

developmental and physical growth disorders in infants and children.problems during pregnancy, including premature birth and low birth weight.heart problems, including an enlarged heart and heart failure.It can lead to several health issues, including: If iron deficiency anemia is left untreated, it can become severe. The risk of cavities also increases significantly. When enamel erodes, the teeth can become extremely sensitive to hot and cold substances. It makes up the outermost layer of each tooth and protects the inner layers from decay and damage. Tooth enamel is the strongest part of the teeth. Over the course of time, you can destroy the enamel on your teeth.

Your teeth are simply not built for the wear and tear caused by eating bags or trays of ice every day. People with pagophagia can eat several trays or bags of ice each day. If you have serious ice cravings, you may end up eating a lot more than you realize. It can also develop during pregnancy.Ĭan craving ice cause other conditions to develop?

Pica often occurs alongside other psychiatric conditions and intellectual disabilities. People with pica aren’t compelled to eat ice because of a physical disorder like anemia. It involves compulsively eating ice, snow, or ice water. Pica is an eating disorder in which people compulsively eat one or more nonfood items, such as ice, clay, paper, ash, or dirt. Participants without anemia weren’t affected. The participants with anemia did significantly better after eating ice. The researchers cited a small study in which participants were given a test before and after eating ice. Because the brain is used to being deprived of oxygen, this spike of oxygen may lead to increased alertness and clarity of thinking. More blood in the brain means more oxygen in the brain. Some researchers believe that chewing ice triggers an effect in people with iron deficiency anemia that sends more blood up to the brain. Without it, the red blood cells can’t carry oxygen the way they’re supposed to. Iron is essential to building healthy red blood cells. People with iron deficiency anemia don’t have enough iron in their blood. Without that oxygen, you may feel tired and short of breath. The job of red blood cells is to carry oxygen throughout your body’s tissues. They include: Iron deficiency anemiaĬompulsive ice eating is often associated with a common type of anemia called iron deficiency anemia.Īnemia occurs when your blood doesn’t have enough healthy red blood cells. Several conditions can cause people to crave ice.
