I am 30 years old, and ever since I was a little girl Ive been an advid ice chewer. I always just assumed that my constant ice chewing was partially due to my addictive personality. When I like something Im all about it, the more the better...and ice is no different. My ice chewing never seemed odd to me or anyone around me really (except maybe to people with fillings in their teeth). In fact it wasnt until recently when I was at my doctors office, that I thought my ice chewing was anything to even feel alarmed about. Im not even sure how it came up really, since Ive never really felt it necessary to mention it to anyone before, but it did and he said he suspected I had a iron defficiency because chewing ice was a symptom of that. I thought he was yanking my chain and basically laughed in his face. I told him I chewed my whole life, and he decided to have my blood tested (which FYI came back just fine). When i told my boyfriend and mother about the doctor and the ice chewing, they just laughed; ice chewing for me was nothign new. For twenty plus years I have consumed large quanities of ice on a daily basis. I love the icy cool sensation that fills your mouth as you chew and it melts away to nothing, just leaving your cold mouth craving more. While I do have ice Im preferential towards, I do not descriminate. I like all of all shapes and sizes, and textures. Like the rounded chips and doughnut shaped ice you find in bags at the party store. I love the crushed ice that my fridge ice maker pulverizes into edible shards. I love the ice at certain fastfood resaurants...you know the kinda that are like little round pebbles?
It wasnt until my mom looked it upon the internet about the ice chewing that I knew others were waaaaaaaay into the ice chewing and that there was a whole sub culture of people who have defined themselves as ice chewers. Ive looked up information on pica and while I can say that I like many little kids I saw ate the occasionaly glob of elmers schoolglue, or chewed on a crayola crayon...Im pretty sure I dont have pica (not that there is anything wrong with that). I just cant see how you could consider ice a form of pica when ice is just really cold water that freezes, and dont we need to drink like 8 glasses of water a day or something like that? So what does it matter if I drink my 8 glasses or chew them? They go down the same tube to the same place so I dont see the problem really.
So suck on that
![Wink :wink:](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)