One of the common disorders seen in kids group in my practice is infantile feeding disorder. It means that the infant or the child is refusing to eat certain food groups, textures, solids or liquids for a period of at least one month, which causes them to not gain enough weight or grow naturally.
Feeding disorders leads to failure to thrive, many times one is unable find any medical condition associated with this or any reason for not putting on weight. Children attempting to swallow different food textures often vomit, gag, or choke while eating, other symptoms include difficulty in chewing or vomiting and spitting whilst eating. Children with a feeding disorder however, will completely abandon some of the food groups, textures, or liquids that are necessary for human growth and development like milk, wheat, rice etc. Often children with this disorder can develop much more slowly and can also experience behavioural problems. Sometimes what I have seen that this kind of problem in infants is often associated with gastrointestinal motility disorders, failure to thrive, prematurity, food allergies, behaviorial issues,
sensory problems.
A child that is suffering from malnutrition can have permanently stunted mental and
physical development. Let see some interesting cases:
Case 1
A child aged three years with 12 pairs of teeth refuses to chew the food, hence food is only given
in a soup form or total liquid form, and here it is very essential to understand that repertory
as well as materia medica does not mention much about this situation either as symptoms
in materia medica or rubrics in repertory. Hence focus should be on general and mental symptoms
also important to study are the family situation and domestic background.
Here following were important symptoms
• Wants to pull hairs of everyone when angry
• Fear of dogs
• Desire to put lemon in every soup or oral liquids
• Spits food on the face of the person if forcefully given anything
• H/O Recurrent otitis media on right side.
• Mother during pregnancy had very bad fright after witnessing a motor vehicle accident.
Based on above symptoms Belladona 30c few doses totally cured the case.
Case 2
A child aged five years comes to me with refusing to eat substantial food since few months ,the child will only eat chocolates, wafers, cream biscuits, ice- cream but will not eat fruits, rice,dal,vegetables chapatti etc. There are days when child refuses everything including his
favourite food. (General: Food and Drinks: everything aversion to.) Mentally child is very restless and impulsive, strong fear of strangers, thunderstorm and water the child never enters a swimming pool. The child has habit of biting nails and drinking only cold water.
H/O febrile convulsion six to seven episodes during infancy.
Based on above symptoms Cuprum met 30c was given with excellent results the child started
eating normal food that everyone ate in the house within four weeks.
