noun
definition
A disorder characterized by craving and appetite for non-edible substances, such as ice, clay, chalk, dirt, or sand.
synonyms
Examples of pica in a Sentence
Water is brought by pipes from Pica, 50 m.
His last work was a corrected edition of the Welsh Bible issued in small pica by the Bible Society.
In children, severe iron deficiency may lead them to eat dirt (a condition called pica ).
They are activated by touch, leaving the person with the pica pica pica rash.
Adult cats who suffer from a condition known as "pica" should not use silica cat litter or any litter that is dangerous when ingested.
Pica is a condition that prompts cats to ingest inappropriate materials, and silica is very dangerous when ingested.
Some cats who have an eating disorder called feline pica may try to eat their cat litter.
Pica is the persistent craving and compulsive eating of non-food substances.
The puzzling phenomenon of pica has been recognized and described since ancient times.
Pica has been observed in ethnic groups worldwide, in both primitive and modernized cultures, in both sexes, and in all age groups.
The word pica comes from the Latin name for magpie, a bird known for its unusual and indiscriminate eating habits.
In addition to humans, pica has been observed in other animals, including the chimpanzee.
True pica affects people of all ages, although it is more common in children.
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 involving dozens of other substances, including cigarette butts and ashes, hair, paint chips, and paper have also been reported.
In order for the diagnosis of pica to be made, there must be a history of persistent consumption of a non-food substance continuing for a minimum period of one month.
Pica is most often diagnosed when a report of such behaviors can be provided by an individual or documented by another person.
In other cases, pica is diagnosed after studies have been performed to assess the presenting symptoms.
Biopsy of intestinal contents can also reveal findings, such as parasitic infection, consistent with pica.
Pica may also be suspected if abnormal levels of certain minerals or chemicals are detected in the blood.
Treatment of pica will often depend on the cause and type of pica.
Some therapists specializing in eating disorders may have expertise in treating pica.
When seen in children, pica behavior tends to lessen with age.
However, individuals with a history of pica are more likely to experience it again.
There are no known methods of preventing pica.
However, once pica is known or suspected, measures can be taken to reduce further ingestion of non-food substances.
Close observation of the individual with pica may limit inappropriate eating behaviors.
Pica may be a symptom of an underlying nutritional deficiency.
Correcting the deficiency usually stops the pica.
They have the habit of eating dirt or have been diagnosed with pica.
Pica is an eating disorder during pregnancy that involves eating substances that aren't food.
Women who are experiencing pica should talk to their doctors.
Thoth is found on the earliest monuments symbolized by an ibis (Ibis aethio pica, still not uncommon in Nubia), which bird was sacred to him.
Among gallinaceous birds besides the red-legged partridge, which is met with everywhere on the steppes, there are found also the Pterocles alchita and P. arenarius; and among the birds of other orders are the southern shrike (Lanius meridianalis), the Spanish sparrow (Passer cyaneus), and, the blue magpie (Cyano pica cooki).
The pie belongs to the same family of birds as the crow, and is the Corvus pica of Linnaeus, the Pica caudata, P. melanoleuca, or P. rustica of modern ornithologists, who have recognized it as forming a distinct genus, but the number of species thereto belonging has been a fruitful source of discussion.
For example, imaging studies ordered to assess severe gastrointestinal complaints may reveal intestinal blockage with an opaque substance; such a finding is suggestive of pica.
Medical complications and health threats, including high lead levels, bowel perforation or intestinal obstruction, will require additional medical management, beyond addressing the underlying issue of pica.
Because most cases of pica do not have an obvious medical cause, treatment with counseling, education, and nutritional management is often more successful and more appropriate than treatment with medication.
The prognosis for individuals with pica varies greatly, according to the type and amount of substance ingested, the extent of presenting side effects, and the success of treatment.