Pica

Pica is an eating disorder that is harmless in most of the cases, but sometimes, it can be a serious condition and cause major problems.

Pica

Pica is an eating disorder in which the patient has an uncontrollable desire to eat weird things that aren’t food, and it can be normal and expected, while sometimes it can be dangerous.

Pica is a common condition, and it may affect anyone, but it’s more common in children under the age of 6, pregnant women, and people with certain mental health conditions like autism, schizophrenia, or intellectual disabilities.

Causes of pica

There isn’t a clear reason that causes pica disorder, but it’s thought that the following factors play a role in it:

• Stress.
• Anxiety.
• Living in bad conditions during childhood, like poverty, neglect, or abuse.
• Cultural or learned behaviors.
• Mental health conditions.
• Medical conditions, such as sickle cell anemia.
• Nutritional deficiencies, like iron, zinc, and potassium.
• Certain medications.

Symptoms of pica

• People who have pica often eat one of the following items: chalk, ice, ash, dirt, clay, paper, soap, hair, eggshells, coffee grounds, charcoal, talcum powder, laundry starch, pebbles, wool or cloth, paint chips, pet food, and feces of any kind.
• Pica can lead to other conditions, such as anemia, electrolyte imbalance, constipation, intestinal blockage, irregular heartbeat, lead poisoning, and ascariasis.

Diagnosis of pica

There are specific criteria to diagnose pica:

• The person must be eating the item for at least a month.
• The person doesn’t have a mental disability.
• There aren’t social or cultural factors.
• There isn’t any medical or mental health condition.

Treatment of pica

Pica usually resolves on its own in pregnant women and children when teaching them.

In other pica cases, there are certain therapies, such as:

• Mild aversive therapy, in which mild aversions are used to make the patient avoid this item.
• Behavioral therapy.
• Differential reinforcement, in which the patient is taught to focus on other behaviors and activities to stay away from pica.