Pica: Signs, Symptoms, & Treatments

What Is Pica?

Pica involves the consumption of non-food items. There are several categories of items consumed, including earth, raw starches, ice, hair, and more. This can result in nutritional deficits from lack of actual food, medical issues from intestinal blockages, or even more severe complications, depending upon the items ingested.

Categories of pica include:²

• Geophagy (earth): Clay, dirt, rocks
• Amylophagy (raw starch): Raw potatoes, rice, flour, corn starch, baby powder
• Pagophagia (ice): Ranging from cups to pounds a day

Common nonfood items eaten by those with pica include but are not limited to:

• Animal droppings/feces
• Batteries
• Chalk
• Cigarette ashes/butts
• Clay/dirt/rocks/pebbles
• Cloth/string
• Erasers
• Eggshells
• Glue
• Hair
• Ice
• Magnets
• Paper clips/metal
• Soap
• Toys

Who Suffers From Pica?

Pica is most common among pregnant women and young children.² Although pica occurs equally in female and male children, it is rare to see pica in adolescent and adult males.³ It is also seen in other populations, such as those with intellectual disabilities, autism, OCD, trichotillomania (hair pulling), and schizophrenia.⁴ Among those with intellectual disabilities, it is most common between the ages of 10-20 years.³

Pica in Young Children

Young children ingest all kinds of nonfood items like paper, dirt, glue, erasers, cloth, chalk, and hair. This is not the same as children who suck on their hair as a self-soothing technique or chew on pencils out of boredom in the classroom.

Pica in Pregnant Women

Pregnant women tend to chew on ice a great deal during pregnancy, but they can also consume much of the same items that children eat during episodes of pica. The unborn baby and mother can be endangered, depending upon the items eaten.

Causes & Risk Factors of Pica

There are many hypotheses regarding the causes of pica, but no firm data supports these theories.³ There are both psychosocial and biochemical causes. One potential reason that individuals consume nonfood items is that they suffer from a nutritional deficiency such as a low level of iron, zinc, or calcium.

It is unclear, though, whether the lack of nutrients led to the consumption of clay, for instance, or whether eating nonfood items caused nutritional deficits. Ingestion of dirt or clay may be considered culturally acceptable in some areas. While this practice can still lead to medical complications, it is not considered to be an eating disorder under those circumstances.³

Pica is different from other eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa in that it is not related to a disturbance of body image or a desire to become thin. The individual suffering from pica is more driven by compulsions, such as in OCD.

Lack of supervision in some families can lead to children consuming nonfood items, though this is not always the case. Children may also turn to pica as a source of comfort in traumatic, neglectful or stressful situations.

Risk Factors for Developing Pica

Risk factors for pica include:^1,4

• Stress
• Pregnancy
• Nutritional deficiencies
• Co-occurring disorders
• Family psychopathology
• Cultural factors (some groups in the US and Africa are known to eat clay)
• Low socioeconomic status
• Learned behaviors
• Parental neglect
• Maternal deprivation
• Emotional trauma

Complications of Pica

People with pica can experience significant medical impairment as a result of consuming the nonfood items. Poisoning or infections are possible, along with intestinal blockages and tears of the esophagus depending upon what items are ingested.

Here are several potential complications of pica, depending on what someone is consuming:⁴

• Clay or dirt consumption can lead to constipation, toxicity, and nutritional deficiencies. Consuming dirt can also lead to infections or parasites.
• Eating large amounts of ice can lead to dental problems and iron deficiencies.
• Consuming large amounts of starch can also lead to iron deficiencies. In some cases, pica can lead to high blood sugar and even obesity.
• Other substances frequently consumed pose risks as well, such as lead poisoning from paint, mercury poisoning from paper, burns from batteries, arsenic, fluoride, and many other possible contaminants.
• Intestinal blockages can occur, as most non-food items are not easily digestible.
• Nutritional deprivation is common since people with pica may not be eating enough food.

Getting a Pica Diagnosis

There are no specific tests to diagnose pica, so it’s critical to be forthcoming with medical and mental health providers about the nonfood items being ingested. Diagnosis is dependent upon self-reporting of the patient. There are a few tests that physicians may order, depending upon the nonfood items a patient has ingested, like an X-ray to determine lead poisoning.³

While most individuals consume nonfood items or foods with little to no nutritional value at some point in their lives, most of the time these incidents don’t constitute a diagnosable eating disorder. Young children often chew on or even eat items like crayons or pet food that is easily accessible. When this behavior is considered developmentally appropriate, it isn’t diagnostic in nature.

Adolescents and adults also often consume foods and beverages that are of little to no nutritional value such as energy drinks, soda, or candy. These examples do not qualify for an eating disorder diagnosis absent of other symptoms.

Diagnostic Features of Pica

If a primary care physician suspects an eating disorder, the person will be referred to a mental health professional for confirmation of a diagnosis and specialized treatment. Therapists and psychiatrists diagnose eating disorders based upon a set of industry accepted diagnostic criteria found in the the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-V).

The DSM-V describes pica as having the following diagnostic features:⁵

• A persistent eating of nonnutritive, nonfood substances over a period of at least 1 month
• The eating of nonnutritive, nonfood substances is inappropriate to the developmental level of the individual
• The eating behavior is not part of a culturally supported or socially normative practice
• If the eating behavior occurs in the context of another mental disorder (e.g. intellectual disability [intellectual developmental disorder], autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia), or medical condition (pregnancy), it is sufficiently severe to warrant additional clinical attention

Pica Treatments

A medical exam is needed for anyone suspected of having pica. It’s important to conduct lab work that will check for deficiencies and toxicities due to nonfood items ingested. Your physician will address any medical complications related to consumption of nonfood items and related physical conditions resulting from the disorder. Then the individual will be referred to a mental health professional to address pica and any co-occurring conditions.

Treatment for the individual dealing with pica will include a multi-disciplinary approach with a team of professionals, including a primary care physician, a therapist, a registered dietitian, and possibly a psychiatrist. These individuals may also require appointments with a dentist if the nonfood items they have been eating have damaged their teeth.

The most common approaches to treating pica are behavior modification, nutritional counseling, medical monitoring and treatment, and in some cases medication for co-occurring medical or psychological conditions.

Therapy for Pica

In young children, it is crucial that their family is involved in treatment so that nonfood items are no longer accessible for consumption. Adults may also involve family or friends in their treatment.

Common types of therapies for treating pica include:

Behavioral Therapy

Behavioral therapy is a term used to describe techniques used to change maladaptive behaviors. The goal is to reinforce desirable behaviors and eliminate unwanted ones. Behavioral therapy is focused on the problem. The goal is to teach people new behaviors to minimize or eliminate the issue.⁶ Children and their family members may use rewards such as stickers on a sticker chart to reinforce positive choices throughout the week regarding their food choices.

Nutrition Counseling

A registered dietitian with a specialty in eating disorders will provide nutrition counseling to the individual with pica. This may also include their family, especially in the case of younger clients. The dietitian will educate the client and family about nutritional deficits in the client’s diet, how to meet their dietary needs, and how to determine the difference between edible and non-edible food items. The dietitian will work with the PCP to monitor lab work to ensure medical stability.

Family Therapy

Family therapy is designed to assist the entire family to learn about the disorder that is impacting the individual as well as everyone else. The family therapist will assist all involved to learn to cope with the stress as well as to develop coping skills needed to manage the condition within their household. Family therapy sessions provide a safe environment for families to discuss their feelings about dealing with a disorder that can be stressful and frightening for all involved.

Psychoeducation

Psychoeducation is designed to assist families to better understand and cope with pica within their households through providing information about the disorder and how to manage it. This will be provided to families by the therapist, psychiatrist, and the registered dietitian as it pertains to their portion of the patient’s treatment.⁷

It is important that both the individual diagnosed with pica and those they live with are given information about the condition and ideas about how to support and protect the individual. This is true of any co-occurring disorder that the patient is dealing with as well.

Medication

There are not any specific medications used to treat pica at this time. It is thought that antipsychotic medications, commonly used to treat schizophrenia and mood disorders, might help to reduce urges to consume nonfood items in pica. Some evidence suggests that the medications may provide treatment alternatives in individuals with pica that are resistant to behavioral intervention.³ The medications will likely have a larger role in treating any coexisting mental health disorders than in treating the pica.

Lifestyle Changes

In addition to the formal treatment a person receives for pica such as medical care, therapy and medication, there are lifestyle changes that can be helpful as well.

Lifestyle changes that can help manage this eating disorder and related conditions include:

• Spending time with family and friends to increase support and accountability
• Making sure to get adequate sleep to reduce stress and anxiety
• Ensuring that the environment is safe for yourself and loved ones. Your home should be free of the nonfood items that the individual suffering from pica has been consuming.
• Discovering alternative activities to distract oneself from consuming nonfood items

Cost of Pica Treatments

The cost for the treatment of pica depends on the length of time needed and the number and qualifications of professionals required. Eating disorders require treatment from many professionals collaborating with one another to provide specialized care. Many commercial insurance plans will cover the costs of the medical treatment associated with pica while therapy and nutritional counseling may be more expensive due to out-of-pocket expenses.

Most individuals will be treated for pica at the outpatient level meaning they will not require hospitalization as with other eating disorders. Outpatient therapy appointments vary from state to state and the qualifications of the provider seen. The national average for a 50-minute counseling session is $90.⁸ The cost for nutritional counseling is also variable and is not always covered by commercial insurance.

How to Get Help For Pica

Treatment for pica should begin with a physical examination to rule out any medical complications related to consumption of nonfood items. A referral will be made to a mental health professional such as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) or a Psychologist (PhD) to address the behavioral aspects of the disorder. A psychiatrist may also be consulted, especially if co-occurring disorders are present.

How to Get Help For a Loved One

Those with any eating disorder are encouraged to schedule an appointment with their primary care physician or locate a therapist through their insurance carrier. Pica is a severe eating disorder, so a good place to start is with an eating disorder specialist.

When searching for specialists, one credential to look for is a therapist who is a Certified Eating Disorders Specialist (CEDS). These therapists are certified by the International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals (IAEDP) due to their highly specialized training and years of experience in the field of eating disorders.