Diagnosing malnutrition in kids
January 12th, 2017“….Making a diagnosis of severe malnutrition in a child six months to five years is fairly simple. A health worker, volunteer or even a parent uses a special plastic bracelet to measure the circumference of the child’s mid-upper arm. A measurement less than 115 millimeters, about 4.5 inches, means the child is severely malnourished. Measures of 115 mm to 126 mm, or about 4.5 inches to 5 inches, mean the child is moderately malnourished. MSF is seeking to treat more children at this stage to help them avoid slipping into severe malnutrition.
When people are severely malnourished, the body begins to essentially feed off its own muscles and tissue, and the person loses all desire to eat. At that point, children should be hospitalized and given special therapeutic milk, rich in carbohydrates but low in some nutrients that a severely malnourished child initially has trouble tolerating, like protein, sodium and fats. When they’re stabilized, the child is given more protein and fats in the form of ready-to-use packets of a dense, peanut-based food, and sent home….”