Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2014 Jan;23(1):65-7.
doi: 10.4103/0972-6748.144972.

An unusual case of xylophagia (paper-eating)

Mahesh Gowda  1 , Bhavin M Patel  1 , S Preeti  1 , M Chandrasekar  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

An unusual case of xylophagia (paper-eating)

Mahesh Gowda et al. Ind Psychiatry J. 2014 Jan.

Abstract

Xylophagia is a condition involving the consumption of paper and form of eating disorder known as pica. Pica is an unusual craving for ingestion of either edible or inedible substances. Inhalants are volatile substances, which produce chemical vapors that can be inhaled to induce a psycho-active or mind altering effect. Although, pica is not linked to solvent abuse, here we report an adolescent case of paper-eating with solvent dependence.

Keywords: Inhalant; pica; solvent; xylophagia.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

References

    1. Coltman CA. Pagophagia and iron lack. JAMA. 2004;207:513–6. - PubMed
    1. Kushner RF, Gleason B, Shanta-Retelny V. Reemergence of pica following gastric bypass surgery for obesity: A new presentation of an old problem. J Am Diet Assoc. 2004;104:1393–7. - PubMed
    1. Grotegut CA, Dandolu V, Katari S, Whiteman VE, Geifman-Holtzman O, Teitelman M. Baking soda pica: A case of hypokalemic metabolic alkalosis and rhabdomyolysis in pregnancy. Obstet Gynecol. 2006;107:484–6. - PubMed
    1. Singhi S, Ravishanker R, Singhi P, Nath R. Low plasma zinc and iron in pica. Indian J Pediatr. 2003;70:139–43. - PubMed
    1. Grivetti LE. Culture, diet and nutrition: Selected themes and topics. Bioscience. 2004;28:171–7.

Publication types