The pica, pseudorexia, or allotrophagia it is an eating disorder whose main symptom is a great desire to ingest substances that are not nutritious. Depending on the object that the person wants to eat, different names are used to describe this psychological illness.
Some of the most common variants are pagophagia (irresistible desire to eat ice), trichophagia (hair), stones (lithophagy) or earth (geophagy). Another of the best known, but which is usually classified as a different disorder, is coprophagia; people affected by it feel the urge to consume human feces.
The simple fact of consuming one of these materials is not enough to consider that a person suffers from pica. According to the DSM - IV, one of the manuals most used by psychologists to diagnose mental illnesses, the desire to consume these substances must remain for at least one month.
On the other hand, this consumption cannot be part of the normal development of the person (as in the case of children, who use their mouth to identify objects), or have to do with an extended cultural practice. In general, allotrophagia does not appear alone, but usually arises from other mental disorders.
Article index
The main criterion for diagnosing a person with pseudorexia is the continued use of substances without any nutritional value. For pica to be considered a disorder, this symptom must lead the person to suffer some risk regarding their physical health.
The dangers that can derive from the consumption of non-nutritive substances will depend on which one is chosen by the individual. In some cases, such as people who only eat ice or hair, the main problem will be malnutrition. By not eating enough real food, your body will end up showing symptoms similar to those of anorexia..
In the case of other more dangerous substances, such as stones or paint, there are many other risks that will require earlier intervention. Some of the most common are poisoning by certain components, obstruction of the digestive system, or poisoning..
In the most harmful variants of pica, in many cases it will be necessary to intervene first in the problems caused by it before trying to solve the psychological problem that leads the person to behave in this way.
There are countless versions of allotrophage, depending on the substance with which the person has a fixation. Next we will see some of the most common, as well as their possible risks to the health of those affected.
It is the obsession with ingesting objects that have sharp points. As expected, the main danger of this version of the disease is the production of internal wounds in the mouth or digestive system..
This version of the pike consists of the irrepressible desire to eat unlit matches. Due to the chemical components used to produce these objects, the greatest risk here is that of poisoning..
This version of allotrophagy, which is sometimes considered a different disorder, is the desire to ingest feces, both human and animal depending on the case. The main danger of this disorder is the ingestion of some bacteria present in the waste, which can endanger the life of the person.
Sometimes coprophagia is associated with some extreme sexual practices, such as BDSM, fetishism or sadomasochism.
It is about the obsession with consuming dirt, sand or mud. Its greatest danger comes from the dirt of these components, which can end up intoxicating the person.
This variant of the disease leads the person to want to eat crystals, usually small in size. As in the case of acuphagia, the main complication of hyalophagia is that the sharp points of the material can cause wounds in the mouth or digestive system of the individual.
Curiously, one of the most common variants of the disease, lithophagy leads the person to want to consume small stones, usually pebbles. The main danger here is the obstruction of the digestive system, as blockages form because this material cannot be digested easily..
It is about the irrepressible attraction for the consumption of ice. This variant of allotrophage is one of the most harmless, since this material alone does not represent any danger. However, the risk of malnutrition is still present, especially in cases where the individual only wants to eat ice..
Also known as "vampirism", this version of the disease leads the person to want to drink blood, which can be both human and animal depending on each case..
The main risk here is the contagion of some disease transmitted by blood, although due to the difficulty of obtaining this material, the person usually does not get to satisfy his desire most of the time..
The causes that lead a person to develop allotrophagia are unknown. However, various hypotheses have been put forward for the onset of the disease. These are usually divided into several types: nutritional, sensory, neuropsychiatric and psychosocial.
It is important to note that, based on the data we have on this disease, there is not a single cause responsible for its appearance in all individuals.
On the contrary, it seems sensible to say that each case develops differently, due to a combination of several factors..
In most cases, the substances ingested by people with pseudorexia have no nutritional value as such. However, one of the first explanations that appeared about this disease tried to point out the lack of some essential nutrients and minerals in the body as the main cause of the problem..
To be completely healthy, humans need a series of substances within our body to be maintained at adequate levels. Among other things, we need several minerals to stay healthy, including iron and zinc..
In several studies in which people with allotrophagy were examined, it has been possible to see that they had serious deficiencies of these two minerals. However, it has not been possible to establish a causal relationship between the disease and this symptom..
Because of this, some experts believe that the deficiency of iron and zinc could have been the cause of the pica, and not its consequence. In fact, many of the substances consumed by people with this disorder do have high percentages of these components, so it is not possible to rule out this theory.
When people with allotrophagia are asked about the reasons that lead to ingesting non-nutritive substances that can be dangerous, many simply say that doing so gives them pleasure..
Some of the attractive characteristics that they mention of what they consume are the touch, the smell or the taste. Therefore, another of the most accepted explanations for this disorder is that it is simply an alteration of the reward system, in the style of other desire disorders such as paraphilias.
However, this theory falls a bit short when it comes to explaining why these people put their lives at risk simply to satisfy a desire. It is generally believed that although this may be a weight factor, it is generally not the only one.
Over the last few years, it has been discovered that the appearance of allotrophagia is much more likely in people who have other types of neurological or psychiatric problems.
Among other things, it has been seen that certain brain lesions and the reduction of the activity of the dopaminergic circuit may have a direct relationship with the appearance of pica. They also seem to affect certain disorders such as autism, or even very low IQ levels..
The last set of theories that attempt to explain the appearance of allotrophagy are based on the idea that it is a disorder produced by a series of learnings throughout life. According to those who defend these explanations, the basic mechanisms by which it would appear would be classical conditioning and operant.
Many of the patients with this disease claim to feel very high levels of anxiety when they try to stop consuming the substance that attracts them. At the same time, when they ingest it, they say they relax immediately and improve their mood. Therefore, it is considered that it could be a kind of addiction.
The mechanisms by which addictions develop are very complex; But in short, the person begins to take an action to alleviate their anxiety or discomfort. In a short time, you need to carry it out more and more constantly to feel the same well-being.
The only problem with this theory is that it does not predict what might lead an individual to ingest substances such as glass or paint for the first time; however, it is the most accepted explanation for the maintenance of the disease.
Some specialists consider that certain problems in childhood, such as trauma or the presence of sexual abuse, could also lead to the development of allotrophagia during a person's adult life. However, more studies are needed in this regard..
Treatments for pica vary from patient to patient and depending on the suspected cause of the disease. Among other things, psychosocial, environmental and community approaches can be used, in addition to making changes in the diet and lifestyle of those affected.
The first step in treating allotrophagia has to do with detecting and, if necessary, treating a deficiency of any mineral that may be causing the disorder..
For cases in which the reasons that have led to the appearance of the problem appear to be completely psychological, normally both therapies and medication will be used.
In the case of patients with neurological problems, such as those with intellectual deficiencies, another possible approach is operant conditioning. When this method is applied, the patient learns, through rewards and punishments, to replace the impulse to ingest harmful substances with other behaviors.
For example, they may be taught to chew gum instead of swallowing rocks, to eat small foods like pipes or popcorn, or to engage in other behaviors that distract them from their urges..
In any case, in most cases the disorder will not go away completely, but it is possible to greatly reduce the frequency with which the person ingests harmful substances. The average has been found to be an 80% reduction in the times the obsessed object is consumed.
As mentioned above, allotrophagia can cause a large number of problems of greater or lesser severity depending on the type of non-nutritive substance that the person ingests..
If the individual completely avoids normal food in favor of other types of objects, the first problem will be malnutrition. This can endanger the life of the patient, so it will be necessary to carry out an intervention similar to that applied in the most severe cases of anorexia..
Other common problems in the case of people with pseudorexia are poisonings, poisonings, damage to the digestive system, mouth or throat, or infections by bacteria or viruses..
Pica or allotrophagia is a disorder that is not yet known much, but it can put the lives of people who suffer from it at serious risk. Fortunately, it is not very prevalent globally; but it is necessary to continue researching about it in order to prevent it and learn how to cure it when it occurs.
In this sense, educating families on how to prevent pica, and information about the disorder can be of great help to eliminate this problem at its roots..
Yet No Comments