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Why cant I stop chewing tissue paper? Is it harmful to my body?

By Anonymous January 27, 2011 - 2:22pm
 
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Anonymous

Welcome to high school where it drives you to these kind of things as well

January 7, 2015 - 11:15am
Expert HERWriter Guide Blogger

Anon - Thank you for submitting such an interesting question. I did some research and learned there are many others who also chew tissue paper and have done so for years.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Discuss:Why_do_people_eat_toilet_paper

Is this dangerous? In terms of the paper itself, it does appear that the body digests it and paper does not lodge in the body and cause harm. On the other hand, the act of eating paper can be a symptom of a couple of conditions that could be a cause for concern. The first one is stress. The second one is a medical condition known as Pica, which is a pattern of eating non-food materials (such as dirt or paper). While this usually occurs with children, it also occurs with adults, and may indicate some type of iron deficiency and possibly anemia. Here's some additional information to help you sort things out:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001538.htm

http://www.eating-disorder.org/pica-eating-disorders.html

Let us know if this helps.
Pat

January 27, 2011 - 5:21pm
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