Noma is a pediatric disease caused by improper feeding or failure to regulate after a prolonged illness, and needs to be clinically differentiated and diagnosed from diseases such as oesophagia (the accumulation of food in the stomach due to indigestion) and anorexia. Anorexia is characterized by a prolonged loss of appetite and an aversion to eating, with no apparent emaciation and a good mental state; the disease lies in the spleen and stomach and does not involve other organs, so the prognosis is generally good. On the other hand, chancre syndrome is characterized by emaciation, yellowish hair, mental depression or irritability, abnormal eating and drinking, and irregular bowel movements (abnormal stools); untreated chancre syndrome can lead to a variety of concomitant symptoms, and the prognosis is generally good. Food stagnation (the accumulation of food in the stomach due to indigestion) is characterized by a lack of appetite for milk, abdominal distension and belching, and sour stools or constipation, and is not as pronounced as chancre, although it can be seen as emaciation, and is usually found in the spleen and stomach without affecting the other organs. There is a close link between the two, as noma can be caused by the accumulation of food over time, but it is not always the result of the accumulation of food. When noma is accompanied by stagnation, it is called chancre. Pediatric chancre (a chronic disease in children that manifests itself as emaciation, abnormal eating and drinking, abdominal distension, and thinning and yellowing of the hair) needs to be differentiated from anorexia and oedema, which are two common disorders. If your child develops symptoms similar to those of chancre, it is recommended that you take your child to a regular hospital as soon as possible so as not to miss out on your child’s condition.