Pica? - Anemia Message Board

giddyup715 · 11-30-2003, 11:21 PM

What is PICA? Am i using the right name for it? I think it means chewing (eating) clay-like materials and some are worse. Can someone tell me about it? And why does it happen?

PaNik5717 · 12-01-2003, 07:05 AM

Pica is actually the craving/eating of non-nutritive substances. It is a diagnosis in the DSM. It is often caused by a vitamin or mineral deficiency, but it can also be a purely psychological craving. The deficiency is rarely related to anything contained in the thing that is craved.

moonio · 12-08-2003, 11:24 AM

I used to eat chalk as a child, I had huge cravings for it, in later life i put this down to not liking milk so my body needed some other form of calcium...

naughteblonde · 12-08-2003, 01:08 PM

I have b12 anaemia and the doc pointed out that my tendency to eat paper was a pica