Poor appetite
The appetite of your children plays an important role.
Poor appetite shows various symptoms, and the causes are different.
Longer periods of having poor appetite, your children have more problems such as weaker physical strength and lower levels of immunity, frequently sick and less chance of growth.
The symptom should require early treatment that targets the children’s individual characteristics, not to interrupt normal growth.
If your children show the following symptoms, special treatment will be needed.
- Loss of desire to eat: Either your children have a low costal angle of rib or tend to have bloating and frequently complain of constipation.
- Complaining stomachache: It should be suspected upset stomach or vagus indigestion if your children express pain in the area in which the umbilical cord and pit of the stomach. If your children experience severe pain, it could be gastritis. If your children feel relieved from the stomachache after bowel movements, the cause could be chronic indigestion.
- Bad breath or fart smells: If indigested food stays in the digestive system, it makes gas and makes bad breath and fart smells worsen. To prevent the symptoms, teach your children not to lie down right after meals and not eat too fast.
- Stuffy feels in the chest: If your children have pain in the chest or the solar flexus continuously, it is because of dyspepsia.
- Frequent lower stomach pain or starts bowel movement in the middle of the meal: Your children have weaker intestinal function. Having greasy foods causes lower stomach pain or makes your children more inclined to stool.
Scientific research regarding the efficacy of herbal medicinal treatment for gastrointestinal problems and growth.
Herbal formulas such as Bojungikki-tang and Pyungwi-san, used to treat various gastrointestinal symptoms, are prescribed to 135 children aged between 3 to 13 years old. And one year later, all 135 children are taller than average in the same age group. The more interesting result is children who were smaller than average grew taller. The Effect of Herbal Medicine to Treat Digestive System Problems on Children’s Growth, Ko Min Jung․Baek Jung Han․Kim Se Young Department of Pediatrics, College of Oriental Medicine, Daegu Hanny University, J Pediatr Korean Med. November, 2013;27(4):50-56
Customized treatment to fit each child’s needs.
The costal angel is important to predict how much your children can eat. The angle is greater than 90 degrees, so they tend to have stronger gastrointestinal function.
Suppose your child has less than 90 degrees of the costal angle. In that case, we recommend giving small portions more frequently to help digestion throughout the day. If your children have the costal angle equal to or greater than 90 degrees, encourage them to do more physical activities to help digestion and enhance physical strength.