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Pica Learning Center
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Children and adults with pica may eat: Animal feces; Clay; Dirt; Hairballs; Ice; Paint; This pattern of eating should last at least 1 month to fit the diagnosis of pica.
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Infants and children diagnosed with pica commonly eat paint, plaster, string, hair, and cloth. Older children may eat animal droppings, sand, insects, leaves, pebbles and cigarette butts. Adolescents and adults most often ingest clay or soil. The ...
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Pica in humans has many different subgroups, defined by the substance that is ingested. Some of the most commonly described types of pica are eating earth, soil, or clay (geophagia); ice (pagophagia); and starch (amylophagia). However, pica involv...
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Evidence suggests that there may be several causes of pica. One widely held theory points to iron deficiency as a major cause of pica. Several reports have described pica in individuals with documented iron deficiency, although there has been unce...
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Pica is defined as a compulsion to consume nonfood substances. Persons with pica crave items such as dirt, clay, paint chips, plaster, chalk, cornstarch, laundry starch, baking soda, coffee grounds, cigarette ashes, burnt match heads, cigarette bu...
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