Earphones, Lockets and Other Objects Removed From Stomach of Punjab Man Suffering From Pica, Know About the Eating Disorder

Moga, September 29: A man suffering from a two-year stomach ache shocked doctors at a hospital in Punjab's Moga who discovered the patient had ingested a lot of household items, ranging from rakhis to earphones. The 40-year old man was admitted to the Medicity Hospital in Moga with high fever and stomach ache after he complained of nausea for over two days, reported Indian Express.

As his stomach pain failed to subside, doctors decided to conduct an X-ray scan on his stomach to determine the cause of his pain. The results were disturbing. Kolkata: Doctors Perform Emergency Surgery, Save Toddler's Life After Scissors Pierce Into His Brain While Playing at Home in Howrah.

Doctors Retrieve Household Items From Man’s Stomach

“On carrying out an X-ray, we found lockets, chains, nuts, bolts, earphones, and many other objects inside the stomach,” said Ajmer Singh Kalra, director of the Moga Medicity Hospital in Moga, Punjab, where the human hardware store was treated. Delhi AIIMS Sets World Record, Performs Groundbreaking Surgery on Three-Month-Old Baby to Remove Obstructions in Kidneys.

Dr. Ajmer Kalra, the director of the hospital, said this was the first such case encountered by him and the man had been suffering from stomach problems for two years. Even though all the items were removed from his body, the man's condition is not stable, the doctor said. The items were inside his stomach for a long time and that has caused other health issues, he added.

Ajmer Kalra added that his family members said that he often used to complain of stomach ache but they never came to know that he was swallowing all these objects. Surgeon Anup Handa and gastroenterologist Dr Vishavnoor Kalra who performed the surgery said that the patient suffered from pica disorder.

What Is Pica Disorder?

Pica is an eating disorder in which a person eats things not usually considered food. A person with pica might eat relatively harmless items, such as ice. Or they might eat potentially dangerous items, like flakes of dried paint or pieces of metal. The disorder can lead to serious consequences, such as lead poisoning.

There’s no single cause of pica. In some cases, a deficiency in iron, zinc, or another nutrient may be associated with pica while people with certain mental health conditions, such as schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), may develop pica as a coping mechanism.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 29, 2023 10:57 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).