Contents:
- Medical Video: Is It Bad To Chew Ice?
- What is Pica?
- Causes of pica in children
- Can Pica occur in adults?
- What is the effect if pica is not cured?
- What should be done to handle Pica?
Medical Video: Is It Bad To Chew Ice?
Eating is a way to meet the nutritional needs of various food ingredients that are definitely digested by the body. But what happens if we deliberately consume something that is not actually eaten? This is known as pica.
What is Pica?
Pica is an eating disorder characterized by improper eating behavior, namely the desire to eat an object that is not actually eaten. This of course has a direct impact on health. Usually, the most common pica is the desire to eat one of the following items:
- Soil
- Chalk
- Matches
- Fiber cloth
- Paper
- Toothpaste
- Cigarette butts and cigarette ash
- Paint splinters
- Glue
Pica sufferers also have unusual habits consuming foods that are not commonly eaten directly, such as wheat flour, uncooked potatoes, and ice cubes.
Causes of pica in children
In some people, pica occurs because they want to feel a texture of food or objects in their mouth. In addition, pica can also be caused by deficiencies of zinc vitamins and minerals. The duration of a person experiencing pica can vary, but someone is said to experience pica if he has abnormal eating habits for more than one month.
In children, pica can be caused by a lack of parental attention to the habits of their children. Poor family conditions can trigger the development of abnormal behavior, one of which is pica. At first, this can be caused by ignorance of children when eating objects that should not be eaten, but can also occur after a child is prohibited from doing so. If this behavior tends to be consistent in children for a long time, it is likely that this is a sign of developmental disorders such as mental retardation, autism, and brain disorders.
Can Pica occur in adults?
In adults, pica can be triggered by mental health disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and schizophrenia. Unlike pica in healthy children, people with mental disorders can experience pica that tends to settle from childhood.
The group of pregnant women also has the possibility of experiencing pica, and this appears as a desire to eat something (cravings) even though he does not fully understand his desires. Pica during pregnancy is not too common and it is not known exactly what triggers pica. However, some things such as lack of nutrition during pregnancy or having experienced pica before during childhood can increase the risk of pica. Abnormal eating behavior is not only harmful to pregnant women but also to the babies they contain.
What is the effect if pica is not cured?
Pica is usually only diagnosed when the patient experiences various health problems caused by abnormal eating habits. Here are some of the health effects that sufferers of Pica might experience:
- Gastrointestinal infections - various germs are very likely to enter through the mouth of the surface of unhygienic objects and cause infections of the throat to the intestinal tract.
- Injuries to the teeth and mouth Rough and hard objects that are inserted into the mouth can injure the mouth surface and trigger tooth decay.
- Bezoar - is a buildup of fibrous material such as plastic and cloth on the stomach, giving rise to several effects such as abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea and gastric ulceration.
- Intestinal blockage - or known as intestinal obstruction because of a blockage in one part of the intestine, characterized by physical changes such as swelling around the abdomen, as well as symptoms of abdominal cramps and constipation.
- Lead poisoning - lead is a strong poison and can be stored in the body. Pica sufferers can be exposed to lead from contamination of house paint and lead dust attached to the surface of objects. The effects of poisoning include headaches, anemia, constipation, stomach cramps, and behavioral disorders. This needs to be addressed immediately to avoid seizures and coma.
- Malnutrition - can occur when pica sufferers only consume objects that are not fair or experience impaired absorption of nutrients as an effect of abnormal eating behavior.
- Disorders in infants - very likely experienced by pregnant women who experience pica, some disorders including low birth weight, premature babies, abnormal mental and physical development. Pica in pregnant women can poison babies to cause death.
What should be done to handle Pica?
The main thing that can be done if you or the person closest to suspected pica is to immediately contact a doctor for early treatment of the effects of pica and behavioral therapy. In addition to treatment, supervision and minimizing the access of pica sufferers to edible foreign objects also need to be done so that people with pica can really control their eating behavior,
In childhood, most abnormal eating patterns can disappear on their own. However, this is different in adults and people with mental disorders. The case of pica in adults is more likely to be undetectable than in children because eating behavior can be carried out without supervision or secretly. While psychotherapy is an important thing to deal with pica in people with psychiatric problems.
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