Allotriophagy
The Persistent Eating of Non-nutritive Substances
Eating Disorders or Eating Non-nutritive Substances, or Nonfood Items.
Pica is an eating disorder typically defined as the persistent eating of non-nutritive substances for a period of at least one month at an age in which this behavior is developmentally inappropriate; for example, 18-24 months. The definition occasionally is broadened to include the mouthing of non-nutritive substances.
Individuals involved 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, cigarette butts, wire, and burnt matches.
The following contents present a mixture and/or the causes and results of allotriophagy
acuphagia
(s) (noun) (no pl)
The ingestion or consumption of sharp objects: Acuphagia is a seldom disorder, and very dangerous to a person, and consists of eating such things as pins, needles, nails, etc.
amylophagia
(s) (noun) (no pl)
In pathology, the compulsive intake of starch: Amylophagia sometimes occurs during a woman's pregnancy, often in connection with a lack of iron, and is characterized by the consumption of terrific amounts of uncooked cornstarch, laundry starch, or rice..
bezoar formation
(s) (noun), bezoar formations
(pl)
A mixture of fibers matter that may get stuck in a stomach that does not empty well: Bezoar formation can be caused by various hard-packed things that cannot pass through the body, like indigestible food, hair, or medication.
bibliophagia
(s) (noun), bibliophagias
(pl)
The consumption of books by eating the pages: Jack read about a person suffering from
bibliophagia who always ate up the pages of new books!
This abnormal desire refers to humans, and not to "book worms" as shown in the illustration!
cautopyreiophagia
(s) (noun), cautopyreiophagias
(pl)
The ingestion of burnt matches: Few people have the very strange disorder of cautopyreiophagia and even chew and swallow burnt match heads.
coniophagia
(s) (noun), coniophagias
(pl)
The consumption of dust: A very odd disorder is coniophagia, which is the the intake of dust by sweeping it off the floor, putting it into a bowl, and eating it with a spoon!
coprophagia
(s) (noun (no pl)
The devouring of excrement or feces: Few people are affected by certain kinds of insanity and suffer from coprophagia and consume the solid contents from the toilet.
emetophagia
(s) (noun) (no pl)
An irrational anxiety disorder regarding vomit in general: Little Sharon always got into a panic when she had to vomit, or when someone else in her family had to vomit, and when they went to their doctor about this, he said that she had a condition of emetophagia.
geomelophagia
(s) (noun) (no pl)
An abnormal ingestion of, or the chewing and swallowing of raw potatoes: Dr. Thompson treated patients with disorders of geomelophagia who bad had headaches, nausea, diarrhoea and vomiting.
geophagy
(s) (noun) (no pl)
The consumption of soil, dirt, etc.: Geophagy is known to be the habit of eating earthy substances and believed to help out or augment a mineral deficiency in one's diet.
gooberphagia
(s) (noun) (no pl)
A pathological consumption of peanuts: Penny absolutely loved peanuts, and ate them the whole day, and only bought peanuts at the grocery store when she went shopping. Her doctor described her compulsion to consume peanuts as being a case of gooberphagia
hematophagy
(s) (noun) (no pl)
The ingestion or drinking of blood by organisms: Hematophagy can be exemplified by certain creatures, like mosquitos, worms, and leeches.
hyalophagia
(s) (noun), hyalophagias >
(pl)
The swallowing of glass; such as, glass from windows and bottles.
hyperkalemia
(s) (noun), hyperkalemias
(pl)
An eating disorder resulting from a desire for improper food which results in a higher than normal concentrations of potassium (K+) ions in the circulating blood: Because
hyperkalemia can cause lethal cardiac arrhythmia, it is one of the most serious electrolyte disturbances.
The reference to "electrolyte" involves various ions, such as sodium, potassium, or chloride, which are required by cells in the body to regulate the electric charges and flows of water molecules across the cell membranes.
lithophagia
(s) (noun) (no pl)
Ingestion of stones or rocks: It has been reported that lithophagia can cause colitis, intestinal obstruction, and volvul in which an operation is needed.
More details about pica are available.
The word unit of phago-, -phagy words.
It's Pica Again.
