is a problem that parents must worry about. After all, children are still young and are in a critical period of development. If they do not eat, nutrition cannot be supplemented, which will inevitably have a significant impact on the child's development and growth. So what should I do if the child does not eat? Since the appetite is poor, we must find the cause. Zinc and calcium supplements are what families must do for their children to avoid malnutrition.

If your baby does not eat well, has a poor appetite, and has no appetite, and you have ruled out the possibility of playing too much, partiality, or picky eating, you should be alert to whether the child has zinc deficiency. You can take your child to the hospital to test serum zinc. The normal value of serum zinc is 75-150 mg/L. If it is lower than 75 mg/L, zinc supplementation is necessary.

Zinc is an essential trace element for the body. It is involved in the metabolic process of more than 50 enzymes and plays an important role in human energy metabolism, protein and nucleic acid metabolism, and endocrine hormone metabolism. When a child's body is deficient in zinc, his or her physical development, intellectual development, digestive function and immune function will be affected to a certain extent. The most prominent impact is digestive dysfunction, leading to symptoms such as poor taste, loss of appetite and anorexia.

Zinc deficiency in the body can lead to reduced synthesis and secretion of phosphatase in saliva, easily causing hyperplasia of the oral mucosa, incomplete keratinization and difficulty in shedding, thus covering the small holes of the taste buds, causing children to lose their sense of taste, and chewing food is like chewing wax, with no taste, thus causing loss of appetite or anorexia.

Regarding dietary supplements, although the zinc content in breast milk is not as high as that in cow's milk, its utilization rate is high. Generally, babies will not be zinc deficient before 4 months old. When the baby's zinc deficiency is not very serious, there is no need to supplement zinc with medicine, and excessive zinc is also harmful to the body. Supplement a variety of foods rich in zinc. Zinc is mainly found in animal foods, such as lean meat, liver, fish, egg yolks, etc. When the baby is 6 months old, you can start adding complementary foods. If the baby is zinc deficient, you should supplement the baby with more zinc-rich foods. At the same time, you should help the baby get rid of bad habits such as partial eating, picky eating, and eating too many snacks.

For medical supplements, oral zinc sulfate is used for a course of 2-3 months, or zinc supplements should be added for those who simply receive intravenous fluid replacement. Please refer to the doctor's instructions for details.

I believe everyone is clear about what to do if children don’t eat. If children are zinc deficient for a long time, it will not only affect their appetite and normal growth, but also hinder the development of brain intelligence, which is something family members don’t want to see. Therefore, children need to be examined regularly and supplemented with corresponding nutrients according to the body’s lack in order to achieve better results.