With the rise of the internet, there are often popular internet slang used for daily jokes, such as "poor enough to eat dirt" is a common internet slang. But in real life, there are indeed people who really eat dirt, including younger children and adults. So what is the reason why a two-year-old child eats dirt?
There are many reasons that can cause children to eat dirt, such as organic causes such as iron deficiency anemia, epileptic seizures, intellectual disability, and pica. It is also possible that the child has a certain type of mental illness, such as schizophrenia, which may cause them to have auditory hallucinations and a voice telling them to eat dirt.
It is also possible that the child has visual illusions or delusions, seeing soil as something edible. It is also possible that the child has other emotional and behavioral disorders, such as impulse control disorder. Before eating soil, the child may experience emotional excitement or restlessness, but after eating soil, the restlessness will be relieved. It is recommended that parents take their children to the hospital for a detailed examination and targeted treatment to determine the specific cause.
Usually, children are more likely to have a soil eating fetish. You can take your child to the hospital for trace element, fasting plasma (serum) zinc, postprandial serum (plasma) zinc concentration reaction tests, and other tests. If it is determined to be caused by zinc deficiency, the cause of zinc deficiency should be removed, the existing disease should be actively and correctly treated, and the diet should be improved. Zinc rich foods should be appropriately increased, and if necessary, oral zinc sulfate, zinc gluconate, or zinc acetate can be taken.
