Private Practice is a show about a group of doctors. They all have different types of cases. This week though the episode : Second Choices, really stuck out to me. A ten year old boy named Oliver was brought in by his mother and step father to his pediatrician, because he had a stomach ache. As this child walks into the scene he is wearing what looks like a hockey mask. His mother makes him wear this mask so he wont eat things. The parents go on to explain that Oliver has been eating every thing around him. This condition started the same time Olivers mother remarried. Oliver has Pica, which is a condition where a person has uncontrolable urges to eat things around him or her. Oliver had eaten his stuffed animals, potpouri, books and other objects. Cooper(the pediatrician) tells Oliver that pica is a rare condition and he brings in a psychologist Dr. Sheldon. Oliver's mother is very upset with her sons condition she just wants him to be normal. She is more concerned with her new husband leaving than her sons condition. When Oliver was being admitted to the hospital Cooper walks into a room and Oliver's mother is eating toilet paper. The mother never told anyone about her condition. She told Cooper that she only does it when she is nervous but had complete control over it for years. Oliver told Sheldon he doesn't know why he does it, he isn't even thinking when he puts things in his mouth.In our psychology class we haven't learn about this condition. It really interests me. I am not sure if it would be under the category of eating disorder or mental disorder. In chapter 9 we learn about motivation and emotion. What motivates an eating disorder? Some scientist think that damage to the hypothalamus depending could cause an eating disorder. The hypothalamus controls our motivational stimuli, it tells us when to eat and when to stop. Social acceptance is another factor in eating disorders. I think Pica would be more of an psychological disorder. I can see a connection with the emotion, the mother feels nervous and then this makes her just eat anything that is within grasp. The little boy Oliver is in automatic mode when he is eating, he is not even thinking about it. I can also see how this condition may even be genetic. It could not of been environmental because the mother had not shown signs of pica before to her son.
I also think that this disorder is very interesting. There was recently a couple in the news that had adopted a son. The child died suddenly from what was found to be an overdose on seasoning salt. The mother was convicted of killing the son by forcing him to eat the salt as punishment, but many experts believe that the child may actually have suffered from Pica. There is obviosly a lot more research that needs to be done on the disorder.
ReplyDeleteOn one show a man ate a book he wrote because of stress, it is also not uncommon for pregnant women to eat dirt and other non-food items. I wonder if this is the same condition.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of Pica. This story is very interesting. I think that the boy in this story may have a psychological disorder, since he didn't start doing this until his mother remarried. This is a very interesting condition to learn more about.
ReplyDeleteI think it is funny that someone wrote about Pica. I experienced this disorder while pregnant with my second son. I had the urge to eat ground coffee ...pretty gross but, soon after delivery the urged stopped completely. The doctor said it is very common to experience Pica when pregnant he also said that usually it is because of lack of nutrients.
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