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[Dysphagia] PICA
"Pica is an eating disorder typically defined as the persistent eating of nonnutritive substances for a period of at least 1 month at an age in which this behavior is developmentally inappropriate (eg, >18-24 mo). The definition occasionally is broadened to include the mouthing of nonnutritive substances. Individuals presenting with pica have been reported to mouth and/or ingest a wide variety of nonfood substances, including, but not limited to, clay, dirt, sand, stones, pebbles, hair, feces, lead, laundry starch, vinyl gloves, plastic, pencil erasers, ice, fingernails, paper, paint chips, coal, chalk, wood, plaster, light bulbs, needles, string, and burnt matches."
The above quote was sent to me this morning. It appears that anyone who explores with his mouth, as do many of the profoundly mentally retarded people with whom I work, should be considered to have PICA. Is it possible that people should not be diagnosed as having PICA if they mouth objects to explore them, and then once the object is in the mouth, it gets automatically swallowed?
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