constantly eating ice -- any DISers do this?

[TLHB70]

My in-laws flew here Christmas day, and they flew home yesterday afternoon. I love my in-laws. They are great! They have been good to me, and I hate to even say this. However, my MIL drove me crazy this week! She CONSTANTLY had a cup of ice and a spoon in her hand! She constantly ate ice!!!!!!!!!!!! My refrigerator dispenses cubed and crushed ice from the door. She kept getting a fresh cup of crushed ice and eating it with a spoon. We went shopping four days, to a movie one day, and she brought that cup of ice in the car. She even brought it in the vehicle when we went out to eat for dinner. She has never done this before. She lives out of state, and we normally see her 2 to 3 times a year. This is the first time that she has ever done it. I told DH that it is sometimes a symptom of anemia. However, he did not want to hear it. It drove him a bit crazy too, but it is his mom so he did not seem as bothered/concerned as I was. The digging in ice and chewing sound for all day, a full week, was just a bit agitating. Again, I love her, and I feel terrible for even feeling that way.
Do any of you know someone that does it? Are there any reasons medically that this happens?

 

[dumboiu]

Low in iron perhaps?

 

[TLHB70]

My mom always told me that eating ice went with anemia. I did check that out online, and it is true. It can be a symptom of anemia, low iron. I just did not know if there was anything else that could cause it. DH told me that he cannot imagine her being anemic. He just did not want to even talk about it.

 

[amid chaos]

My 14 year old daughter was eating ice like that last winter. We found she was very anemic and after a few weeks on high doses of iron she stopped. She didnt even know she had stopped eating the crushed ice until I mentioned it to her.

 

[WDWBarb]

I have a co-worker who suddenly started doing this a few months ago. She suffers from undiagnosed medical problems (mostly tummy-related) and she says that it helps. She always feels hot and says it makes her feel better. Honestly, I never see her without that cup of ice with a spoon anymore.

It's driving some people at work absolutely nuts and they are making comments to her about it. I have to admit it can drive me bonkers, too, but I know that it makes her feel better so I ignore it.

I've told her that it's a sign of anemia and she has pretty frequent bloodwork done and knows that isn't the case. I'm just afraid that her teeth are going to suffer from the constant crunching.

 

[TLHB70]

I have a co-worker who suddenly started doing this a few months ago. She suffers from undiagnosed medical problems (mostly tummy-related) and she says that it helps. She always feels hot and says it makes her feel better. Honestly, I never see her without that cup of ice with a spoon anymore.


I'm just afraid that her teeth are going to suffer from the constant crunching.

She did complain about her stomach bothering her this trip. She said that her stomach is more sensitive to food now that she is getting older. She blamed it on old age. She is also always hot, but that happened when she hit menopause.
I did tell DH that her teeth will suffer.

 

[TLHB70]

My 14 year old daughter was eating ice like that last winter. We found she was very anemic and after a few weeks on high doses of iron she stopped. She didnt even know she had stopped eating the crushed ice until I mentioned it to her.

I think MIL should definitely have it checked. I just do not know if I should be the one to mention it to her. Maybe DH will read some of the articles about it that I read online.

 

[Christine]

Classic sign of iron deficiency anemia. Two of my coworkers do this all day and they know they are anemic. When they aren't taking their iron, it gets worse. They chew ice most of the day.

 

[MizTink]

My mom always told me that eating ice went with anemia. I did check that out online, and it is true. It can be a symptom of anemia, low iron. I just did not know if there was anything else that could cause it. DH told me that he cannot imagine her being anemic. He just did not want to even talk about it.

why not???

 

[TLHB70]

why not???

I do not know. I think he was just being defensive over his mom, you know. I think my complaining about it bothered him. He wasn't ugly about it; he just wanted to stop talking about the issue. He has never heard me complain about his mom, and I think he did not like it so he just did not even want to hear that it could be something wrong. I hated complaining, but it just drove me crazy. I am sure he would insist she get help if he realized it is truly a medical issue.

 

[Christine]

I wanted to add that she could have an ulcer or gastritis which is causing the anemia.

I've had stomach problems for many years. Diagnosed with mild GERD. A few years ago, my stomach was really bothering me. Every time I ate I had these mild pains in my stomach. At the same time, I had unexplained anemia and low iron. Because they couldn't figure out why, they wanted to do a colonoscopy (I was 43 at the time). I asked my doc if he could do the upper endoscopy while I was in there because of my stomach troubles.

Colonoscopy came out fine. Upper endoscopy not so much. I had active gastritis and fresh stomach bleeding (no ulcers) which was obviously part of the iron deficiency. No real known cause either but possible due to my Motrin use.

So, the fact that she's chewing ice and complaining about her stomach sends up some serious red flags to me.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

MIL probably has anemia and possibly other medical problems.

 

[TLHB70]

I wanted to add that she could have an ulcer or gastritis which is causing the anemia.

I've had stomach problems for many years. Diagnosed with mild GERD. A few years ago, my stomach was really bother me. Every time I had I had these mild pains in my stomach. At the same time, I had unexplained anemia and low iron. Because they couldn't figure out why, they wanted to do a colonoscopy (I was 43 at the time). I asked my doc if he could do the upper endoscopy while I was in there because of my stomach troubles.

Colonoscopy came out find. Upper endoscopy not so much. I had active gastritis and fresh stomach bleeding (no ulcers) which was obviously part of the iron deficiency. No real known cause either but possible due to my Motrin use.

So, the fact that she's chewing ice and complaining about her stomach sends up some serious red flags to me.

MIL probably has anemia and possibly other medical problems.

OK. When DH gets home this evening, I will sit him down and show him the information. I will tell him he needs to ask her to get it checked.

 

[happygirl]

when I was pregnant I used to crave ice

 

[WDWBarb]

OK. When DH gets home this evening, I will sit him down and show him the information. I will tell him he needs to ask her to get it checked.

That's the best thing you can do, but be prepared. My co-worker is VERY sensitive about the subject and gets very upset with anyone who tries to talk to her about it. When she first started chewing ice, I told her that I knew it was a sign of anemia (had heard about it before) and I was concerned about her health. She listened to me and it wasn't a big deal.

Now, several months later, if someone brings it up, they better be ready to get their head bit off.

 

[TamaraQT]

Please talk to your MIL. I am sending you a PM with more detailed information regarding low iron that hapened to me. Try to get her to see a doctor. She may already know and just hasnt told you or your husband yet. Good luck.

 

[TLHB70]

I can tell you that she HATES going to the doctor.
After I complained about it, DH did ask her one time why she always eats ice. She snapped a bit at him and told him that she just likes it. She even said that she craves it. She seemed a bit defensive to me, but I did not say anything.

Thanks so much for all of the information everyone! I feel more confident bringing it up to DH since there are so many personal stories.

 

[*BTMRR*]

I don't think you mentioned her age. If she's of menopause age, maybe she feels the ice helps with her hot flashes. I have a friend who gets very anxious and embarrassed about her hot flashes even after quite a few years of them, and she keeps either a cup of ice or a fan handy all the time just in case one comes along.

 

[TamaraQT]

I can tell you that she HATES going to the doctor.
After I complained about it, DH did ask her one time why she always eats ice. She snapped a bit at him and told him that she just likes it. She even said that she craves it. She seemed a bit defensive to me, but I did not say anything.

Thanks so much for all of the information everyone! I feel more confident bringing it up to DH since there are so many personal stories.

No problem. Please let us know how things turn out. She may just need a simple iron pill supplement and nothing more. But a craving for ICE says something is going on. Good Luck!

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Weighing in from one of the folks for whom listening to someone chew ice is absolute torture! I simply cannot stand it; it sets my whole body on edge. If you do it around me, I acknowledge that it's my own internal make-up, so I listen to LOUD music while others chew ice. Do it all day and I will have my earbuds on all day. I tend to ignore ice crunchers unless I absolutely must have interaction with them. Even then, I'm brief and civil.

If it had been my MIL? I probably would've asked her, nicely, to stop. If she hadn't, then I would've absented myself from the house until after Christmas - or at least out of earshot - with either an emergency from my side of the family, or some awful viral illness that required me to stay completely away from the in-laws. Kids and DH would, of course, be allowed to visit as they have immunity.