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The Strangest Non-Food Items Doctors Have Seen People Eat

Don’t ignore an urge to eat drywall.

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Most people don’t know the clinical term pica. They know the TV portrayal, though. My Strange Addiction spent years introducing viewers to people eating things that were definitely not food and turning it into a public spectacle. 

That public understanding is pretty warped. Pica is a real eating disorder involving the persistent craving and consumption of non-food items, and the list of things people eat gets disturbing pretty quickly. A recent New York Post story asked specialists about the strangest things they’ve seen patients consume, and the answers were shocking, to say the least. 

Dr. Erica Brody, a pediatrician at Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital, said she worked with a patient whose family had to hide kitchen sponges because the patient would eat them “even when they were dirty and foul-smelling.” Dr. Corinne Catarozoli, a psychologist at New York-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine, said she’s seen patients eat drywall, paper products, toys, crayons, clay, hair, and nails.

But that’s where the gawking should probably stop.

Because once you get past the initial “what the hell,” pica is actually very serious. Catarozoli said it can be linked to nutritional deficiencies, especially iron or zinc. It can also be connected to neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism or psychiatric disorders like OCD. She added that behavioral reinforcement can keep it going, especially when the behavior relieves anxiety or provides sensory stimulation.

Pica Is Pretty Serious, Actually

That’s why pica doesn’t fit neatly into the freak-show box reality TV built for it. It’s not some random gross habit people pick up for attention. It can point to something much deeper going on physically, psychologically, or both. Catarozoli said, “Pica is often misunderstood as a strange behavior, when in reality it’s a meaningful clinical signal.” She added that it “can point to underlying medical, nutritional, or psychological needs that aren’t being met.”

The health risks are bad enough on their own. Drywall can expose someone to lead poisoning. Hair and nails can clog the digestive system. The Post also cited a case involving a 9-year-old girl in Vietnam whose hair-eating led to a massive hairball stretching from her stomach into her small intestine. It required surgery to remove it. 

The encouraging piece is that Brody and Catarozoli both said pica is treatable, especially when it’s caught early. Catarozoli said it can improve in children once underlying deficiencies or developmental issues are addressed, though some cases need longer-term management and behavioral therapy.

People are always going to latch onto the grossest detail first. That part was never in doubt. What gets missed is that pica can be detrimental to someone’s health, and we’re just ogling from our couch. 

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