crunching on ice alot=anemia/iron deficiency?

[LuvN~Travel]

I think was always an ice cruncher from childhood to my mid twenties. However, for some reason my dentists never thought to mention that it can ruin your teeth! I love to crunch ice still, but had to give it up mostly when i started to have my first root canals done!
My teeth are now replaced with a lot of crowns! I would definitely recommend adding some iron to some diets. lol
I also have problems with too much iron, so I usually alternate with children's iron chewables every other day, with the non iron chewables the other days.
Kim

 

[wildernesslodgelover]

Hmm, I wasn't getting email notifications of postings. I am glad I checked. I find this all very interesting and thank everyone for sharing their experiences.

I am calling the Dr tomorrow, but now comes the scary question...can they test her blood with a fingerprick or will they have to draw blood from her arm?

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Pica is way more than just chewing ice. Pica is like eating metal things and crayons and batteries and .... whatever.

A teacher at my school had a kid in his class with pica. He would eat pencils and other classroom objects.

I had a girl in my class who ate random stuff, like paint chips, crayons, and erasers.

Be glad your DD is just eating ice. I hope it's not a sign of something serious though!

 

[koalababy]

Hhhhmmm, interesting. My son eats ice a lot. But I think he maybe sucks on it more than crunches it. I'm going to look into this.

 

[Aimeedyan]

Sure, chewing ice can be a sign of low iron - as can many other things. Pica does include ice, but also things like paper and dirt.

Within a week of my last iron infusion, my ice cravings were gone. But when my iron gets low, I crave it again. And I personally don't like Sonic ice because it doesn't have enough crunch to satisfy my craving.

And it ruins your teeth - if it's just a habit (some people don't have low iron and just like ice), it's a good one to break while young so your teeth don't break.

To check iron, you have to draw blood - a prick doesn't give enough for the lab.

 

[WaltD4Me]

Wow. This is fascinating...I never knew any other ice crazies! I drive my family absolutely nuts with my ice. (My favorite is from Sunoco gas stations...we don't have Sonics here!) I love ice, but I always love very cold water (if I can't have ice) I don't chew ice though, I like it small, so I can sort of suck on it and swallow it. I never chew it. Should I still test my iron? And does anyone know why ice chewing is a symptom of being anemic? Seems strange.

 

[HOGFAN]

I know my very overweight niece started crunching ice instead of drinking soda and she lost 50lb. She started feeling so good she started exercising. She gives all the credit to the ice.

 

[bumbershoot]

As has already been stated, ice crunching can go along with low iron.

And, interestingly, craving sweets can be a NEED for protein. If my friend, who sees nutritionists and has her blood drawn and analyzed for protein routinely b/c she's on the liver transplant list, had shared this with me while I was pregnant, I might have eaten more protein and not as much ice cream, and might not have gained 60 lbs.

I was an ice-addict starting as a child. The "addiction" got worse and worse over the years. I was always embarassed about it, and just thought I didn't have any self-control over a bad habit.

I had a hysterectomy at age 37, because my iron level was extremely low and iron supplements didn't help - I even had to have a couple of hemoglobin transfusions, and that didn't help.

The cravings completely went away, after the hysterectomy. 100% gone.

Wow. My mom had a hysterectomy when she was 35 so I wanted to throw some hugs your way, though it sounds like you're happier about it than my mom was. Hugs no matter what.

 

[Linzybrooke]

This is my mom to a T. She has low iron and a bad thyroid. She feels like her throat is on fire if she isn't eating ice.

 

[Timon-n-Pumbaa Fan]

Count me in as someone that chews ice when anemic. I used to do it with a certain pattern of chewing too. It was rhythmic. My ex used to say that when I am dead and gone, if ever a ghost came to her in the future and it was making the sound of chew ice with a quick 3 count followed by 2 short 2 counts, that she would know for sure that it had to be me.

Once my period problems were under control and my anemia finally was cured, the desire to chew ice went away. Also, Sonic ice does totally rock. If I chew ice at all now, it's from Sonic.

 

[NJMomma]

I had serious ice cravings when I was preggers, and yup, I was anemic. I used to make slushie drinks non stop. It was to the point where I was actually scared1: ) craving snow - obviously this was going on in the winter! My doctor also called it PICA. After starting the iron pills the craving diminished a great deal but didn't complete disappear. After my DD was born, it did go away for good, as did the anemia.

I know PICA can be eating/craving other non food things as well - I had a friend who craved Comet - you know, the cleanser. She was also preggers with twins at the time.

 

[Aisling]

I craved ice chewing when I was pregnant, but I had no idea it was related to low iron! I wonder what the psysiological explanation of THAT is??

I like the idea one poster said of chewing on ice to lose weight!

As for PICA, wow I haven't heard that word in years, when kids were eating the lead paint chips off the walls in apartment buildings!

 

[Tink & Goofy]

Ooh, I LOVE Sonic's ice! Yumyumyum!

I never knew that about the iron. Every time I've been tested mine's been fine, though.

Maybe I'm just weird.

 

[terri01p]

I eat on ice all the time, my iron levels are fine but I have alway, every since I can remember loved to eat ice. If I have a drink it has to be full of ice or I can't enjoy it . I don't crave ice but it's, I guess, just a habit because I do it all the time.

If I have a glass of tea or soda, I will automatically eat the ice afterward without even a thought about doing it.

 

[disneydance]

Very interesting I'm 14 and I just crave ice. I have to have about 6 cups a day. Then one more when I go to bed. I guess I should tell my mom about this.

 

[Sandy22]

I'm chronically anemic and chew ice daily. Probably 4 cups a day. In fact, I'm eating some now. I don't consider it PICA - it's water - that's a food right?

 

[wildernesslodgelover]

Pica is way more than just chewing ice. Pica is like eating metal things and crayons and batteries and .... whatever.

A teacher at my school had a kid in his class with pica. He would eat pencils and other classroom objects.

I had a girl in my class who ate random stuff, like paint chips, crayons, and erasers.

Be glad your DD is just eating ice. I hope it's not a sign of something serious though!

Just eating Ice is indeed considered PICA! I agree, one of the less "freaky" items. If you look at this link, you will some very gross examples! Check out the picture!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pica_(disorder)

 

[wildernesslodgelover]

Very interesting I'm 14 and I just crave ice. I have to have about 6 cups a day. Then one more when I go to bed. I guess I should tell my mom about this.

Please do! I had never heard of this until I started googling...only because I was worried about my DD's teeth!

 

[wildernesslodgelover]

I'm chronically anemic and chew ice daily. Probably 4 cups a day. In fact, I'm eating some now. I don't consider it PICA - it's water - that's a food right?

see the link I posted above.

 

[Christine]

I have/had iron deficiency and was also anemic at times. I am lucky that I never was one to crave the ice. I do participate in an "anemia" board and, it seems, about half the people on there with iron deficiency anemia have the ice cravings and then the other half never do.

For those thinking about getting tests, a routine CBC will check for anemia but cannot really tell if you have an iron deficiency. You can have a severe iron deficiency but NOT be anemic (go figure) and you can crave ice with the iron deficiency without anemia.

The test you need to have done is "Ferritin". This test measures your iron scores. A "good" ferritin number is around 70. Mine was at "5" at its lowest point. My best friends was at 3 but she was not anemic. I've been told that anything under a 12 means you have no storage left. This will give you symptoms of fatigue, headaches, ice craving, etc, even if you don't have the full-blown anemia.

I think everyone likes to crunch on ice now and then, especially if it is a good, fine-chunk kind. But to want to do it all day should be a flag to get your labs done.