Rumination disorder causes young children to repeatedly regurgitate and chew food, with physical symptoms including weight loss, tooth decay, and bad breath. Medical attention is required if it occurs regularly for a month or more. The cause is unknown, but behavior therapy is successful in ending the condition. Medical intervention is necessary to prevent physical problems.
A mysterious condition known as rumination disorder can cause young children, especially those three months old to toddlers, to repeatedly regurgitate food, only to chew it again for another attempt at swallowing. For a doctor to suspect this eating disorder, other physical problems must be ruled out. If regurgitation and chewing occur regularly for a month or more, however, physical damage may begin to occur and behavioral therapy must occur to counteract the problem.
A child with rumination disorder will not appear dismayed by vomiting. He or she will simply chew it again and try to swallow it. This could happen from time to time for any child who is learning to eat. If it occurs almost daily, however, for several weeks in a row, medical attention is required. Other physical symptoms of rumination disorder include sudden weight loss, tooth decay, bad breath, chapped lips, and acid indigestion. According to WebMD, characteristic movements such as arching the back, tucking the stomach and tilting the head back could be signs that a baby is attempting to regurgitate food.
A doctor might first suspect other conditions before locking on to the rumination disorder. According to the National Institutes of Health, hiatal hernias can cause reflux problems in young children. Another disorder that causes regular regurgitation, called pyloric stenosis, occurs when the stomach enters the small intestine too small.
As of 2011 it is not yet known what causes rumination disorder, although neglect, stress and abuse are common precursors. Studies have found that behavior therapy is successful in ending the condition, which usually occurs immediately after a meal. Some teenagers and adults have also developed it for unknown reasons. No medical treatment has yet been successful in combating it.
Medical intervention is needed as rumination disorder can cause physical problems such as dehydration, malnutrition, lethargy, immunodeficiency, respiratory disorders, stunted development, anemia, and hormonal imbalances. Blood tests can quickly determine the damage that has been done to the body by the disorder, but counseling, both individual and family sessions, is often needed to end the disorder. When children are very young, this course of action may be time consuming. Doctors can only recommend regular stimulation, love affairs, and close medical observation.
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