My son is always trying to eat cardboard?

Question

I know there is a disease where people eat cardboard and other strange things but I cant find it anywhere. Does anyone here know?

Answer 1

Before jumping to conclusions as many of the comments have . .. you will want to rule-out a physical cause by a blood workup, upper and lower GI exams, stool cultures, etc. Always do a rule-out of physical conditions before jumping to psychological causes.

If there are no physical causes apparent, then seek out a child psychiatrist or psychologist. There are 4 criteria that must be met to sustain a diagnosis of Pica and a mental health professional can evaluate those for you.

So start with your pediatrician.

Answer 2

I believe he's lacking a nutrient that cardboard provides. Hence the following article:

Certainly not because of concerns over its safety. After all, cardboard is made from cellulose and cellulose is used in foods as an additive. Thus, it should be perfectly acceptable to eat cellulose. To be sure, though, I conducted extensive research on the topic. (By that I mean I did a Google search.) I found a World Health Organization report summarizing various studies in which rats and unsuspecting individuals in underdeveloped countries were randomized to receive diets of cellulose, foraged weeds or the rats that were fed cellulose in earlier experiments. The report concluded that there is no evidence to suggest that cellulose can not be part of a healthy diet.

I also found that the Discovery Channel's Mythbusters show once tested the nutritional properties of a cardboard box. (Video link - sorry, I could only find it in Spanish, but here's a summary in English.) And guess what? They determined that cardboard boxes are a low calorie and low fat food, which makes them just about the perfect thing for health- and weight-conscious individuals to eat. The Mythbusters guys also tasted the box and said it tasted like cardboard. Yum!

http://parlancheq.blogspot.com/2007/07/cardboard-its-whats-for-dinner.html

Answer 3

The disease is called Pica. If you are concerned enough to ask on here, you need to take your son to the doctor.

Answer 4

If it is not just simple teething, then it might be a cobalt deficiency.
DO NOT FEED YOUR KID COBALT!
If your kid is not teething and is actually trying to make a meal out of wood pulp, then visit a doctor. It could be a sulphur or almost any other shortage.

Since you are asking in V&V, I assume your kid is just starving for anything with more flavour than Tophu.

Answer 5

It's called Pica

Here's an informative website:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001538.htm

Answer 6

i agree to swangirl. Its called Pica!
Good Job swangirl

Answer 7

Pica.

Talk to a doctor.

Answer 8

Pica.

You never know, he could swallow tacks or glass when you aren't looking if you don't have it checked out soon.

He could have a huge knot of hair hanging out in his stomach.

Answer 9

Uhhmmm I can't find anything but don't let him eat it....that's bad.

Answer 10

go to webmd.com and so symptom checker it'll tell you everything you need to know.