PICA

Pica is the persistent eating of nonnutritive substances at an age where the behavior may be considered inappropriate. Individuals 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, foam rubber, fingernails, paper, paint chips, coal, chalk, wood, laster, light bulbs, needles, string, cigarette butts, wire, and burnt matches.