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Electrius — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:41:45 -0800

TMI about digestive tract, papyrophagy inside. I have an uncontrollable craving for paper, especially (unused) toilet paper of which I eat a disturbingly large amount in the day, in the range of 20-40 of those little squares. I know this probably isn't the best for me but I haven't noticed anything besides the pleasant and predictable effect of a lot of fiber.

So, should I freak out about this? Does it reflect something I'm not getting in my diet? Should I see someone about this? Is there a brand that's better for me?

You thought pickles and ice cream was weird?

Shoeburyness — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 12:06:47 -0800

Is there any danger to chewing on popsicle sticks, as long as I don't ingest any of the wood? I am heavily (38 weeks) pregnant, and the last month or so, I have a compulsion to chew popsicle sticks. Previously I had cravings to smell lumber. I do not actually ingest any of the wood, since having splinters in one's GI tract sounds like no kind of a good idea. I don't really feel compelled to swallow the wood, anyway, just to chew it. I don't feel compelled to chew anything that isn't plain wood (like pencils-- all that paint, yuck!) I don't have the urge to eat or chew any other sort of non-food items. Would this be considered pica even though I don't actually eat the wood?

I have tried taking additional iron supplements, but this didn't help. (My OB just tested my iron level, anyway, and it was apparently fine.) Neither did eating woody-textured foods like broccoli stems or almonds. Is there some sort of nutrient in wood that my body is craving? Is there anything dangerous in the wood that might be leaching out as I chew it? If I just get myself a bunch of popsicle sticks to chew, should I stick to ones sold for use with food, or is there any difference between those and ones marketed strictly for crafts? Will this go away once I deliver?

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.