the human brain…
is amazing. period.
i had a patient who was diagnosed to have pica, on top of her list of other problems.
i have never seen a patient with this diagnosis before; but i am familiar with it in theory.
what is it about the human brain? something snaps and you do the most unusual things.
in ICU, after she was extubated, she started chewing on everything she can get her hands into, so they restrained her hands. she was smarter than the rest of us of course, because she can reach her hands with her head. so they put on the mighty mittens.
when she got to our unit, i saw the right mitten (i have no clue why they are called mittens, when in reality, they look like white boxing gloves, but no, i am not complaining) was bloody. when i took it off, i found out that she was able to bite off half of the nail of her index finger. i wrapped it with gauze, and another gauze, and another gauze….you get the drift.
i checked her at least every 30 minutes. when i was unable to, i saw more blood, and found out she was able to bite off more skin from the already bleeding finger.
how she managed to do this without feeling pain is beyond me, and that is exactly the reason why i am so amazed at the human brain. a little something snaps somewhere, and you think your finger tastes like french fries, or the NGT tastes like spaghetti. then, as if it is a buy one take one kind of thing, you loose your sense of pain. i was drooling in pain, and for crying out loud, i was only looking at her finger.
i would have been so aggravated by the fact that i reinserted her NGT twice within my shift, since she came down from MICU at midnight, but i wasn’t. it meant changing her gown and the linens too, but i was particularly patient. i thought i would have done worse things if i had the idea that the NGT was some sort of a snack. i felt terrible seeing her and thinking about her condition. it is heartbreaking, to say the least.
i used to joke about wishing i had pica — eating non-foods. i thought it was a good way to save money. imagine not buying anything to eat, but just eating anything.
i stopped joking about it.
it obviously is not funny.
When I was doing rotation in different departments when I was going to school we had a patient come into the ER who ate burnt match heads.
I don’t get it.
Honestly, I don’t like thinking about it.
I mean, I can’t imagine walking along and seeing a pencil eraser and thinkin “OOooh healthy snack!”
Pass me a snickers bar thank you very much.
Comment by kimmyk — November 18, 2005 @ 4:13 am
and it’s not always that it’s something that looks good to eat, it’s something your body is missing, perhaps. Or it’s the texture or just the strangest things.
I still remember vivid dreams of eating my artistic graphite pencils. I remember the texture was similar to the church benches I used to slobber on when I was a child, only without the disgusting taste of varnish. The lead had a distinguishing texture…I didn’t taste a thing. It was all about the texture.
It’s really frightening to think about.
Comment by Kit Is Knitting — November 18, 2005 @ 10:56 am
Luke 10:34 Kneeling beside him the samaritan soothed his wounds with medicine and bandaged them.
You did this. Now we must pray that God will sooth her illness.
Comment by DayByDay4-2Day — November 18, 2005 @ 3:18 pm
The human brain is a very mysterious thing.
Comment by mamalife — November 19, 2005 @ 6:29 pm
some say animal instincts still lie dormant in our brain because our consciousness suppresses it but when that suppression is lost like in brain injuries, the primal instinct might be manifest
Comment by Rygel — November 21, 2005 @ 6:02 am
I knew pica was the eating of odd things such as paper or dirt but I didn’t know it included eating one’s self. I thought self-destructive behavior was a psychistric issue. I guess not or she would have been on the psyche ward.
Comment by junebee — November 23, 2005 @ 6:03 pm
I had pica starting when I was 6. Anemia from G.I. bleeding. I craved ice cubes-pretty run of the mill craving. However you are right, it is not funny. I used to eat a whole tray in the morning before school. Then all day in school, it was literally agony to be without. I cannot describe how strong the craving was. I understand why addicts steal and kill. The ice tastes completely different than when I am non- anemic. When it recurred the memories came flooding back, but it is very difficult in a healthy state to describe. It is not like any other craving I have ever experienced, and it is worse than thirst.
Comment by B.B. — July 4, 2006 @ 3:57 am
I am craving pencil lead and eating it. I also crave ice the crushed ice is the best. I work in a hospital so lately I have been running to the ice machine and eat at least two cups of ice a day. What will eating the pencil lead do to my body. One day I ate the whole pencil lead.. HELP
Comment by Ruth Gonzalez — February 9, 2007 @ 2:15 pm
i eat pencil lead as well. i have jus eaten sum nw so yea. i tink it tastes nyc. wt wil appen?????
Comment by Laura Beale — February 19, 2008 @ 1:29 am
i have a craving for pencil lead
i have eaten maybe around 100 some pencil lead
I like the different distinct tastes of different leads.
I am worried about my future health
Is what i consumed detrimental to my health
Please reply
thank you
Comment by Aryan varma — May 6, 2008 @ 1:59 pm