How to manage a child chewing non-food items?

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

11-year-old child chewing a sponge could be due to two possible reasons, which are as follows:

This could be a habitual thing. It has been noticed in some children that they have a habit of chewing things, lip-smacking, making noisy sounds during breathing, etc. For these habitual things, proper counseling is needed. One should not be angry with the child, as this will lead to an increase in the related habit.

The second cause could be pica (an eating disorder in which a person eats things not usually considered food). In pica, there is iron deficiency anemia, and the child usually eats wall surfaces, whitewash, sponges, etc. In pica, children usually have anemia or low hemoglobin, in simpler words. I suggest you do a complete blood count to look for anemia.

I recommend you give her a deworming drug like a single-dose tablet of Albendazole at nighttime and advise a complete blood count with proper counseling.

I hope that you get your answer.

Please let me know if you need any help.

Thank you.

Hi,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

Tablet Albendazole is a deworming drug. Actually, in patients with anemia, it is usually found that worms like amoebiasis and taenia are present in the intestines of patients. Due to worms, these children develop iron deficiency anemia. The tablet should be given at night before sleep with water, and after that, some sugar or milk is usually given.

A deworming drug can also be given to a healthy child with no symptoms. This will not cause any harm to the child. So you do not have to worry about it. If you want to give a deworming drug later, then you should do a stool routine microscopy test, as this will tell us whether the child needs the deworming drug or not.

I hope that you get your answer.

Please let me know if you need any help.

Thank you.

Hi,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

In your child's report, hemoglobin is 11.3, which should be around 13 at this age. MCV (mean corpuscular volume) is 65.4 µm3, MCH (mean corpuscular hemoglobin) is 19.8 pg/cell, and MCHC (mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration) is 30.2 g/dL; all three are low for her age.

All the above findings are suggestive of iron deficiency anemia, and this is the reason that your child is chewing sponges. For treatment, the child should be given Iron tablets for two months.

As your child's weight is 97 pounds and 11 years, a tablet will be a more suitable form than syrup. Start Vitcofer tablet (Iron 100 mg and Folic acid 1.5 mg) once a day for two months.

Iron tablets should be given after meals, and not on an empty stomach. If Vitcofer is not available, then you can take Fecorb XT, Fericos XT, or Ferrogen XT, but please check the strength. It should be Iron 100 mg plus Folic acid 1.5 mg. Consult your doctor and take the medicine accordingly.

When you start iron tablets for the first time, some children may develop black stools or black tongues. This is a normal thing, and it will subside in a few days. So, do not stop the drug because of this.

I hope that you get your answer.

Please let me know if you need any help.

Thank you.

Hi,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

You are right. We need to give iron-rich foods to the child so that iron deficiency does not occur in the future. Food rich in iron includes green leafy vegetables, jaggery, non-vegetarian diet, if you eat soybean, millet, chickpea, mint leaves, lotus stem, dates, raisin, watermelon, pineapple, custard apple, lemon juice, and gooseberry.

You can increase these food items in the diet. I understand that you are very concerned about your child. Let me tell you that it will be good if you give a mixed diet with an increased proportion of iron-rich foods, so that your child will not feel that you are very aggressive about food. This will definitely help you. Give iron tablets regularly and try to give iron-rich foods.

I hope that you get your answer.

Please let me know if you need any help.

Thank you.