[video=youtube;0uaASo24gOI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uaASo24gOI&feature=player_embedded"[/video] Well this is odd... http://www.buzzfeed.com/awesomer/addicted-to-eating-couch-cushions Woman addicted to couch cushions [video=youtube;jLl5X9waPkg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLl5X9waPkg"[/video] Mmm chalk. [video=youtube;62U_RpDWOmc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62U_RpDWOmc"[/video] House hold cleanser...
This is a show on TLC called Strange Addictions. There was a girl who was addicted to the smell of soap so she start eating bubbles, chewing soap bars and licking detergent. And a guy who was addicted to heavy weight lifting even though he has injures.
I just found the episode. http://tlc.discovery.com/videos/my-strange-addiction-eating-laundry-detergent.html And a dude addicted to wearing fur suits... http://tlc.discovery.com/videos/exclusive-my-strange-addiction-videos/
LOL, Pica is actually a recognized medical disorder where people chronically (more than one month) eat things that have no or little known nutritional value; or things that have nutritional value but not processed in conventional eating terms (eg raw flour). It can affect anyone, but young children and women are statistically more prone. There is a considerable difference between Pica as habituation versus that of medicinal rationales. For example, some cultures resort to eating clay or chalk purely in the belief that it helps with digestion. The Chinese historically drank mixtures of ground petrified animal shells or bone (Dragon Bones) in the belief that doing so also had curative value. The examples in the videos however, are classic Pica; ie. without cultural or medicinal reference. There are two schools of thought regarding it's cause. One suspicion is that the lack of certain physiological substances or mineral deficiencies that compels a patient to seek absent trace elements within their choice of consumed articles. The other being that these ingestions are but another variant manifestation of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), examples including behaviors of constant hand washing or, during the course of one night, rising repeatedly from sleep to ensure one's stove was not left burning. A certain percentage of pregnant women are known to have Pica, the example being their classic insistence for eating 'ice cream and pickles' have been well burnished in public knowledge. Others may be addicted to the unique textures or tastes found within an item. Hence, in the example of the woman eating toilet paper, she may be satisfying a physiologic need for a substance found either in the toilet paper or left during the manufacture process; or has an compulsive oral fixation for the taste or texture that it offers. The danger of this disorder (aside from the stigma and social disgust of family members and or friends) is patients may ultimately consume substances that may directly or indirectly be harmful to them. These includes life threatening events such as intestinal perforation from punctures or chemical erosion; chronic malnutrition, poisoning (acute or chronic, especially by heavy metals or lead); or gastrointestinal blockage from bezoars (aggregate of consumed but indigestible materials). There is currently no known treatment for Pica, with many patients initially presenting only when their habitual but occult and clandestine routines results in troublesome secondary clinical sequelae. That is, they're prompted to see a doctor not because of the Pica itself (which is perfectly acceptable from the patient's perspective); but rather to resolve the problems thus created by their Pica habit. This is similar to the OCD patient who will seek treatment resolution for chapped hands, but not admit that it is because of his constant hand washing that his hands have become chapped. Insofar as long term management, if no physiologic abnormalities are found, these patients are generally referred to psychiatry or counseled with a therapeutic goal of behavior modification. At times, they can also be self resolving and transient, like those apparent only during pregnancy. From Wiki: There are other examples of Pica being driven not by psychiatric disease, but endemic poverty. Using mud to replace expensive flour, Haitians have eaten flavored oiled mixed Mud Cakes (baked by the sun, aka Dirt Cookies) for years. This is real earth, and not anything like the Australian version (which is called Mud Cake, but actually only a euphemism for a rich chocolate brownie type cake). Some sources claim that a special mineral rich earth from the central highlands of Hispaniola is used, but the ones I saw typically seemed concoctions made of local dirt. There is substantial evidence too, that during widespread famines (eg. The Great Famine of China) aside from outright cannibalism, people have eaten just about anything that wasn't nailed down. Currently, there are anecdotal reports arising from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK aka North Korea) of people supplementing meager diets with indigestible substances in order to expand their sensations of being full with their meals. Of course these adjuncts are valueless insofar as calories. [video=youtube;s3337cj4sJQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3337cj4sJQ"[/video] [video=youtube;N8pd9YrhZUc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8pd9YrhZUc"[/video] *** Sidebar *** Children swallowing coins is one expression of the Pica phenomenon (either for developmental or psychiatric reasons) that holds additional and special dangers. Aside from choking to death, there is a risk that children may think a button battery similar enough to a coin and that may motivate its ingestion. An active battery will induce an electric field that locally and strongly alkalinizes the immediate area around where the battery is lodged. This would be the chemical equivalent of swallowing lye or some other high pH caustic substance. The result is that electrochemical erosion can occur within just a few hours, literally burning a hole through tissue. Many children have bled to death after swallowing such batteries. Given that a large number of contemporary electronics use coin shaped button batteries as power adjuncts, parents should be especially aware of this potentially life threatening danger. Note, in many news reports, there is a typical error in the assumption by science challenged reporters that "battery acid" ate through the tissues, killing a patient. This is false. These ingested batteries almost never ever leak or extrude their acidic contents. It is rather their ability to induce an active electrical field which then raises pH (not drop pH like an acid would) that causes the fatal injury. The first warning that parents usually have is when the child is vomiting blood, ie. already too late for many to be saved. http://www.poison.org/battery/fatalcases.asp http://www.ksat.com/news/22225103/detail.html http://www.journal-news.com/news/ha...attery-that-caused-toddlers-death-486718.html In closing, I know that there are people out there that eat boogers. Aside from eating feces, that has got to be the most disgusting thing I could ever imagine.
