BABIES LIKE to explore their environment and put strange objects into their mouth but, in some babies it is a more serious problem - an eating disorder called pica. These babies have a compulsion to eat non-nutritive substances such as dirt, clay, pieces of soap, animal waste, flakes of paint from the wall, laundry starch and hairballs.
Studies indicate that often the parents of children with pica would have themselves suffered from the condition earlier in life. It can seriously affect the child if, for instance, the urge is to eat flakes of lead paint or large amounts of clay.
Many of the patients affected by pica are under six years old but the condition can also occur in adults especially in pregnant women and in mentally-retarded persons. In children, this abnormal behaviour is a rare mental disorder with onset typically in the second year of life, usually disappears in childhood but in some children it continues into adolescence.
Paediatricians note that in some cases the cause of pica is related to a deficiency in the patient's nutrition such as iron deficiency anaemia or zinc deficiency. In some cases, health personnel cannot identify a cause of the condition.
If the child is suspected to have pica several medical tests can be performed to determine malnutrition (since the condition is associated with nutritional deficiencies). The doctor would check the serum levels of iron and zinc. The haemoglobin would be tested for anaemia.
Usually the treatment involves family counselling, education and behaviour modification for the child.
