I actually just learned about this condition by reading random Straight Dope articles, and then I looked it up. I doubt seriously I have an iron deficiency (although I’ve never been tested for iron levels specifically, maybe during my next physical I will). But yeah, I LOVE to eat ice. I eat it almost compulsively. I consider myself sort of an ice connoisseur. I am not a big fan of ice cubes from refridgerators, unless it is crushed well. I really love Whataburger’s ice, as it is hollow and easily chewed. There is also an ice/water dispenser at my work that makes nice tasty little chewy blocks of ice that are so tasty! Burger King typically has ice that’s not too bad; the blocks are long and flat and break apart easily. Throughout the day at work I probably eat about 8 small cups of ice (with a little water too)…
So, am I the only one who suffers from this around here? Does anyone else enjoy eating weird stuff?
Another word for eating weird stuff is PICA. Spelled the same as typewriter font, but pronounced differently.
I have always loved eating ice, and I’ve paid dearly for it. Ice chomping destroys teeth, I’ve got the crowns to prove it. Tell any dentist that you eat ice, and watch a grown person cry uncontrollably.
Sometimes I still will sneak a little bit from the bottom of a glass, and the crunching is so wonderful. I do enjoy a popsicle now and then to eat ice “legally.” The sugar dissolved in the popsicle solution makes a softer ice, so I don’t risk as much damage.
But seriously, thousands and thousands of my hard earned dollars are now rebuilding my teeth.
I do think ice is a helluva lot cleaner than some of the crap they are showing on the “My Strange Addiction” series on TV. People eating chalk, soap, crushed pottery, ashes (BLEAH!) and God knows what else. Oh, and foam rubber. One woman has eaten several couches. eyeroll
~VOW
I stayed for several years at a job I didn’t particularly like because they had unlimited free ice and water at several locations around the campus and it was that perfect chewing ice, the softer kind (what my SIL calls “rabbit poop” ice).
My teeth are so battered that I really shouldn’t chew ice, but I can’t resist.
I’m curious, though, why you say you “suffer” from it? A weird habit, but nothing that is threatening your health or distressing you. You’re probably staying better-hydrated than the average Doper!
I had a friend who ate paper. Specifically, he tore the edges from pages and ate them while he was reading a book. We used to trade books, and his were always ripped and nibbled around the edges. He never ate any of the printed bits though.
I know exactly what you’re talking about; my sister-in-law was given that stuff to chew on when she was in labor. She referred to it as “ice weasel poop”…“ice weasels” coming from a “Life In Hell” comic strip, which allegedly quoted some philosopher (Kierkegaard, maybe) as saying:
Through my first pregnancy the only cravings I had were for oranges (I ate a 5lb bag every day or two) and chewing ice. I definitely paid for this in dental bills.
I had a severe iron deficiency for years, along with an underactive thyroid, both undiagnosed until recently. I considered my an ice connoisseur, too. I also ate paper in secret and shame. My iron and thyroid were so bad that I had severe gum disease and had to have all of my teeth taken out at the age of 42.
Please, please have your blood checked for both of those conditions. The weird food thing seems harmless, but what it is doing to you is not harmless and can affect your heart and brain function. I can’t tell you how much better I feel now that my blood isn’t out of whack.
Seriously, if you have any form of PICA, get yourself to a healer quick.
I’ve never understood how anyone can enjoy eating ice. I can’t think of many more painful things to eat! I don’t even like biting down on ice cream because of the pain (I have to let it melt) so the idea of crunching cold, hard ice really sets my teeth on edge.
I remember when Scotty Bowman was coach of the Red Wings, every so often the TV crew would watch him chomping on ice chips. He had cups of ice behind the bench, just for him.
I’ve chewed ice for as long as I can remember. I do it all the time. Yes, ice cubes from refrigerator ice makers usually suck; they’re too dense. Some ice-tray ice cubes can be good to chew, if the freezer is not set too low. When the freezer is set to be really cold, the ice cubes are always way too hard to chew. The best ice cubes to chew are those that have been sitting in water or soda for a little while to soften them up slightly. Hollow ice is always the best.
There are no problems with my teeth whatsoever. I’m not aware that chewing ice has caused me any trouble over the long term.
There’s also a guy in the Guinness Book of World Records who has eaten everything from a coffin (“the first time in history a coffin ended up inside a man”) to a small airplane. The metal and glass portions are ground to a powder first though.
I love ice. I’ve eaten it for years. Iron level is fine, (gets checked every time I give blood)
I just like the cold in my mouth. Also it has been hotter than hell the last few days so a 44 oz glass of rabbit poop ice keeps me cool for a long time.
I feel similarly. But I don’t get why you have to let the ice cream melt. Just block off your teeth with the outside of your tongue and mush it with the back. The only problem with this method is if you get ice cream headaches.
Would you like to see a picture of my upper plate? Eating ice can damage your teeth. I thought that ice chewing was a harmless habit, better than eating food all the time.
I ate ice compulsively for years. I could fill an entire hotel-style ice bucket with crushed ice and eat the whole thing like popcorn in front of the tv during an evening. Family and friends would offer me their comsumed fast-food sodas, so I could eat the ice. I didn’t think I was anemic, either, until I had a medical procedure that greatly reduced the quantity of my monthly flow. That happened in 2008, and something like 3-4 months afterward, the urge to eat ice completely disappeared. I haven’t done it, nor cared to, since then.
