What is Pica?
Pica is an eating disorder that is sometimes also classified as a mental disorder. It causes the affected person to uncontrollably eat stuff that isn't considered food. Sibstances consumed can be hair, chalk, stones, earth, animal feces, clay and more. People with Pica often don't report their behaviour or seek help because they are embarrassed and ashamed of it.
Who can be affected
Since it is a mental disorder, everyone can get infected. Most common are children and people with mental disorders like schizophrenia or obsessive compulsive disorder.
Problems that Pica can cause
The issues that result from Pica are very different, depending on what you're eating.
Hair: Digestive issues. Hair can form blockades and get stuck.
(Animal) feces: Can contain parasites and germs that make you very ill.
Dirt or clay: Parasites.
Rocks: Can puncture or rupture internal tissue.
Chalk: Irritates the stomach and can cause vomiting.
In other cases, Pica can cause poisioning which can lead to death.
If the affected person only eats those things, it can lead to starvation (because those things don't have calories, duh).
Pica can also cause your teeth to get damaged.
Why the fuck do people eat random stuff
The exact causes of Pica aren't specified but patients often have neurodevelopment disorders.
Diagnosis
Diagnostic criteria for diagnosis of pica according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) states that the following four criteria must be met:
-persistent eating of nonnutritive, nonfood substances over a period of at least 1 month
-the eating of nonnutritive, nonfood substances is inappropriate to the developmental level of the individual
-the eating behavior is not part of a culturally supported or socially normative practice
-if the eating behavior occurs in the context of another mental disorder (e.g. intellectual disability (intellectual developmental disorder), autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia) or medical condition (including pregnancy), it is sufficiently severe to warrant additional clinical attention
Pics I stole from Google:
Nails??
Soil
Soil
Chalk
If you think you have this disorder, please visit your doctor.
Take care of your bodies 
Slavshit
Sandshit
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I just mentioned this to my sister yesterday, she hasn't ever heard of it before. It's such an odd compulsion but pregnancy changes all sorts of things within the body. You can find edible chalk on Amazon that they sell. I stumbled upon it one day a few months back. Reading the reviews of the people who have gotten it before was so odd. All women and they describe how it is and how it helped many of them. I suppose if it's harmless, it shouldn't be too bad but I imagine ingest too much at a time can cause complications.
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Oh yes I've heard of that before, I can see it damaging teeth if they are weak already. But if it's ice that's beginning to melt it's not nearly as strong as a cube right of the freezer. I myself like to chew on ice chips/cubes I pull from whatever cold drink I'm having during summer. Helps cool me down and feels nice on the tongue and gums
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