Online support groups for those suffering from pica

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These are contents found in the stomach of someone suffering from pica

Addictions of any kind are a serious matter. If you live in South Carolina, you can seek information and help on addiction here: The William J. McCord Center

There are many different types of addictions that people suffer from. Some of the conventional addictions are alcohol and drugs, however there are addictions that don't fit into that category. There are non food addictions that people also suffer from. This is a disorder called pica.

Pica (pronounced PY-kah) is a medical disorder characterized by an appetite for substances largely non-nutritive (e.g. metal, clay, coal, sand, dirt, soil, feces, chalk, pens and pencils, paper, batteries, spoons, toothbrushes, soap, mucus, ash, gum,or an abnormal appetite for food ingredients (e.g. flour, raw potato, raw rice, starch, ice cubes, salt). For these actions to be considered pica, they must persist for more than one month at an age where eating such objects is considered developmentally inappropriate.

Many people with this disorder have a hard time quitting and so it has some of the familiar earmarks of addiction seen in drug use or alcoholism. Sufferers often do not think they are in any real harm however, non food items are not manufactured under strict conditions like food is, and therefore there are great quantities of impurities in the products. These impurities can be anything from dangerous pesticides and chemicals to rodent and insect body parts and fecal matter. There are a few support groups out there that can be seen by those suffering from this disorder. Here is a list of online pica support groups:

Pica Support Club

Bizarremedical.com

Experience Project

It is important that you seek medical supervision and help for your pica disorder. A medical doctor may be able to do certain blood tests to determine if your disorder is a deficiency that can be easily treated.

For other addictions, information and support, see: The Addicted Family

Are you a food addict?

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What is a food addict?
People who are addicted to food tend to display many of the characteristics of addicts and alcoholics. Food addicts develop a physical, mental, emotional craving and chemical addiction to food. The characteristics of food addicts can include:

Food addicts come equally from all age, race, and gender groups. They are overweight, underweight, and some of normal weight.

There are many forms of unhealthy addictions, not all involve chemical substances. Food addiction is a serious illness that has certain criteria that must be met before it can be diagnosed. If you are a food addict, this means it goes far beyond just "loving" food. Here are 20 key questions to ask yourself if you feel you are a food addict:
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1. Have you ever wanted to stop eating and found you just couldn't?
2. Do you think about food or your weight constantly?
3. Do you find yourself attempting one diet or food plan after another, with no lasting success?
4. Do you binge and then "get rid of the binge" through vomiting, exercise, laxatives, or other forms of purging?
5. Do you eat differently in private than you do in front of other people?
6. Has a doctor or family member ever approached you with concern about your eating habits or weight?
7. Do you eat large quantities of food at one time (binge)?
8. Is your weight problem due to your "nibbling" all day long?
9. Do you eat to escape from your feelings?
10. Do you eat when you're not hungry?
11. Have you ever discarded food, only to retrieve and eat it later?
12. Do you eat in secret?
13. Do you fast or severely restrict your food intake?
14. Have you ever stolen other people's food?
15. Have you ever hidden food to make sure you have "enough?"
16. Do you feel driven to exercise excessively to control your weight?
17. Do you obsessively calculate the calories you've burned against the calories you've eaten?
18. Do you frequently feel guilty or ashamed about what you've eaten?
19. Are you waiting for your life to begin "when you lose the weight?"
20. Do you feel hopeless about your relationship with food?

Food addiction can lead to lifelong health issues such as diabetes and heart disease to name a few. If you feel you may be a food addict, you can find additional help and resources by visiting, ACORN Food Dependency Recovery Services.

Addicted to eating hair

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Are you addicted to eating hair?

Trichophagia  is the compulsive eating of hair. Most often, long hair is chewed while still attached to the head and then swallowed.[citation needed] The hair eventually collects in the gastrointestinal tract causing symptoms such as indigestion and stomach pain. A purgative can be given to induce the elimination of the resulting trichobezoar.

Trichophagia is characterized by the person eating hair, usually their own. Sometimes they may even eat the hair of others (such as that found in brushes). In the psychiatric field it is considered a compulsive psychological disorder.In some cases, surgery may be required to remove the mass. In 2007, an article in

The New England Journal of Medicine reported the removal of a hairball weighing ten pounds from the stomach of an eighteen year-old Chicago woman suffering from trichophagia.

Like many of those who are addicted to eating non food items and suffering from some form of Pica, this particular disorder is much more dangerous than the person may be aware of. Because most things ingested have the ability to affect our digestive system, human hair ingested can cause serious side effects, including death.See : Girl died from eating her hair

For additional information on Trichophagia, see:Psychosomatics

Trichophagia and Trichotillomania

Trichophagia is related to another compulsive disorder, trichotillomania. Both trichophagia and trichotillomania involve compulsions surrounding an individual’s hair. Trichotillomania sufferers will just pull out their hair and will not eat it. Trichophagia sufferers will not always pull out their hair, but will consume it when it is still attached to their head. Many sufferers of trichophagia start out with trichotillomania

Treatment for Trichophagia

Treating the disorder of trichophagia is similar to treatment of other impulse control disorders. The disorder is believed to be caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain and can be treated with a combination of anti-depressant drugs and psychotherapy. Trichophagia must also be treated medically if the excess hair is causing problems within the digestive tract via medications or surgery. Occasionally the accumulation of hair in the digestive tract can cause a trichobezoar or hairball. This can cause many medical problems and have even caused a few deaths. Trichophagia can be seen as a more dangerous disorder than trichotillomania because of the formation of potentially deadly trichobezoars. This requires individuals who are suffering from trichophagia to seek treatment as soon as possible to decrease the potential risk of trichobezoars.

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Addicted to eating toilet paper, why it isn't safe

Image via WikipediaIf you are addicted to eating toilet paper, you may out of concern for yourself researched a little on the Internet about the safety of this practice. There are many online answer type forums and many answers say it is safe as long as you are eating regular food on a regular basis. This information of course is faulty.
First and foremost, any time you or someone you know is eating non food items it is not "safe". It isn't safe because of many reasons but chiefly because craving any non food item can suggest an underlying health issue that needs to be addressed. Speak to your doctor about your craving non food items like toilet paper and have them give you a blood test to rule out possible deficiencies in your diet. Mineral deficiencies are usually the majority of the reasons for such cravings and in most cases is an easy fix. If there are no underlying deficiencies, you may need to have other therapies to determine where your disorder stems from. People suffering from Pica often crave things like toilet paper, clay, dirt, chalk and even detergents. It is a signal of an underlying problem in most all cases. It may be physical, or psychological. Medical investigation and intervention is necessary to find out which treatment is needed.
It is not safe to ingest toilet paper, in spite of what you may read online. Toilet  paper is manufactured in a facility that does not have regulations needed to make it safe for human consumption. As such it may have trace contaminants that are not edible. This is the typical manufacturing process and ingredients used in making toilet paper.
Toilet paper is generally made from new or "virgin" paper, using a combination of softwood and hardwood trees. Softwood trees such as Southern pines and Douglas firs have long fibers that wrap around each other; this gives paper strength. Hardwood trees like gum, maple and oak have shorter fibers that make a softer paper. Toilet paper is generally a combination of approximately 70% hardwood and 30% softwood.

Other materials used in toilet paper include water, chemicals for breaking down the trees into usable fiber, and bleaches. Companies that make paper from recycled products use oxygen, ozone, sodium hydroxide, or peroxide to whiten the paper. Virgin-paper manufacturers, however, often use chlorine-based bleaches (chlorine dioxide), which have been identified as a threat to the environment. If it is a threat to the environment it is generally not safe for human consumption either. No one can conclusively say that is it safe in the long term effects it may have on the human body. To seek further treatment information please visit: Emedicine treatment for pica

Addiction to non food items

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Chalky composed of kaolinite with traces of quartz ingested by a patient with pica.

This condition is referred to as Pica, and it involves the inability to resist eating a wide variety of non food items. It is diagnosed only if it is determined that the sufferer is unable to stop eating non food items, usually after a month of continued eating. There are a wide variety of items that a person suffering from Pica will ingest.

Substances  include but are not limited to dirt, chalk,clay, feces, hair,detergent,laundry starch, fingernails, paint chips, cigarette butts, wire, burnt matches, animal excrement, string, erasers, needles, ice, lead, and rocks.

Pica is a rather common occurrence and does not always signify an ongoing problem as most people have gone through bouts of Pica symptomatic behavior at some point in their lives. In some instances it is a curiosity factor, and can be a subconscious behavior that can stem from hunger or boredom. Pica becomes a disorder that needs additional tests and treatment when the urge to consume dangerous items is compulsive and can not be stopped. Many times it can be a significant sign of a malnutrition that is going on in the sufferers body and blood tests to determine deficiencies may be in order. Many Pica sufferers have an iron deficiency.

There are a large number of those suffering from Pica that have a predisposition to the condition brought on by developmental abnormalities, living in economically depressed areas of the world, mental retardation and pervasive developmental disorders. The key thing to observe in any person feared to suffer from this condition is the amount of time they have been indulging in the behavior.

All those partaking in any addictive behavior should as a rule of thumb, seek medical treatment to rule out physical problems that may be underlying. Consuming even items that seem to be harmless can still have physically negative effects on the body, because non consumable items are often manufactured in warehouses that do not have to follow the same guidelines that food manufacturers do. Once blood tests are done, if no underlying medical conditions are present, it is a good idea to ask your medical professional to suggest  what appropriate therapy to seek out.

Addicted to eating chalk

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Addiction to any substance whether it is considered non threatening or deadly is cause for concern. While some people may indulge in addictions that are well known, such as alcohol or various drugs, there are other addictions, less well known. One such addiction that has recently become newsworthy has been the constant craving and consumption of chalk. This is considered not only an addictive behavior but also an eating disorder called Pica. Pica is a pattern of eating non food items and/or craving them.

Many Internet researches claim that chalk is generally a non poisonous item, consisting mostly of calcium. However this information is not complete and those seeking information should be forewarned. Chalk also has been shown to have lead in them. Those that indulge in eating copious amounts of chalk need to know that Internet information is lacking. Do not assume the first source of information is correct. It took three Internet inquiries just to find out whether chalk had any dangerous ingredients. The first two inquiries made said no poisonous ingredients are found in chalk. This is misleading and should be disregarded. Unfortunately many sites claiming to give the general information, give false and inaccurate information. Be wary of them and never accept the first answer you find.
It is not natural or normal to eat non nutritive items, whether it is chalk, paper, dirt, clay, etc. Consuming these items on a regular basis with the inability to quit makes it an addiction. What makes it an unsafe practice is that most non food substances are not manufactured under the strict guidelines food is. With that in mind, it is not uncommon for many non food items to contain a wide variety of contaminants such as roach and insect body parts, feces and rodent droppings, dust, dirt, urine, and other unclean elements.

Any time your body is craving a non food item, and consumes of it regularly you are in need of having medical care. Although many think this is just an illness or disorder to be treated by a psychiatrist or psychologist, any medical professional that fails to order up a complete blood work up in addition to their treatment is falling short of their responsibility as a caregiver. There could very well be deficiencies to blame for the unnatural cravings, as well as damage that has already taken place inside the body.  For more information on Pica, see:  AllRefer.com Health

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