Topic: Does your child have Pica?
Date: 10th October 2023 (Tuesday)
Speaker: Ms Lee Li Li, Clinical Psychologist

Pica is a condition in children aged two years or older, which shows persistent eating of non-food substances over a period of at least 1 month.

The most common non-food items of Pica include:

1. Nose booger (due to being attracted by its stickiness and excitement, the behavior of eating nose booger usually stops once the desire for sensory exploration is satisfied).
2. Soup (due to being attracted by its fragrance).
3. Paper (the behavior of eating paper is relatively common in children with developmental disabilities who like the chewy texture of papers, especially during their teething period).
4. Paint (some children will intentionally go to the corners to scrape off paint powder or paint adhesives and put it into their mouths).
5. Rubber eraser, rubber band.
6. Soil (some tribes also eat dirt because it contains minerals that help in detoxification).

The less common non-food items of Pica include:

1. Ice (this is different from the usual eating of iced desserts or drinking iced drinks, as it is usually accompanied by extreme anxiety, they will go out of their way to look for ice cubes to eat. When they realize that they have been caught eating ice, they will often turn to other non-food items).
2. Ash (includes ashes from smoking, ashes from burning paper, or ashes from burning incense).
3. Stool (the behavior of eating stool is often seen in mentally disturbed individuals or children with sensory exploration).
4. Hair

Pica is closely associated with psychological and psychiatric disorders, including eating disorders. It often originally results from an anxious state of mind and subsequently becomes a way to distract from anxiety and pain.

The risk factors of Pica include:

1. Culture/learned behaviors (some individuals use the ancient method of eating soil to supplement nutrients and detoxify).
2. Malnutrition
3. Mental health conditions (some individuals may try to seek attention from others by consuming non-food items).
4. Adverse childhood experiences
5. Nervous system disorders or developmental disorders

The effect of Pica on whether Pica is harmful to a child's development is dependent on what non-food items they eat. For example, eating nose boogers or papers usually doesn't cause serious harm, but eating powder paint, especially for the old houses which use paint that contains lead, can lead to lead poisoning.

The symptoms of Pica are as below:

1. Anxiety
2. Nausea
3. Fatigue
4. Gastric, stomach and abdominal pain
5. Constipation or diarrhea
6. Behavioral problems
7. Learning problems

Parents usually do not take the initiative to take their children to consult a doctor when the child has Pica. It is usually when it is because the child has shown the related symptoms, and the doctor needs to proactively ask whether the child has the habit of eating non-food items. In addition, psychologists often conduct different types of psychological investigations because parents may be too busy to timely notice that their children are consuming non-food items.

Who is more likely to suffer from pica?

1. Individuals with iron and zinc deficiencies may be more likely to seek out non-food items to meet their body's needs, which can be considered a natural response.
2. Pregnant women may face iron deficiency during pregnancy, so they may look for iron-containing non-food items to compensate for iron deficiency.
3. The elderly or children who do not distinguish between food and non-food items are also more likely to suffer from pica.

Usually, most children can break the habit of Pica through education or meeting their need for sensory exploration. However, adults with developmental disabilities or neurological disorders may require treatment options.

Common Questions:

Question 1: Is Pica hereditary?

Answer: Pica is not directly inherited from DNA but is more affected by the child's growth environment and living habits. However, pica may be related to other developmental disorders that have genetic factors, such as autism and intellectual disability.

Question 2: If children suffer from Pica, how should parents deal with it?

Answers:

1. Stop and prevent (do not reprimand loudly because the parent's big reaction will make the child want to try it more but should divert the child's attention to other foods).
2. Educate children to distinguish between food and non-food items according to their cognitive ability.
3. Provide healthy snacks at regular intervals and in fixed quantities to help children resist the urge to eat non-food items, but make sure these snacks are healthy and meet their needs (for example, children who like to eat boogers because of their stickiness can be given other healthy sticky snacks as alternatives).
4. Provide appropriate rewards to encourage correct behaviors.

Remark: The above content is excerpted from the 8TV Living Delight on 10th October 2023 (Tuesday), with the topic of "Does your child have Pica?". For more information and assistance, please contact our office.