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This page is for the medical disorder. For the unit of measure, see Pica (unit of measure). For other uses, see the alternate spelling Pika.

Pica is an appetite for non-nutritive substances (e.g., coal, soil, feces, chalk, paper etc.) or an abnormal appetite for some things that may be considered foods, such as food ingredients (e.g., flour, raw potato, starch).^[1] In order for these actions to be considered pica, they must persist for more than one month, at an age where eating such objects is considered developmentally inappropriate. The condition's name comes from the Latin word for the magpie, a bird which is reputed to eat almost anything. Pica is seen in all ages, particularly in pregnant women and small children, especially among children who are developmentally disabled, where it is the most common eating disorder. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... A pica (pronounced PIKE-ah, SAMPA /paIk@/) is a unit of measure traditionally used in document layout. ... Type Species Ochotona minor Link, 1795 (= Lepus dauuricus Pallas, 1776) Species See text The name pika (archaically spelled pica) is used for any member of the Ochotonidae, a family within the order of lagomorphs, which also includes the Leporidae (rabbits and hares). ... The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (most commonly known by the abbreviation ICD) provides codes to classify diseases and a wide variety of signs, symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances and external causes of injury or disease. ... The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision (ICD-10) is a coding of diseases and signs, symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances and external causes of injury or diseases, as classified by the World Health Organization (WHO). ... // F00-F99 - Mental and behavioural disorders (F00-F09) Organic, including symptomatic, mental disorders (F00) Dementia in Alzheimers disease (F01) Vascular dementia (F011) Multi-infarct dementia (F02) Dementia in other diseases classified elsewhere (F020) Dementia in Picks disease (F021) Dementia in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (F022) Dementia in Huntingtons... // F00-F99 - Mental and behavioural disorders (F00-F09) Organic, including symptomatic, mental disorders (F00) Dementia in Alzheimers disease (F01) Vascular dementia (F011) Multi-infarct dementia (F02) Dementia in other diseases classified elsewhere (F020) Dementia in Picks disease (F021) Dementia in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (F022) Dementia in Huntingtons... The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (most commonly known by the abbreviation ICD) provides codes to classify diseases and a wide variety of signs, symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances and external causes of injury or disease. ... The following is a list of codes for International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. ... The Disease Bold textDatabase is a free website that provides information about the relationships between medical conditions, symptoms, and medications. ... eMedicine is an online clinical medical knowledge base that was founded in 1996. ... Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) is a huge controlled vocabulary (or metadata system) for the purpose of indexing journal articles and books in the life sciences. ... The appetite is the desire to eat food, felt as hunger. ... Coal Example chemical structure of coal Coal is a fossil fuel formed in ecosystems where plant remains were saved by water and mud from oxidization and biodegradation. ... Loess field in Germany Surface-water-gley developed in glacial till, Northern Ireland For the American hard rock band, see SOiL. For the System of a Down song, see Soil (song). ... Horse feces Feces, faeces, or fæces (see spelling differences) is a waste product from an animals digestive tract expelled through the anus (or cloaca) during defecation. ... For other uses, see Chalk (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Paper (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Flour (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Potato (disambiguation). ... Starch (CAS# 9005-25-8, chemical formula (C6H10O5)n,[1]) is a mixture of amylose and amylopectin (usually in 20:80 or 30:70 ratios). ... For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ... This article is about the bird. ... This article is about human pregnancy in biological females. ... Developmental disability is a term used to describe severe, life-long disabilities attributable to mental and/or physical impairments, manifested before the age of 22. ...

Pica in children, while common, can be dangerous. Children eating painted plaster containing lead may suffer brain damage from lead poisoning. There is a similar risk from eating dirt near roads that existed prior to the phaseout of tetra-ethyl lead in gasoline or prior to the cessation of the use of contaminated oil (either used, or containing toxic PCBs or dioxin) to settle dust. In addition to poisoning, there is also a much greater risk of gastro-intestinal obstruction or tearing in the stomach. This is also true in animals. Another risk of dirt eating is the possible ingestion of animal feces and the accompanying parasites. General Name, Symbol, Number lead, Pb, 82 Chemical series Post-transition metals or poor metals Group, Period, Block 14, 6, p Appearance bluish gray Standard atomic weight 207. ... Lead poisoning is a medical condition, also known as saturnism, plumbism or painters colic, caused by increased blood lead levels. ... Tetra-ethyl lead (also known as TEL, lead tetraethyl and tetraethyllead) is a toxic organometallic chemical compound, with formula (CH3CH2)4Pb, which was once used as a gasoline (petrol) additive. ... Labelling transformers containing PCBs Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a class of organic compounds with 1 to 10 chlorine atoms are attached to biphenyl and a general structure of C12H10-xClx. ... Dioxin is the common name for the group of compounds classified as polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs). ... Bowel obstruction is a mechanical blockage of the intestines, preventing the normal transit of the products of digestion. ... In anatomy, the stomach is a bean-shaped hollow muscular organ of the gastrointestinal tract involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication. ... A parasite is an organism that lives in or on the living tissue of a host organism at the expense of it. ...

Extreme Cases

On display at the Glore Psychiatric Museum in Saint Joseph, Missouri is a notable example of Pica. A female inmate at the then Lunatic Asylum #2 had swallowed a total of 1,446 items including nails, screws, safety pins, spoon tops and salt and pepper shaker tops. She died during the surgery to remove the items.^[2][3][4] This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Causes

The scant research that has been done on the root causes of pica suggests that the majority of those afflicted tend to suffer some biochemical deficiency and more often iron deficiency. The association between pica and iron deficiency anemia is so strong, that most patients with iron deficiency will admit to some form of pica.^{[citation needed]} Often the substance eaten by those with the disorder does not contain the mineral of deficiency. If a mineral deficiency is not identified as the cause of pica, it often leads to a diagnosis as a mental disorder. For a more specific and detailed discussion of anemia caused by iron deficiency, see the Wikipedia article iron deficiency anemia. ... Iron deficiency anemia is the most common type of anemia, and the most common cause of microcytic anemia. ... For other uses, see Mineral (disambiguation). ...

Pica may also be a symptom of iron deficiency anemia secondary to hookworm infection. Symptoms may also include a pinkish hue to the skin, particularly around the mouth. Iron deficiency anemia is the most common type of anemia, and the most common cause of microcytic anemia. ... Species Species N. americanus and A. duodenale The hookworm is a parasitic nematode worm that lives in the small intestine of its host, which may be a mammal such as a dog, cat, or human. ...

Unlike in humans, in dogs or cats, pica may be a sign of immune-mediated hemolytic anemia, especially when it involves eating substances such as tile grout, concrete dust, and sand. Dogs exhibiting this form of pica should be tested for anemia with a CBC or at least hematocrit levels. ^[5][6] Warm Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (warm AIHA) is the most common of the autoimmune hemolytic diseases. ... Grout is a construction material used to embed rebars in masonry walls, connect sections of pre-cast concrete, fill voids, and seal joints (like those between tiles). ... This article is about the construction material. ... For other uses, see Sand (disambiguation). ... Schematics of shorthand for complete blood count commonly used by physicians. ... The hematocrit (Ht or HCT) and packed cell volume (PCV) are measures of the proportion of blood volume that is occupied by red blood cells. ...

Treatment

Treatment emphasizes psychosocial, environmental, and family guidance approaches. Treatment options include: discrimination training between edible and nonedible items, self-protection devices that prohibit placement of objects in the mouth, sensory reinforcement involving screening (covering eyes briefly), contingent aversive oral taste (lemon), contingent aversive smell sensation (ammonia), contingent aversive physical sensation (water mist), brief physical restraint, and overcorrection (correct the environment, or practice appropriate or alternative responses).

This involves associating negative consequences with eating non-food items and good consequences with normal behavior. Medications may be helpful in reducing the abnormal eating behavior if pica occurs in the course of a developmental disorder, such as mental retardation or pervasive developmental disorder. These conditions may be associated with severe behavioral disturbances, including pica. These medications enhance dopaminergic functioning, which is believed to be associated with the occurrence of pica.

Examples

• Amylophagia (consumption of starch)
• Coprophagia (consumption of excrement)
• Geophagy (consumption of soil, clay, or chalk)
  • Consumption of dust or sand has been reported among iron deficient patients.
• Vampirism (ingestion of blood)
• Hyalophagia (consumption of glass)
• Pagophagia (pathological consumption of ice)
• Self-cannibalism (rare condition where body parts may be consumed; see also Lesch-Nyhan syndrome)
• Trichophagia (consumption of hair or wool)
• Urophagia (consumption of urine)
• Xylophagia (consumption of wood)

This condition involves the excessive consumpion of starch. ... Starch (CAS# 9005-25-8, chemical formula (C6H10O5)n,[1]) is a mixture of amylose and amylopectin (usually in 20:80 or 30:70 ratios). ... Coprophagia is the consumption of feces, from the Greek copros (feces) and phagein (eat). ... Feces (also spelled faeces or fæces) are the waste products from the digestive tract expelled through the anus during defecation. ... Geophagy is a practice of eating earthy substances such as clay, chalk, and laundry starch, often to augment a mineral-deficient diet. ... Loess field in Germany Surface-water-gley developed in glacial till, Northern Ireland For the American hard rock band, see SOiL. For the System of a Down song, see Soil (song). ... For other uses, see Clay (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Chalk (disambiguation). ... Vampirism is a term used differently in popular culture and in zoology. ... For other uses, see Blood (disambiguation). ... Hyalophagia, or hyalophagy, is the eating of glass. ... This article is about the material. ... Pagophagia is the compulsive consumption of ice. ... This article is about water ice. ... Self-cannibalism is the practice of eating oneself, also called autocannibalism,[1] autophagy[2] and autosarcophagy. ... -1... Trichophagia is the compulsive eating of hair. ... For the 1968 stage production, see Hair (musical), for the 1979 film, see Hair (film). ... For other uses, see Wool (disambiguation). ... For the sexual attraction to urine, see Urolagnia. ... This article is about the urine of animals generally. ... Xylophagia is a condition involving the excessive consumpion of wood. ... For other uses, see Wood (disambiguation). ...

In popular culture

• Michel Lotito has made a career in entertainment of eating chopped "inedibles" like a Cessna 150 small airplane.
• A patient suffering from Pica was featured in the Season Four premiere of Grey's Anatomy.
• In the novel Dracula, the character R.M. Renfield, a patient in a lunatic asylum, consumes living animals, in their entirety, including birds and spiders.
• Jimmy Kimmel has suggested several times in his stand up that G. Gordon Liddy suffers from Pica and as such, may have been Deep Throat.
• In the House episode "Lines in the Sand," a severely autistic boy with pica is diagnosed with raccoon roundworms that he acquired from eating the sand in his sandbox.
• In the book One Hundred Years of Solitude, Rebeca eats dirt. Her childhood antics do not prevent her from growing up to become the most beautiful woman in the village.

Michel Lotito (born June 15, 1950) is a French entertainer. ... Cessna 150s produced before 1964, such as this 1962 Cessna 150B, had square fins and no rear window A 1964 Cessna 150D. The 1964 model 150D and the 150E had an Omni-Vision rear window, but retained the square fin of the earlier 150 The 1965 Cessna 150E was the... This article is about the television series. ... This article is about the novel. ... James Christian Jimmy Kimmel (born November 13, 1967) is an American comedian, writer, talk show host, game show host, and producer. ... George Gordon Battle Liddy (born November 30, 1930) was the chief operative for U.S. President Richard Nixons White House Plumbers unit. ... House at Cúcuta, Colombia A house is a building typically lived in by one or more people. ... One Hundred Years of Solitude (Spanish: Cien años de soledad) is a novel by Nobel Prize winning Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez that was first published in Spanish in 1967 (Buenos Aires: Sudamericana), with an English translation by Gregory Rabassa released in 1970 (New York: Harper and...

See also

• Category:Pica (disorder)

External links

• More information about the Glore Psychiatric Museum
• Information about the Glore Psychiatric Museum
• A blog about a visit to the Glore Psychiatric Museum
• Abu-Hamdan DK, Sondheimer JH, Mahajan SK (1985). "Cautopyreiophagia. Cause of life-threatening hyperkalemia in a patient undergoing hemodialysis". Am. J. Med. 79 (4): 517-9. PMID 4050837. 
• [1]
• Hundreds of coins found in patient's belly

References

1. ^ * emedince.com article on "Eating Disorder: Pica"
2. ^ roadsideamerica.com article on Glore Museum
3. ^ Glore Psychiatric Museum in St. Joseph, Missouri - Page 2
4. ^ Glore Psychiatric Museum, St. Joseph, Missouri - 4-21-01
5. ^ Plunkett, Signe J. (2000). Emergency Procedures for the Small Animal Veterinarian. Elsevier Health Sciences, 11. ISBN 0702024872. 
6. ^ Feldman, Bernard F.; Joseph G. Zinkl, Nemi Chand Jain, Oscar William Schalm (2000). Schalm's Veterinary Hematology. Blackwell Publishing, 506. ISBN 0683306928.