#HealthyLifeMatters: Starvation And Plasma Protein Deficiency — "Kwashiorkor"

✒️ - By Aan Gray

Several conditions can lead to hypoproteinemia, a deficiency of plasma protein: extreme starvation or dietary protein deficiency, liver diseases that interfere with protein synthesis, and protein loss through the urine or body surface in the cases of kidney disease and severe burns, respectively. As the protein content of the blood plasma drops, so does its osmolarity. The bloodstream loses more fluid to the tissues than it reabsorbs by osmosis. Thus, the tissues become edematous and a pool of fluid may accumulate in the abdominal cavity — a condition called 'Ascites'.
Children who suffer severe dietary protein deficiencies often exhibit a condition called 'Kwashiorkor'. The arms and legs are emaciated for lack of muscle, the skin is shiny and tight with edema, and the abdomen is swollen by ascites. Kwashiorkor is an African word for a “deposed” or “displaced” child who is no longer breast-fed. Symptoms appear when a child is weaned and placed on a diet consisting mainly of rice or other cereals. Children with kwashiorkor often die of diarrhea and dehydration.

Treatment: There's no secluded treatment for this type of disease. The only treatment is eating enough proteinous foods. Examples include Eggs, Beans, Poultry, Milk, Fish, Prawns, Beef and more.
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