Pica; The Eating Disorder That Leads to Eating Inedible Things

Depending on culture, health thoughts, believes, or traditions, there are a lot of forbidden foods and for some people just based on the thought that the food isn't for them they wouldn't eat it. I was in a village last week to look at my aunt's family farm and someone told me to come eat bush meat. In this part of the world, when you say bush meat, the first thought is Antelope or Grasscutter but when I got there, I was told it was the meat of an Monitor lizard. Wait,monitor what!! I don't have an issue with people eating whatever they like provided it isn't against the law of wherever they live but for me, eating some types of animals are a No for me.

We just have this voice down in us that tells us that what we want to eat isn't meant for us so we shouldn't eat it or have it in our system and so we follow the voice but what happens if that voice or thought is silent, and all we feel is the compulsion to eat everything we see?

Between the year 2010 and 2015 on the Learning Channel was a show called My strange addiction and trust me. I was I school when I would watch this episodes seeing people eat strange things including glasses, mattresses, plastic bags and many more. It was very surprising to see people eating a lot of things including eating their house walls, but then I began to question the truthfulness of the channel as most of them looked exaggerated.

Shelby Leheny, (Pharm D, B.S) said that the show might show people exhibiting strange eating behaviors which might look gross and weird but she continued to say that there is a possibility that they might have been suffering from a condition known as Pica which they are yet to be diagnosed of. So the question that comes to mind is "What is Pica"?

Pica is a condition or disorder where people eat what we do not generally refer to as food which do not give any nutritional value to the body. While there is no known major cause of Pica, it is believed that a lack of certain nutrients in the body can make people crave for other replacement such as pregnant women who lack iron or suffer iron deficiency begin to crave metals but for people who suffer from Pica, they can eat things like soil in a case of geophagy.

This condition is a temporary one and becomes less common as people grow older but it is usually diagnosed when people exhibit this eating habit for more than a month. This case of Pica is usually common in children of about 1 year old to 5 year old especially the case of geophagy but it is most times not harmful but eating things that are not edible can lead to constipation, lead poisoning, intestinal blockage, infections associated with stuffs they ate especially ones that are parasitic.

People who suffer from Pica can have suffer from disabilities like Schizophrenia which is a mental illness that affects how people think and behave. I remember a Guinness World Record of a Man Eating an Airplane, I was still in high school when I saw it and I was surprise. I cannot forget his name Michel Lotito and I was wondering how a person would eat a plane at the time. In secondary school, I just thought it was his hobby but actually, he developed Pica at the age of 9 years old and it was at this time that he began to eat things like glass, and metals which are not easily digestible.

The case of lotito might be different because over time, his stomach and intestinal linen became thicker which led to him having the title Monsieur Mangetout. The quest of eating the plane started in 1978 and finished eating the plane in 1980. While he didn't have any medical issue till his time of death, not everyone with Pica is this lucky because they can have complications. If you find out that you have eaten something you are not suppose to eat, then you should find your way to the hospital and see a doctor so you can be properly examined and treated.

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^{https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK255/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK532242/
https://www.pharmacytimes.com/view/eating-weird-objects-you-may-have-pica
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/schizophrenia
https://www.msdmanuals.com/home/mental-health-disorders/eating-disorders/pica#Diagnosis_v13391805
https://www.buzzfeed.com/whitneyjefferson/the-most-memorable-my-strange-addiction-episodes
https://www.healthline.com/health/pica#diagnosis
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/pharmacology-toxicology-and-pharmaceutical-science/geophagia
https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/67621-strangest-diet
https://peoplepill.com/i/michel-lotito/
https://www.merckmanuals.com/home/mental-health-disorders/eating-disorders/pica#Treatment_v13391820}

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^{Image Reference}

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^{Image 1 || Flickr || James Wrona, Photographer With Marathon Metal
Image 2 || Wikimedia Commons || Cessna 150 at BIL}