![]() There are two main types of the condition, says O'Brien. In one American study, 25% of patients in psychiatric care were found to have pica and it appeared in 60% of people with autism (pica tends to be a symptom of something else rather than a disorder in itself). "He was given blood tests for zinc deficiency but nothing showed up." There is no explanation for Daniel's pica. You have to be constantly aware but in a way that doesn't inhibit his life, and you have to make sure his environment is right - he has laminate flooring in his room and an indestructible mattress." "We have had to take him to hospital many times, mainly just to check something hasn't got stuck if we suspect he has swallowed something. When he was younger, he learned that he could rip open a teddy and eat the stuffing."īecause Daniel's pica is inconsistent, Cooper says she, and the staff who help look after him, have to be always on their guard. He lives in a residential centre and recently ate some disposable rubber gloves. ![]() If he cuts himself, we can't put plasters on him because he'll eat them. ![]() When he was younger, he drank a bottle of washing-up liquid. He has eaten sand, pebbles, stones, cigarette ends, pen tops, the ends of plastic razors, string, Sellotape. ![]() "If we go to the beach, suddenly you'll think 'did he put something in his mouth?'. "There is nothing he wouldn't consider eating," she says. Her son, Daniel, who is now 21, has Cri du Chat syndrome, a genetic disorder that results in a range of learning disabilities and challenging behaviours - one of which is pica. Vivien Cooper founded the Challenging Behaviour Foundation ( ) to give parents of children with behavioural difficulties information and support. People with pica have to be watched constantly. In 2000, Edward Cope, a 33-year-old man with autism from Manchester, died from complications after swallowing 10 buttons, a drawing pin, pieces of chain and bone and a large amount of black foam rubber. He died after an operation to remove the objects. An x-ray showed he had swallowed five kilograms of coins, necklaces and needles his stomach was so heavy it had been forced down between his hips. In 2002, a 62-year-old French man with a history of mental illness went to hospital complaining of stomach pains. It can also have grave consequences if the items consumed are poisonous or, as in Mr Evans's case, cause an obstruction in the intestines. It can cause digestive problems - ingesting soil can lead to worm infestations and damage to teeth. "It's really not very common but when it occurs, it can be bad." "So it affects young kids and people with severe learning difficulties." Professor O'Brien says 1%-2% of people with learning disabilities suffer from extreme pica. "Pica usually appears in people of a low mental age," says Gregory O'Brien, professor of developmental psychiatry at Northumberland University. At the inquest, the hospital's deputy manager explained how an extra fence had to be erected around the hospital to stop Mr Evans going looking for things to eat, and how staff had to constantly monitor him in case he tried to swallow objects or drink bottles of cleaning fluid.Ĭommon cravings in people with pica include the urge to eat soil, coal, rust, chalk and paper (in the 16th century it was given its name from the Latin for "magpie" due to the sufferer's often indiscriminate eating), although people have been known to ingest anything from animal faeces to bits of metal. He had undergone surgery twice before, but died this time, after attempts to remove objects including a screw, a pen top, a magnet and some coins from his bowel. Mr Evans had been a patient at a psychiatric hospital in Pontyclun and was suffering from pica, a rare disorder which makes the sufferer feel a compulsion to eat non-food items. Last month, an inquest was held into the death of Dewi Evans, a 61-year-old man from south Wales.
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