Pica
Pica involves persistently eating substances that are not food and have no nutritional value—such as soil, paper, hair, chalk or paint—for at least one month.
Development and culture matter
Young children commonly explore objects with their mouths, so pica is generally not diagnosed before age two. A culturally accepted practice is not labelled a disorder without understanding its context. Ordinary appetite may be normal, reduced or variable and is not a diagnostic requirement.
Clinical attention is important because the material eaten can cause poisoning, intestinal blockage or perforation, infection and dental injury. Assessment also examines iron or other nutritional deficiency and coexisting developmental or mental-health needs without assuming that one explanation excludes the diagnosis.
Assessment and medical risks
- Eating non-food, non-nutritive substances persists for at least one month and is not developmentally expected or culturally supported.
- When pregnancy, autism, intellectual disability or another condition is present, pica is diagnosed separately only when it requires specific clinical attention.
- The history identifies the material, amount, access and timing; examination may include anaemia, iron or lead testing, infection checks and imaging when obstruction or a foreign body is possible.
- Abdominal pain, vomiting, altered bowel movements, pallor, dental injury and neurological symptoms are assessed according to the material involved.
Treatment and prevention
Poisoning, obstruction, infection, dental injury and confirmed nutritional deficiency are treated first by the relevant medical team. A functional behavioural assessment may identify triggers and build safer alternatives and reinforcement of appropriate eating or sensory behaviour.
Practical safeguards reduce access to dangerous substances and increase supervision without punishment. Dietetic assessment guides supplementation; high-dose supplements should not be taken empirically. Family, school, medical, nutrition and mental-health professionals coordinate the plan when developmental needs are present.
When urgent help is needed
Seek assessment when non-food ingestion repeats for weeks, involves hazardous material or is accompanied by pain, fatigue, weight loss or bowel changes. Record what may have been swallowed, how much and when, but do not induce vomiting without professional or poison-centre advice.