Why do some children like to eat non-food things?

A case of a child pulling out his own hair and eating it due to pica syndrome - Photo: Provided by the hospital

Psychologist Nguyen Thi My Dung - Psychology Unit of City Children's Hospital (HCMC) - said that children under 18 months old often put non-food objects in their mouths. This is also the stage when children are curious and explore the world around them.

But after this stage, if children regularly eat things like clay, fabric, sand, paint, chalk, glue, soap, rocks, hair, coffee grounds, cigarette butts, paper, metal, gravel, animal feces, rubber bands, shampoo, etc., they may have pica syndrome.

When children have this syndrome, it leads to many health problems. Therefore, early detection and treatment of the syndrome in children is very necessary.

Psychologist My Dung added that pica is an eating disorder that involves eating foods that are not considered food and do not contain nutritional value... for at least one month.

The exact cause of this syndrome is still unknown, but there are some risk factors such as nutritional deficiencies, malnutrition, starvation, developmental disorders (intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder), lack of attention, stress...

If your child eats non-food items every day, watch him or her closely as this could be a symptom of pica. Consult your pediatrician as sometimes parents cannot identify the symptoms clearly.

If children regularly eat non-food foods, depending on the type of substance they consume, they may experience a number of different symptoms such as nausea, stomachache, constipation, diarrhea, fatigue, etc.

In addition, many complications of this syndrome include: gastrointestinal tract, poisoning (lead, mercury), infection due to eating feces or dirt, mouth trauma, tooth erosion.

Regarding the treatment of pica syndrome in children, psychologist My Dung said that there is no one-way or direct treatment method because it depends on the cause. Children can receive nutritional, psychological, medical, behavioral, and sensory interventions.

In case a child has pica syndrome, parents cannot delay taking the child to the doctor for timely diagnosis and treatment to avoid complications.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tre-khoai-an-nhung-thu-khong-phai-thuc-pham-20240304150950248.htm