Should Anorexics be force fed?

No1Doyen


Joined: 04/07/2008
Posts: 16617

Message Posted:
21/08/2009 10:59

Patients who are dangerously thin are sometimes force-fed through a nasal tube. Normally, medical treatment cannot be administered without the consent of the patient, however, in the case of mentally ill patients, their distorted perceptions of reality may render them unable to make a choice. Despite this, medical ethics, pragmatics and human rights call the treatment into question.



Is there an argument for the medical profession to force-feed anorexics as part of their treatment?

cyprusairsoft



Joined: 22/06/2009
Posts: 2066

Message Posted:
21/08/2009 12:14

oh its a toughy



where do you stop what about not giving food to fat people

No1Doyen


Joined: 04/07/2008
Posts: 16617

Message Posted:
21/08/2009 12:22

Would not compulsory treatment only be successful in the short term? Surely in the long term it would do nothing to reduce the fear of food. Therefore compulsory treatment may make the anorexic more depressed and at greater risk from harm, suicide for example?

jock1



Joined: 06/01/2008
Posts: 3786

Message Posted:
21/08/2009 12:32

Bill, you know my thought's..........

boglefan



Joined: 07/06/2009
Posts: 511

Message Posted:
21/08/2009 12:36

It has to be part of a treatment plan. The mind as well as the body needs to be healed. Takes lots of time and patience.

fire starter


Joined: 19/06/2008
Posts: 3401

Message Posted:
21/08/2009 12:49

if your anorexic you have mental illness already.

i had a family member years ago who was anorexic, her g.p got so fed up with trying to treat her and get her to attend counceling he lost the plot. he told her if she wanted to go home and die she could as her g.p he didn't care one way or the other. funny after this she turned herself around!

she is now happily married with two kids.

teatime


Joined: 20/10/2008
Posts: 852

Message Posted:
21/08/2009 12:54

Force feeding could be a case of assault on the person. Would they force a blood transfusion onto a Jehovah Witness? I think not.

fire starter


Joined: 19/06/2008
Posts: 3401

Message Posted:
21/08/2009 13:48

think about how many fat people are on benefits because they can't work due to illness's caused by themselves.

alcaholics who drink themselves to death. george best is the prime example.



once at my gp's practice the nurse was giving me a talk about quitting smoking, by telling me how many people die each year of smoking related illness's. i asked her what the figures were for drink related illness's and she didn't know.



does anyone know the figures from anorexia??

nurseawful



Joined: 06/02/2009
Posts: 5934

Message Posted:
21/08/2009 14:56

Anorexics are one of the most difficult categories of patients I have ever worked with. They tell you that they are eating and appear to be so, but I have found food in shoes, down their knickers under the mattress. No matter how closely they are watched they still manage to fool you. If you do mange to get them to eat they then go to the toilet and make themselves sick. And it is against their human rights to go to the toilet with them. The fact that there are all those skinny models in the world doesn't help as they use them as role models. In a way what they have is an addiction like smoking, drugs and alcohol.

As to force feeding it is classed as assault and is a definate no. However my personal opinion is that yes we should feed them through a nasogastric tube until such time as they are ready to eat and admit they have a problem, but this takes time and money the NHS does not have.