The weirdest non-foods doctors have seen people eat
Most people are not familiar with the clinical term pica. However, they know the TV portrayal. My strange addiction spent years introducing viewers to people eating things that were definitely not food and turning it into a public spectacle.
The public understanding is quite skewed. Pica is a real eating disorder that involves persistent cravings for and consumption of non-food items, and the list of things people eat becomes alarming pretty quickly. A recent one New York Post story asked specialists about the strangest things they’ve seen patients ingest, and the answers were shocking, to say the least.
Dr. Erica Brody, a pediatrician at Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital, said she worked with a patient whose family had to hide kitchen sponges because the patient would eat them “even when they were dirty and smelly.” Dr. Corinne Catarozoli, a psychologist at New York-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine, said she has seen patients eat drywall, paper products, toys, crayons, clay, hair and nails.
But that’s where the banter should stop.
Because once you get past the initial “what the hell,” pica is actually very serious. Catarozoli said it may be linked to nutritional deficiencies, particularly iron or zinc. It may also be associated with neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism or psychiatric disorders such as OCD. She added that behavioral reinforcement can keep it going, especially when the behavior relieves anxiety or provides sensory stimulation.
Pica is pretty serious, actually
Therefore, pica does not fit neatly into the freak-show box reality television is built for. It’s not some random gross habit people pick up to get attention. It can point to something much deeper going on physically, psychologically or both. Catarozoli said, “Pica is often misunderstood as a strange behavior when in fact it is a meaningful clinical signal.” She added that it “may point to underlying medical, nutritional or psychological needs that are not being met.”
The health risks are bad enough in themselves. Drywall can expose someone to lead poisoning. Hair and nails can clog the digestive system. The Post also cited a case involving a 9-year-old girl in Vietnam whose hair eating led to a massive hairball extending from her stomach into her small intestine. It required surgery to remove it.
The encouraging thing is that Brody and Catarozoli both said pica is treatable, especially when caught early. Catarozoli said it can improve in children once the underlying deficits or developmental problems are addressed, although some cases need longer-term treatment and behavioral therapy.
People will always tackle the grossest detail first. That part was never in doubt. What is being missed is that pica can be detrimental to someone’s health and we are just watching from our couch.
