Here are the things you need to know about PICA
PICA is an eating disorder in which a person is compulsively eating items that have no nutritional value or non-food items.
In certain cases, a person may be eating harmless things such as ice but some people also eat potentially dangerous items such as metal pieces when having this kind of condition. Based on the article in Healthline, the latter case can potentially lead to food poisoning.
This condition is common among children and pregnant women but usually, it is just temporary. Parents should consult a medical expert immediately when this happens to their child to seek medical attention and this can help prevent serious side effects.
Pica can also affect people with intellectual disabilities and more often, the condition is severe and long-lasting. In order to classify their behavior as pica, the person must be eating nonfood items regularly for at least one month.
Nonfood items that a person may be eating while having this condition are soap, buttons, clay, hair, dirt, sand, cigarette ashes or its unused remainder, paint, chalk, glue, or even feces. However, in some cultures, eating clay is an acceptable act and this is called geophagia.
Here are the dangers you might be facing for having this condition:
- poisoning, such as lead poisoning
- parasitic infections
- intestinal blockages
- choking
There is no single cause of this condition. In some instances, deficiency in iron, zinc, or another nutrient may be associated with this. In pregnant women, anemia or iron deficiency might be the underlying cause of this condition.
For mentally challenged people like those diagnosed with schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), they may develop this condition as a coping mechanism. In some cases, a person having this condition, may feel the craving for nonfood items and enjoy the textures or flavors.
Another cause might be intense dieting and malnourishment. People having pica may feel full when they are eating nonfood items.
In diagnosing this condition, it is important to be honest with your doctor regarding the nonfood items that you ate because, through this, they can create accurate records. Your doctor might also test your blood to see if you have low levels of zinc or iron.