Ice eaters: raise your hands!

[Miri1]

I confess, I eat ice. whenever I buy a fountain drink at 7 11 I use more ice than soda so I can crunch on the ice once the soda is gone. I scoop it out of the glass at restaurants with a spoon or fork (yes, even at fancy places) and I know who has the best ice in town for crunching (my favorite is Vegan Glory in L A because the ice is small pellets). So, does anyone else share my cool as ice habit?

[alliegator]

Raises hand. I won't got to my freezer and fix a snack of it, but I eat it from my drinks. And when I make my own glass of water or iced tea, I put in a lot of ice. I'm also a huge fan of sugarless gum, chewing several pieces a day. Bloodwork and teeth are fine, I think it's just a charming little habit to always be smackin' on somethin'.

[memeginn]

Funny I should run across this discussion! I love eating Ice! My favorite is crushed ice at the clock ! I'da never thunk'it, but I beleve when it takes my teeth imma be gumming it! Today's the 1st time I had 2do w/out it, My IcE MaKeR BrOkEd!!! Itz definatly sumthng I enjoy & have made part of my everyday. For 3hrs the feeling compared to being w/out ciggs, I am anemic, I its mental more on a subcontious level, and my sex is not frustrated, but YEAH, It's filling sum kinda void sumwhere!

[sueatmo]

Can you do something about the anemia? Lucky for you that your compulsion/need/dependence is relatively benign. Some people have been known to eat laundry starch, clay, or other odd substances. (I don't think people do much with laundry starch, as no one uses starch any more!) I'd try to find a way to restore your blood count, because anemia is a pain to live with. You can't give blood, climb a flight of stairs without blacking out, get through the week without crashing, etc. Anemia is sometimes caused by unsuspected internal bleeding, so if you haven't already done so, I want to encourage you to get treated for it.

[ricepad]

My dentist says that his ice-chewing patients paid for his son's medical school. Even tho ice seems fairly benign, it's hard enough to crack teeth over the long haul.

[Miri1]

No anemia, I just like it. I don't have it every day and I don't chew on the really big pieces. I just find itbrefreshing and a nice no calorie thing to munch on when the opportunity presents itself.

[vil]

I can definitely attest to that, having been a long-time ice-chewer and also had my fair share of dental bills.

[Cheeryvisage]

I used to like chewing on ice as well... until I heard that this habit can chip off bits off your teeth and eventually you'll need fillings, so I stopped.

[512window]

I've always chewed on ice, especially when I was young and had braces. It didn't damage the braces or my teeth and when I got the braces off, I didn't have cavities, as many do.

I think it all depends on how hard your teeth are - mine are really hard.

I am not anemic either.

[Philly Ray]

I also chewed on ice all of the time as a child. I do it now every so often.

One thing I will claim is that I never had cavities as a child and I think it was a result of the ice chewing.

[mrbigshotno.1]

Check this out!

http://icechewing.com/

[DiningDiva]

Wow, who knew!!

[pinehurst]

Did this when I was a kid, but something to consider is that ice is often unsanitary in a LOT of spots b/c of the ice makers and/or how it's stored. Lots of articles on this.

[kubasd23]

I always heard that if you eat ice it meant that you are sexually frustrated.... same as if you chew on your pen, etc. you know, oral fixation and what not...

[sueatmo]

What you are experiencing is a condition called pagophagia. This condition might be caused by anemia. You might consider having your iron levels checked to see if your iron stores are low.

I used to be an ice eater. I used to be anemic, as well.

You could google pagophagia.

[DiningDiva]

Agree. I used to be an ice eater. I used to be anemic. Got treated for the anemia and I quit chewing on ice.

[DCLindsey]

I think there is a difference between liking to eat ice and it being compulsive. For example, while I like to eat ice, I have never gone to the extremes in this article (however, I do love the nugget ice!): http://online.wsj.com/public/article/...

I am not anemic (I get checked annually) but I do like to chew ice. I don't go out of my way to get ice but if its in the glass, its mine!

I have wondered if it has anything to do with my issues with texture. I am very picky about textures in food - I am more likely to not want to eat something because of the texture than the taste. So maybe liking ice is along this vein? Who knows.

[sueatmo]

I don't know. When I read the OP, it rang a bell with me.

I don't remember being compulsive, but I did like to eat commercial ice. I am not nearly as fond of it as I used to be years ago.

Somewhere I have read that eating ice is not good for your teeth.