Comments on: I can't stop eating sand...will it hurt me?

Question: I can't stop eating sand...will it hurt me?

annie7978 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 12:53:46 -0800

I can't stop eating SAND...will it hurt me in any way?

I'm fairly certain that I have pica, a disorder where you crave non-food items such as dirt, coffee grounds, laundry starch and other weird things. Recently I received this little sand sculpture in a glass bottle with colored sand in it and I can't seem to stop putting a few grains of sand in my mouth and crunching on them for a while. What are possible reprecussions of eating sand? This has been going on for a few months now and I'd say I've consumed less than half a teaspoon of sand total. I don't want to stop, but I'm worried that I'm slowly poisoning myself.

By: Lentrohamsanin

Lentrohamsanin — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:00:28 -0800

It's probably bad for your tooth enamel (sand is abrasive), and I'd be worried about the chemicals used for coloring, but other than that sand is pretty darn inert.

By: Burhanistan

Burhanistan — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:00:42 -0800

If it's just standard silca sand you'd be surprised how much of it is already in normal foodstuffs as an anti-caking agent. I think your main problem, physical that is, here would be damaging the enamel on your teeth. Maybe consider stopping for a few days and then see if it's still appealing to you.

By: lekvar

lekvar — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:00:58 -0800

I'd worry more about whatever was used to color the sand than the sand itself.

That said, if you eat enough of anything it can hurt you. I have a gecko that had to have gastrointestinal surgery in order to clear a teaspoon of sand out of her gut. But I'm pretty sure that she's considerably smaller than you are.

By: jamaro

jamaro — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:01:09 -0800

It can damage your tooth enamel/wear down your teeth if you're munching on a lot of quartz.

By: aladfar

aladfar — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:04:50 -0800

A few grains? Doesn't sound like it'd cause any harm. In a way, I suppose it's like biting fingernails or chewing on a pencil. If you were literally eating mounds of sand (which is what the phrasing of your post indicated) you're probably OK.

Still, if it's of concern to you, you should check in with a doctor or a therapist.

By: nekton

nekton — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:06:37 -0800

I get sand (+ salt water) in my mouth on a relatively regular basis, and so I can assure you that I have ingested it and it hasn't caused any problems. As others mentioned, the crunching probably isn't a good idea (although I know that's also part of the "fun".)

By: iamkimiam

iamkimiam — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:07:34 -0800

By: ejaned8

ejaned8 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:14:06 -0800

Make sure you're not craving it because of a nutritional deficiency if it continues. Pica, which is a term for eating substance slike sand/dirt/clay, can be a sign of this, most often iron.

By: shmegegge

shmegegge — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:14:34 -0800

please ask a doctor about this.

that said, I'd imagine that at best it's not activey harmful in the amounts you're talking about. since the realm of possible effects resulting from this starts at "probable minor damage to tooth enamel" and gets worse from there, I'd imagine you'd be better off trying to stop. But again, I'm not a doctor. Good luck with everything.

By: jamjam

jamjam — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:16:10 -0800

I heard a radio doctor say that a desire to eat ice could be pointing to B-vitamin deficiency; if so, maybe your desire for a different crunchy material could be, too.

By: ejaned8

ejaned8 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:16:43 -0800

ps. Just noticed that you already mentioned it was pica. It sounds like a very small amount in your case, but still might be worthwhile checking your iron/etc levels.

By: selfmedicating

selfmedicating — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:17:51 -0800

I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out you have an underlying nutritional deficiency, so please think about a multivitamin. From this article, some possible nutritional causes of pica are: deficiencies in iron, calcium, zinc, and other nutrients (eg, thiamine, niacin, vitamins C and D).

By: gramcracker

gramcracker — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:31:09 -0800

Pica occurs because, like selfmedicating says, you've got some sort of nutritional deficiency in your diet.

Start taking a multivitamin and get yourself to a doctor. Seriously.

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:31:37 -0800

Tooth enamel has a relative hardness (on the Mohs scale) of about 5.5-6 [powerpoint] Glass is about 6, Quartz is about 7.5. In absolute-hardness, sand is about twice as hard as your teeth. Eating sand, (or far worse, chewing sand) will cause permanent abrasion to the enamel. This will lead to cavities which will require fillings. If you continue to do this, the entire structure of the tooth may degrade to a point where simple fillings will not be sufficient to stave off decay, in which case you're looking at root canals and crowns (expensive) or dental implants (very expensive).

In summary: see a psychologist. This isn't just a bad habit like picking your nose or biting your nails. If you continue down this road you may be in for some very unpleasant repercussions.

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:32:35 -0800

...or a doctor, as everyone else have already recommended.

By: wackybrit

wackybrit — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:36:13 -0800

It doesn't sound much like pica if it's a 'few grains' and 'crunching on them a while'. It sounds more like a habit. I chew on plastic all the time, it's because my mouth just needs to chew a lot.. it's a habit I have and plastic is something I can chew on for ages. Possibly the same here.

By: wackybrit

wackybrit — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:40:06 -0800

Of course, IANAD, and since 20 people already mentioned the doctor.. ;-)

By: eleyna

eleyna — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:41:59 -0800

Whether it's pica or a habit, you should go have your blood tested (specifically get checked for anemia). My mom used to chew ice incessantly. ALL the time. Since taking an iron supplement, that has stopped.

By: ikkyu2

ikkyu2 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 14:12:20 -0800

Abrasion to the enamel, nutritional deficiency (usually iron deficiency, but sometimes lead poisoning, which is exacerbated if the non-food of choice is lead-contaminated soil) and comorbid psychiatric disease such as OCD are the things I associate with pica; they've all been mentioned, and they certainly warrant a doctor visit.

By: contraption

contraption — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 15:14:39 -0800

Sorry to derail, but hold on here: you can and did hire a gastrointestinal surgeon for your gecko? lekvar, you're the most astonishingly conscientious pet owner I've ever heard of.

By: oneirodynia

oneirodynia — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 15:18:12 -0800

Colored sand is sometimes actual sand that's been dyed, and sometimes colored glass particles. I'd be concerned about 1) the probable toxicity of the dyes used and 2) whether you're chomping on glass particles.

By: crabintheocean

crabintheocean — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 15:41:55 -0800

Can you wean yourself on to chewing crunchy sugar or salt? I'd be worried about the tooth damage over time. I would also be worried about the dye - at worst, can you go buy some plain sand? That stuff obviously isn't required to be food safe and could be really nasty.

By: thinkingwoman

thinkingwoman — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 15:44:28 -0800

yes, visit your doctor. and get rid of the sand sculpture, or replace the sand with, say, rock salt dyed with food coloring.

By: lekvar

lekvar — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 15:51:43 -0800

contraption, the vet my cats go to is also, conveniently enough, an exotics vet. The cost wasn't nearly as bad as I'd anticipated, either, I suspect that I got the "novelty procedure" discount, and the vet got to brag that she'd removed an ounce of sand from an ounce of lizard.

By: tomble

tomble — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 17:40:42 -0800

I really have no idea about this, but I keep imagining it would be akin to what happens when sand collects down your tub drain over time. Wouldn't it just all collect and slow down the flow of things? (keeping in mind also that the digestive system is by no means made of smooth metal pipe)
posted by iamkimiam

No, your gut is very effective at flushing things through. Peristalsis and solid matter moving through all the time, as well as renewing of lining of the digestive tract mean that, despite what colonic irrigationists say, you don't have years of goop stuck to your innards.

By: lekvar

lekvar — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 18:56:37 -0800

There are more things in heaven and earth, tomble, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

By: TheOtherGuy

TheOtherGuy — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 18:59:26 -0800

FWIW - i read somewhere that throughout their lifetime the average human will consume several kilograms of dirt and grit, inadvertantly of course.

So half a teaspoon.. i think your fine. But of course you need to stop it getting any bigger. so see a doctor.

By: breezeway

breezeway — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 19:24:58 -0800

Chewing sand will abrade your tooth enamel; I'd recommend finding a way to stop the urge/habit. There is hope for damaged enamel, though: there's a relatively new toothpaste ingredient in Arm & Hammer "Enamel Care" toothpaste that strengthens/(rebuilds?) tooth enamel. My dentist is not an early adopter of faddish dental innovations, nor is he a shill for any pharmaceutical or hygiene companies. After having sensitive teeth due to weak enamel for twenty years, he started alternating this new product with his regular tartar control toothpaste for his twice daily tooth cleaning, and found that after a few months, his enamel had strengthened to a point where he no longer experienced sensitivity when eating or drinking. I'm sure results may vary, but I take this guy's recommendation seriously and pass it on, particularly since you chew sand, which is very bad for tooth enamel. Stop chewing sand and start using enamel care toothpaste, or you might end up spending a lot of money on painful procedures to repair teeth that may be irreparable. You don't want to grow old without your teeth; it's painful and not being able to eat well can be the root of a lot of old-age sadness.

By: nihlton

nihlton — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 20:12:04 -0800

I recall hearing that Egyptian mummy teeth were so rotten because so much sand found its way into their food. just something to keep in mind.

By: kirkaracha

kirkaracha — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 07:08:48 -0800

Ear-Bending Cellmate: ...and when there was no meat, we ate fowl and when there was no fowl, we ate crawdad and when there was no crawdad to be found, we ate sand.
H.I.: You ate what?
Ear-Bending Cellmate: We ate sand.
[pause]
H.I.: You ate sand?
Ear-Bending Cellmate: That's right.