If your elderly loved one loses their appetite, they won’t be getting the nutrients and vitamins they need. If you or an in-home care provider realize your elderly loved one has lost their appetite, it would be a good idea to figure out why this has happened. Finding out the cause can help to get to the solution or treatment sooner.
Possible Thyroid Disorder
If your elderly loved one doesn’t have much an appetite, that could be caused by a thyroid disorder. There are different types of thyroid disorders that they might have – hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism. If you look up the symptoms of this disorder and believe your elderly loved one has it, you or an in-home care provider should take them to a doctor. Tests can be ordered to determine if your elderly loved one has a thyroid disorder. If so, there are treatments that can help to bring back your elderly loved one’s appetite.
Cognitive Issues
Unfortunately, there are millions of senior citizens that have cognitive function issues. For example, some elderly people have dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. One of the many symptoms of this disease is loss of appetite. The loss of appetite with this disease is usually caused by high levels of stress, confusion, and memory loss. While there aren’t any cures for these diseases, there may be things that you or in-home care providers can do to help your elderly loved one eat better.
Cancer
Another health issues that could be causing your elderly loved one’s loss of appetite is cancer. While this isn’t usually the primary cause for most cases of loss of appetite, it still may need to be considered. This is especially true if there isn’t another known cause. If you suspect or think that your elderly loved one has cancer, you should have them see their doctor as soon as possible. Early detection of cancer is the best chance of treating and recovering from it.
Work With Their In-Home Care Provider
Has your elderly loved one lost their appetite? If so, it is important that you work with their in-home care providers to figure out why this is happening. If you can’t get to the bottom of it, you should have your elderly loved one see their doctor. There are numerous tests that can be run to determine the cause of this symptom. Once the cause is determined, treatments can be administered to help your elderly loved one regain their appetite.
Sources: https://www.healthline.com/health/common-thyroid-disorders
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4589891/