Pica(compulsive eating disorder) and how it can be treated?

What is pica?

Pica is a persistent eating disorder in which children tend to eat things that they shouldn't be eating. like soil, clay, chalk, cement, and paint chips most commonly. It usually starts in childhood and ends usually after a few months. In some cases, the children do eat cigarette ashes, pencil’s graphite, feces, ice, hair, glue, and sometimes insects too.
Pica can also be seen in pregnant women but it’s rare. In this situation pregnant women do yearn for non-edible things like eating clay, dirt, and raw rice. It happens because pregnant women develop a deficiency of iron and zinc during the gestation period leading to pica.

Causes:

Pica does occur in peoples having

• Low amount of iron and zinc  in the body
• Autism( detrimental developmental deprivation particularly affecting social interaction and verbal or non-verbal communication)
• Mental health disorders like obsessive compulsive disorder( OCD) or psychotic disorders
• Children who are subjected to mental abuse or suffering from any type of stress can also develop a pica.

As it is obvious that persons deficient in zinc and iron are more likely to develop pica .so in addition to children and pregnant women, other non-pregnant adults can also develop that specific disorder indicating that they are deficient in zinc and iron.  In one study of 262 no pregnant adults with iron-deficiency anemia, 45% reported pica behaviors; of these, 87.3% reported eating ice. 

Symptoms:

A Person suffering from this disorder shows many symptoms like;

• Continuous  and  non-delaying  behavior of eating non-food items such as

·        Clay, metal

·        Crayons, gum

·        Raw rice, charcoal

·        lead of pencil’s tip

·        Eraser, talcum powder

·        Paint flakes

·        Dirt, ash

·        Hair; chalk

·        Ice, wool

·      Rocks, string

•          Mental illness along with eating things which a child shouldn’t be eating 
•          Eating non-edible things at least for a month continuously
•          Stomach problems
•       Disturbance in bowl functioning(constipation or diarrhea)
•       Bloody stool(sign of ulcer due to eating harmful items)

Effects:

Pica can put severe detrimental effects on the physical as well as the mental health of a person especially in children because of the presence of several harmful bacteria and poisonous substances such as lead which can lead to many problems as follow

• Poisoning caused by lead(due to consuming tips of lead pencils)
• Learning disorders due to brain damage caused by eating harmful substances
• Digestive tract blockage and difficulty in defecation
• Severe infections due to the presence of harmful bacteria in dirt, clay, and insects.
• Teeth and oral injuries during swallowing hard objects.
• Kidney and liver damage due to lead and chalk consumption
• Tearing of intestinal membranes and esophagus lining due to the presence of hard objects such  as metal chips resulting in bloody stool

Diagnosis:

Pica is in children can be diagnosed at 18-24 months of age. since it’s the period when children are most likely to develop the disorder. Its diagnosis is done by in several ways such as

• Doctor will look upon the physical symptoms of the problem such as bowl functioning or stomach problems.
• Doctor will perform physical medical examinations such as x rays or tests for the evaluation of anemia, intestinal blockages, or internal membranous injuries.
• Moreover, If a child is showing detrimental behavior and developmental or mental disability in addition to lack of iron and zinc then doctor will definitely call it pica.
• Proper schedule of victim’s eating habits will be taken for proper examination.

Treatment:

Treatment of pica deals in with several aspects such as

• Doctor will treat your child’s diarrhea, bowl problems, constipation, and other digestive tract issues
• If a doctor finds a lack of zinc and iron in your child’s body then he will recommend supplements for fulfilling the deficiencies
• In case if your child is suffering from developmental and psychotic disorders then he will advise you to take your child to mental health specialists or pediatricians. .moreover will tell you to take your home’s environment in an account without  any negligence as these disorders can make your child vulnerable to developing pica more likely.

Prevention:

There is no well-known method to prevent pica but however, there are some effective ways to reduce the effects or chance to develop pica. For example;

Pay more attention to the things which your child is eating.
Your continuous attention and preventing your child from eating the non-food item will reduce the risk to a certain level.
Keep the non-edible things out of the reach of your children. Keep an eye on your child’s outdoor activities.
Communication is a key to prevention, communicate with your child for reducing the stress level because of prevailing mental disorders.

Questions to ask your doctor:

1. Can seeing mental health specialists reduce the detrimental effects?
2. Which signs will be visible in case of digestive tract infections, lead poisoning, and esophageal problems?
3. How much it takes to recover from pica completely?
4. what things are needed to reduce the risk of pica?
5. Does any type of pica treatment available?