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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Child With Huge Appetite And Constant Urge To Eat. Is This Any Disorder?

my child eats all the time. he is 4 years old and can out eat any adult. He always wants to eat and there is nothing he will not eat. it doent matter what it smells like or looks like he will eat it. He eats off the floor and out of the garbage every chance he gets. He sneeks out in the middle of the night and will get into food and eat it. he has even eaten canned cat food thinking it was food. what is this?
Fri, 29 Nov 2013
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Pediatrician 's  Response
Hi there,

Thank you for choosing healthcare magic.

I would like to ask you several questions before going on further as to what his eating habits are related to.
1. Does he have the urge to excessive drinking as well.
2. Does he have to urinate a lot or wake up at night to urinate multiple times.
3. Does he have frequent infections especially urinary tract infections.
4. Was he born on time and did he have any complications after birth, did he have to stay in the Neonatal ICU after birth.
5. After birth, did he have difficulty in gaining weight or maintaining weight.
6. How have his growth charts been? Is he significantly overweight currently?
7. Has his eating habits recently developed or he has always been like this.
8. Did he have any changes in his environment recently- like loss of some loved one/pet/change in school/is there any new member in the family.
9. Has he had any changes in behavior like irritability or excessive anger or intolerability to heat?

These questions will be important in understanding as to why is he having his eating habits. If you could give me the answer to these questions, I will be able to better guide you which direction to go.

I would suggest you to see your son's pediatrician to have an understanding of his behavior, there are some basic blood tests like testing for iron deficiency/blood sugar/thyroid tests which your pediatrician can order based on his history and complete physical examination.

And if his eating habits are all behavioral, then he will need to be seen by a psychologist for assessing any triggers causing this and then aiming at behavioral therapy.

I hope this helps.
Best wishes.

Regards,
Dr. Sumeet.
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Child With Huge Appetite And Constant Urge To Eat. Is This Any Disorder?

Hi there, Thank you for choosing healthcare magic. I would like to ask you several questions before going on further as to what his eating habits are related to. 1. Does he have the urge to excessive drinking as well. 2. Does he have to urinate a lot or wake up at night to urinate multiple times. 3. Does he have frequent infections especially urinary tract infections. 4. Was he born on time and did he have any complications after birth, did he have to stay in the Neonatal ICU after birth. 5. After birth, did he have difficulty in gaining weight or maintaining weight. 6. How have his growth charts been? Is he significantly overweight currently? 7. Has his eating habits recently developed or he has always been like this. 8. Did he have any changes in his environment recently- like loss of some loved one/pet/change in school/is there any new member in the family. 9. Has he had any changes in behavior like irritability or excessive anger or intolerability to heat? These questions will be important in understanding as to why is he having his eating habits. If you could give me the answer to these questions, I will be able to better guide you which direction to go. I would suggest you to see your son s pediatrician to have an understanding of his behavior, there are some basic blood tests like testing for iron deficiency/blood sugar/thyroid tests which your pediatrician can order based on his history and complete physical examination. And if his eating habits are all behavioral, then he will need to be seen by a psychologist for assessing any triggers causing this and then aiming at behavioral therapy. I hope this helps. Best wishes. Regards, Dr. Sumeet.