Eating Ice
Here’s something I never would have guessed: An excessive desire to eat ice has a name: “pagophagia.” And it can be a sign of anemia due to (for example) gastrointestinal bleeding.
NOTICE: I've upgraded to WordPress 2.3.1 and finally figured out how to re-enable comments. Looks like we are back in business! --DR, 11/18/2007
January 4th, 2005 at 8:09 pm
Hmmmmmmmm — is there a special name for an excessive desire to eat ice *cream*?
(Other than pregnancy, for all you smark alecks out there! 
June 27th, 2005 at 1:16 pm
I hear that excessive ice eating can have damaging effects on the herar
is that true
October 14th, 2005 at 7:23 pm
I am trying to find out if it is harmfull to eat too much ice.
March 29th, 2006 at 5:03 pm
I eat 10 to 12 cup of ice a day what is this doing to me.
June 9th, 2006 at 12:22 pm
i love eating ice but people around me are worried but i dont see anything wrong wit
wot do u think
July 13th, 2006 at 5:35 pm
i had intenstinal obstruction foe a year it was the most painful thing in my life i had it removed onmarch 27 about 12 wekks later now i cant stop
eating ice i know i am bleedign and dont know what to do.
gastronenterologist said to have a colonoscopy
and i really dont feel likeit i guess i really need one.
July 13th, 2006 at 8:23 pm
Sounds like you do.
Many months after posting this, I found I have anemia. It’s real easy to treat — just take the appropriate amount of iron pills — but it can be a sign of something serious, so make sure you get it checked out. I’ve had a colonoscopy and it’s not as bad as they say.
July 25th, 2006 at 6:53 am
I had a procedure to scope my kidney, and they discovered a tumor (non cancerous
thankfully. Anyway, I do bleed from time to time when I urinate, often
quite heavily. Now, I find I am eating an enormous amount of ice.
I am quite addicted to eating it, and really crave it everyday. It’s interesting
how many people have said they also loose blood? I will try to increase
my iron intake and see what happens- I guess what bugs me most is,
no one can say if the habit is dangerous, or not. I tend to think its
a harmless habit?
July 25th, 2006 at 2:49 pm
Carl: I would suggest you go see a physician about this. They can test the iron level in your blood and see if it’s too low, and see if you are taking enough iron — or if something more serious is going on. Low iron is a problem itself, and can also indicate a more serious problem. When they give you an iron test, tell them what you are doing to increase your iron intake so they know what it is that they are measuring.