Where There Is No Doctor 2011 113
WET MALNUTRITION—OR KWASHIORKOR
This child’s condition is called
wet malnutrition because his feet,
hands, and face are swollen. This
can happen when a child does not
eat enough ‘body building’ helper
foods—or proteins. More often it
happens when he does not get
enough energy foods, and his body
burns up whatever proteins he eats
for energy.
Eating beans, lentils, or other
foods that have been stored in a
damp place and are a little moldy
may also be part of the cause.
This child needs more food more
often—a lot of foods rich in energy,
and some foods rich in protein (see
p. 111).
Also, try to avoid foods that are old,
and may be spoiled or moldy.
First the child becomes swollen. The other
signs come later.
This child is skin, bones, and water.
OTHER FORMS OF MALNUTRITION
Other forms of malnutrition may result when certain vitamins and minerals are
missing from the foods people eat. Many of these specific types of malnutrition are
discussed more fully later in this chapter and in other parts of this book:
• Night blindness in children who do not get enough vitamin A (see p. 226).
• Rickets from lack of vitamin D (see p. 125).
• Various skin problems, sores on the lips and mouth, or bleeding gums
from not eating enough fruits, vegetables, and other foods containing certain
vitamins (see p. 208 and 232).
• Anemia in people who do not get enough iron (see p. 124).
• Goiter from lack of iodine (see p. 130).
For more information about health problems related to nutrition, see Helping Health
Workers Learn, Chapter 25, and Disabled Village Children, Chapters 13 and 30.