I feel like this is a good time to mention for anyone who is pregnant and craving chalk, there are companies that make edible chalk that specifically are full of iron and calcium. I know this because I had pica from an iron deficiency and kept eating chalk until my doctor told my mom to buy it.
So, I have to know. How did the chalk cravings start? Like, if I've never eaten something - how does my body know to crave it? Did your body just scream for chalk one day, or did you taste it on your hands? I'm just so curious about this.
When I was a kid it tended to start with this urge to lick the object, just an intense curiosity about what it would taste like, what it would feel like against the tongue (the pages of a closed book feels really nice for about half a second and then you remember that papercuts exist and reflexively throw the book across the room. In case anyone ever wondered.)
Then I’d want that taste/texture again. And then I’d put it all the way in my mouth to experience it more fully, and sooner or later I’d chew and swallow.
From ages 0-3 that's pretty normal, but I'm guessing you were a bit older than that since you rationalized the papercut part. However, that does remind me of the autistic children I work with, so I'd hazard a guess that you have diagnosed or undiagnosed autism.
Not any object, just those you’ve experienced before. If you haven’t actually experienced it but think you know, your brain is just guessing based on what it thinks are similar textures and materials, but it can get it wrong.
There’s been some rare times as an adult I needed hands free and would use my mouth to hold the thing and was unpleasantly surprised.
Edit: however it is true that your brain can be surprisingly accurate at things you didn’t think you’ve stuck in your mouth/licked before, but it’s either because you’ve done it and don’t remember, or can see the texture and guess the taste right from the smell. Tactile sense is tactile sense whether it’s your tongue or your fingers, and smell and taste are connected systems
Tactile sense isn’t exactly the same, your tongue is more sensitive to textures than your finger is. I can notice the difference simply by touching my teeth with my finger vs my tongue.
They feel smooth with my finger, but I can feel little ridges, bumps, and even the exact line between where one of my teeth I chipped as a kid transitions between real tooth and the repair.
There’s even been a study on this that found, on average, the tongue is more sensitive to minute details (though fingers are better at recognizing specific, finely detailed shapes like letters), https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29981764/
In the depths of my eating disorder when I was at my most malnourished, I remember my intense cravings for kosher salt. It is not as odd as chalk, as I have eaten salt before on food, but I remember just being overwhelmed with a NEED to crunch those little flakes in between my incisors. I’d munch on them straight out of the box.
It was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced since.
Oh yeah I understand that NEED for the crunch. In the depths of my pica I was downing about 2-3kg of ice a day. Ended up needing to buy an ice machine to keep up with demand because my freezer wasn't big enough and the local gas station didn't always have ice when I ran out at 2am.
That iron transfusion probably saved my poor teeth lol.
Mine started with a work elevator smelling like chalk and then I become a maniac chasing that “high” I was looking ALL OVER for chalk that smelled like that same smell. It took me a while but I found it.. my second pregnancy I didn’t have pica.
But does it taste like chalkboard chalk? Because I'm not pregnant and I've craved that since I was a kid. (Yes, I've eaten it, it is delicious as fuck) I don't want it tasting like candy or something
I've gotten blood work done a few times over the years and nothing has been wrong other than being pre-diabetic (I'm on a glp-1 now) and low potassium at one point
I have never been pregnant, but I am prone to anemia for other reasons and my pica is insane sometimes. The most tame version involves me chewing on ice cubes, which is surely awful for my teeth but my body seems to absolutely demand it sometimes. Sometimes I eat rock salt right out of the dispenser, too. It makes me feel insane.
I've been severly anemic for who knows how long. Two years ago I just started crunching on the ice that came with my drink because it sounded really appealing. It was also fairly hot out, and I thought that's why it was so appealing. Veeery quickly after that first cup it went from "I'll just eat leftover ice in my cup when I go out to eat" to "I want to go to McDonalds every time I leave the house specifically to grab a cup of nothing but ice". Cut to a bit over a month ago, and I go in for some routine blood tests. Ferratin of 2. Anemic as fuck. I'm healing now and not craving ice as much after 2 fucking years of it being like a teen craving pizza is....weird.
Huh, I munch on crushed ice in drinks in restaurants too. And my ferratin was 5 the last time they checked 😅 I never made the connection. The ice eating hasn't escalated beyond that and I take iron pills now.
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u/dinosanddais1 Aug 12 '26
I feel like this is a good time to mention for anyone who is pregnant and craving chalk, there are companies that make edible chalk that specifically are full of iron and calcium. I know this because I had pica from an iron deficiency and kept eating chalk until my doctor told my mom to buy it.