Posted October 14, 2011 Something strange has been happening to me recently. I have this bizzare, incredible craving to eat wood. It just seems so delicious. My mouth waters whenever I smell sawdust. My mouth is watering right now. It started a couple days ago, and I started breaking my pencil and eating bits of it. I feel like a freak, but I have such an urge to eat wood.. Am I going crazy? I researched it a bit. Apparently it's called pica, basically eating nonfood items or craving strongly scented items. Kitty litter, clay, dirt, ice, wood, paper, flour, comet. Also, people sniff gasoline and windex for the smell, craving the smell. I don't understand these.. but wood just seems so yummy.. oh my gosh.. Oh, also, apparently, this can happen in conjunction with deficiencies, especially iron. I don't know why. I've been having a few other signs of anemia lately (I'm tired all the time, even when I rest well, i'm weak, I can't keep my hands steady, my heart is racing and my heart flutters. And no, I don't abuse stimulants.), so I'm going to the doctors soon. Anyway, to the point. Does anyone know more about this, or suffer from this? If so, please post about it. Thanks. Share this post Link to post
Posted October 14, 2011 Sounds like anemia to me--which I'm recovering from. Get a daily multivitamin that has a 100% DV of iron and vitamin B12 in it, if it doesn't start helping in a week or two, see a doctor. Share this post Link to post
Posted October 14, 2011 A lot of people have it at some point, even if only in passing. The most common example would be the eating of ice, which apparently means you need more iron. I went through a period of eating paper when I was younger, and do get compulsions to taste odd things once in a while, but that's mostly out of curiosity. Share this post Link to post
Posted October 14, 2011 Ah, yes, one of the many fun effects of being anemic. I crave ice all the time, though I prefer chewing on it to just plain eating it. At least it's something edible. I also saw something on a medical show about a woman who ate chalk. Share this post Link to post
Posted October 14, 2011 Ooh, and that guy who are an airplane. What was his name? *Forgot* Share this post Link to post
Posted October 14, 2011 You know, that reminded me that when I was younger I used to go out into my backyard and straight up eat the grass. It tasted pretty darn good back then too. -shudders at the thought now- Share this post Link to post
Posted October 14, 2011 (edited) Something strange has been happening to me recently. I have this bizzare, incredible craving to eat wood. It just seems so delicious. My mouth waters whenever I smell sawdust. My mouth is watering right now. It started a couple days ago, and I started breaking my pencil and eating bits of it. I feel like a freak, but I have such an urge to eat wood.. Am I going crazy? I researched it a bit. Apparently it's called pica, basically eating nonfood items or craving strongly scented items. Kitty litter, clay, dirt, ice, wood, paper, flour, comet. Also, people sniff gasoline and windex for the smell, craving the smell. I don't understand these.. but wood just seems so yummy.. oh my gosh.. Oh, also, apparently, this can happen in conjunction with deficiencies, especially iron. I don't know why. I've been having a few other signs of anemia lately (I'm tired all the time, even when I rest well, i'm weak, I can't keep my hands steady, my heart is racing and my heart flutters. And no, I don't abuse stimulants.), so I'm going to the doctors soon. Anyway, to the point. Does anyone know more about this, or suffer from this? If so, please post about it. Thanks. A pica for ice is a marker for iron-deficiency anemia, I believe. o3o I crave ice a lot, or more accurately, I want to chew it. I never outgrew my teething phase and I just love chewing on things...<w< I probably have iron-deficiency anemia myself, since I have those symptoms too, although I neglect actually doing anything about it. And I'm horrible at regular pill schedules so I forget my multivitamins I have here. Edited October 14, 2011 by Infinis Share this post Link to post
Posted October 14, 2011 Ooh, and that guy who are an airplane. What was his name? *Forgot* The one I originally remember hearing about was Michel Lotito, which took a little searching to find. Apparently there are many more people popping up that will eat pretty much anything. Sometimes I have to chew on cardboard or thick paper, but I just chew on it for the taste. I don't know if that has anything to do with anemia. I've never wanted to eat ice though. Share this post Link to post
Posted October 14, 2011 I love the smell of gasoline and other chemical smells that most people hate. Never know why, but I've certainly never had the urge to drink any of it - yuck! I know what you mean about wanting to munch on weird things though, I frequently enjoy nomming ice cubes, but I'm not sure that's just for it being something crunchy to "teethe" on (for lack of a better word) or any other problem. I've had blood tests though for iron deficiencies (unrelated to noms and chemical smells) and IIRC my iron's within normalish bounds. Share this post Link to post
Posted October 14, 2011 (edited) I used to have random cravings for non-edible objects (that powder laundry detergent being one of them) but I've never actually eaten anything. The cravings just pass eventually. I bet there's a lot of these on the show, "My Strange Addiction". Edited October 14, 2011 by TheDarkCynder Share this post Link to post
Posted October 15, 2011 I went to the doctor today. I told him what was going on, and he sent me to the ER. I got there, and they took an EKG and my blood oxygen. Both normal. Then, she tells me, I need a blood test, so she is going to make an IV. I started freaking out, shaking constantly and crying. She brought me a pillow, a hot blanket and some ice water. I kept apologizing, but she just kept saying she would do whatever to make me comfortable. She was quite nice. I calmed down enough for her to do the test. As soon as it pierced the skin, pretty much all the panic went away. She took 4 vials. Then, I got a chest x-ray, and they took a urine sample. Turns out, everything is normal. They didn't give me specifics, but I presume that also means Iron. I don't know if they checked Zinc, as I have heard zinc deficiencies can cause these symptoms too. Gah, I hate blood tests so much. Not even because of the pain, I just have this overwhelming fear for no reason. Its really embarrassing that I can't stop shaking, crying and hyperventilating. Anyway. I still have these cravings. Kind of odd. They did not seem concerned, though. Share this post Link to post
Posted October 15, 2011 My mouth always waters, so that means i have Pica? o.o Share this post Link to post
Posted October 15, 2011 (edited) For a while I had an addiction to eating ice- I carried around a cup of crushed ice and ate it nonstop. I didn't know it meant that I needed iron And I went through a vampire stage where I liked the taste of blood but it was really short...now that I think about it, that's kind of disgusting. Licking your own cuts is just an invitation for bacteria, omg. Lately I've been liking the taste of plastic a little too much. I've chewed all my mechanical pencils to death :< edit: Thought I should mention that I don't eat plastic to the point where I swallow it, but I find myself absentmindedly chewing it and then I stop myself. Edited October 15, 2011 by glamoursea2 Share this post Link to post
Posted October 15, 2011 ^ Dude, that's freaking deadly. However i admit that i eat papers sometime and i eat sticky glue, i can resist to the smell of that sticky glue o.o I never ate pencils, i only took a chew and spitted it out. Well, i used to eat that weird thing on my DS stylus... Share this post Link to post
Posted October 16, 2011 Interestingly enough, there are some trees that you can actually eat the inside bark of to gain critical nutrients when you're in a survival situation :3 I saw it on Man Woman Wild (a survival show). Share this post Link to post
Posted October 16, 2011 When I was little I used to eat....Dog Food. I still eat Ice. I also used to shew hair, an this wil sound really weird, but I constantly need to have something in my mouth, so if its not food or a straw, then I pick at hang nails with my teeth. I wondeer what that mans. *embarresed* Share this post Link to post
Posted October 16, 2011 (edited) What does dog food taste like? Lolol, wondering the same thing. Unlike most kids, I never went through a paper eating phase. It always tasted disgusting to me. This girl in my class eats paper obsessively. She just tears pieces off and....eats them, sitting right across from me D: Edited October 16, 2011 by glamoursea2 Share this post Link to post
Posted October 16, 2011 Dog Food.... I don't remeber and don't want to. That was a long time ago. Share this post Link to post
Posted October 16, 2011 (edited) I used to lick soap sometimes. But only a certain kind of soap. Don't worry, it was natural soap. And I think I've eaten glue for once. Didn't like it. It seems like soda with lots of sugar. But I still like the smell of gasoline. EDIT: BTW eating ice can lead to teeth issues later on. The coldness numbs your teeth and if you bite the ice too hard, it cracks your teeth. I've had a friend who had 2 of her teeth removed because of that. Edited October 16, 2011 by caramba2654 Share this post Link to post
Posted October 16, 2011 Man I chew ice and never knew it meant I needed iron, though according to my mother I'm constantly anemic. I can't eat multi vitamins though, they make me throw up :S Share this post Link to post
Posted October 16, 2011 I'm addicted to ice. Although I don't feel like i have an iron deficiency. I've been eating ice since I was little...I just like it more than water. And sometimes I sneak outside and pick the petals off wild clovers and chew on them. And when I'm bored I chew on bottled water bottles. Although I don't eat it. And when we carve the pumpkin it turns out scraping off the outside of the shavings with your teeth leaves a really sweet taste in your mouth... And I also chew on rubber. I don't swallow it, but give me anything rubber and I'll chew on it. I'm a strange person... Share this post Link to post
Posted October 16, 2011 What does dog food taste like? I tried some can cat food about five or so years ago just to see what it tasted like. It pretty much tasted just like it smelled, except a bit less pungent. If you've ever ate sardines before, the more internal area near the spine pretty much had the same flavor. Also dog biscuits pretty much taste like dry plain oatmeal. @OP: That still doesn't sound good and something clearly seems wrong. Doctors have been wrong before. Have you asked your parents about going to another doctor for a second opinion? Share this post Link to post
Posted October 16, 2011 My grandfather makes me eat half of a dog biscuit before we go hunting. And he eats just about anything. But he's not anemic, so it's kind of wierd. Like just last weekend, he ate ice the whole day. Share this post Link to post
Posted October 17, 2011 Eeehhh I'll stick to human-grade. Thanks for telling me, though... Share this post Link to post
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