Table of contents:
- Effect of appetite on TB symptoms in children
- How can children continue to gain weight or lose weight even though they still want to eat during TB infection?
- Other symptoms of TB in children
Tuberculosis or TB is one of the most common chronic infectious diseases in Indonesia. TB in children can generally be seen with a drastic weight loss in children. This weight loss begins with a decrease in the child's appetite. This is a common symptom that can be seen in children. However, for some cases it is not like that. Children can still eat normal portions but do not gain weight, there is a possibility that they also have TB. Therefore, parents still have to be aware of TB in children.
Effect of appetite on TB symptoms in children
The first symptom of TB in children that parents recognize is stunted growth in children, so that their bodies are smaller than their peers. The child looks thin and has a reduced appetite.
However, not all symptoms look like that. TB in children can still occur if the child wants to eat as usual, but the weight does not increase or it decreases.
This condition is rare, but parents still have to be vigilant. Recognizing the symptoms of TB in children can help you to deal with this disease faster.
How can children continue to gain weight or lose weight even though they still want to eat during TB infection?
Basically, the body's calorie needs will also increase, if a person has a chronic disease, such as TB. Therefore, some children still have a normal appetite to meet these calorie needs. This is in contrast to the common symptoms of TB in children.
But on the other hand, these calorie needs will not be fulfilled because children and parents do not realize that the actual calorie intake that children usually get daily is not enough to cover their supposed calorie needs.
Infection in the body makes your child need calorie intake more than usual, so the child must increase their nutritional intake. This high calorie requirement is the body's way of getting additional energy which is used to fight infections. This calorie requirement is also used to repair damaged body tissue.
In addition, the food nutrition eaten by children is not used properly because the body uses it to attack the infections it has. So that the child's weight does not increase even though the child's appetite tends to be normal.
Some parents do not realize this, so the child's food intake is not added anymore. The child remains thin and TB remains in your child's body without you knowing it. If your child has not gained weight for a long time, immediately consult a doctor for this complaint to get the right solution.
Other symptoms of TB in children
In addition to weight loss or stunted growth, parents are required to pay attention to several other symptoms of tuberculosis. What are the symptoms and characteristics? The following is a review from the Indonesian Pediatrician Association (IDAI) in 2013.
- A fever that does not go away for more than two weeks, even if the fever is not very high
- Many times have a fever within a few weeks (the heat fluctuates)
- A cough that doesn't go away or gets worse for more than three weeks
- Losing or not gaining weight for two months or more
- The child looks weak, weak, and not as active as usual
- Swollen lymph nodes (usually seen from a lump around the neck or under the child's jaw)
- Living in an area where tuberculosis has spread or in close proximity to people who have recently been infected with tuberculosis
If the child shows the characteristics above, immediately take the child to see a doctor or to the hospital.
