Sponge Eating: An Unusual Type of Pica

Abstract

Pica is an eating behavior manifested by a craving for the oral ingestion of a substance that is unusual in kind and/or of no nutritional value. Pica is an underdiagnosed problem which can lead to serious complications requiring surgical intervention. We report a case of a 13-year-old Jordanian girl with sponge pica, who presented with abdominal pain and had evidence of social stress and iron deficiency.