There are two general types of eating disorders. One is anorexia nervosa and the other is called bulimia. The second type is often misconstrued as the first. This is so because there is a verifiable lack of information about the said diseases. Yet, there is a way to see which individuals are really bulimic. The major symptoms of bulimia are actually binge eating followed by a self-purging of the food that has just been eaten. This means that after the eating session, the person opts to vomit it all out, etc.
Before diagnosing someone with the said disease, it is important to look at the several point of reference in saying that the person is already bulimic or otherwise. The major thing to look for is the sign of binge eating. If the patient does this a lot yet, he/ she doesn't get any fatter then, the second symptom should be seen. After binge eating, bulimics tend to go to the bathroom to vomit the irregularly large number of food taken. Furthermore, some even go as far as using diet mechanisms like laxatives or diuretics in order to keep themselves in shape. These things last for an estimated span of three months.
What is interesting about bulimia is that, unlike anorexia, it is actually more difficult to detect. This is so because bulimics do not tend to look sick at all. In fact they look quite healthy in the outside. Yet, given the persistence of the bulimic's act, he/ she may be in danger of several other complications. These include tooth loss due to Perimolysis which is actually the disintegration of the tooth due to the abnormal amount of gastric acids in the body. In self-induced vomiting, one uses his/ her finger in order to touch the throat. This causes an oral trauma that may cause wounds in the mouth. The bulimic may also experience intense stomach pain with the gastric reflux given that the gastric juices do not have any food to digest. With too much vomiting, the bulimic may get dehydrated. More severe effects are actually peptic ulcers and pancreatitis.
There are several reasons why one gets bulimia. There is a very prevalent cause seen by medical research. First is psychological. Bulimics do this because in response to certain factors like stress, depression and lack of self esteem. Although the first two reasons are not too common, the third one is the main cause of many patients. This is especially true given that the international paradigm of what is beautiful in relation to body shape and weight can be summed up in the word, thin. People who have been fat before or who have always been conditioned to stay thin experience a kind of revulsion against anything that might cause an increase in weight. Bulimia in this case, has three major phases. During the start of the binging period, the patient is actually losing his/ her self control. Yet, this doesn't go about straight because there is a moment after where the bulimic stays calm. Yet, as this control lasts, he/ she starts loathing himself/ herself causing another cycle of binging, purging, etc.