Elderly people who can’t eat may have gastrointestinal dysfunction, chronic gastritis, intestinal obstruction, esophageal cancer, etc., and need to be treated with medication or surgery for the cause of the disease.
1. Gastrointestinal dysfunction: when the elderly have unhealthy dietary habits, irregular eating time and quantity, eat a lot of spicy, greasy and irritating food, and lack of warmth in the stomach, physiological disorder of gastrointestinal smooth muscle function will occur, leading to indigestion and inability to eat.
You need to eat a healthy diet, eat more light and easy to digest food, and take drugs such as domperidone and mosapride when necessary.
2. Chronic gastritis: most of them are related to Helicobacter pylori infection, chronic inflammatory lesions of the gastric mucosa lead to digestive dysfunction, so you can’t eat. You can take omeprazole, doxycycline, amoxicillin, bismuth pectin and other drugs.
3. Intestinal obstruction: intestinal mechanical occupation such as, intestinal torsion, mesenteric ischemia and other factors lead to fecal discharge obstruction, increased pressure above the obstruction site, so can’t eat. It can be treated conservatively by gastrointestinal decompression, enema, fluid rehydration and so on, and operated when necessary.
4. Esophageal cancer: In middle and late stage esophageal cancer, a large number of cancer cells proliferate in the wall of esophagus, leading to narrowing of the lumen and obstruction, making it difficult to swallow, and so the patient cannot eat. Surgery can be performed to remove the diseased tissues with radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and esophageal stent can be placed to alleviate the symptoms of dysphagia.
Elderly people who can’t eat may also be related to cerebral infarction, depression, heart failure, etc. It is recommended to consult a doctor for a clear diagnosis. Pay attention to the use of medication under the guidance of a physician.