Due to a hereditary condition which causes my body to process iron poorly, I suffer from iron-deficiency anemia. When I work very diligently to get appropriate amounts of iron, I succeed in only being borderline anemic; however, the moment I let my guard down forgetting for one moment to regularly eat iron-rich foods (my body responds better if the iron comes to it naturally via ingested food sources, but upon occasion, when I'm deeply anemic, I'm forced to take iron supplements, generally as an oral tablet) the red rage of anemia returns, bringing with it the near uncontrollable urge to crunch ice.
Many people like to eat ice, but some, like me, are given to cravings so intense that nothing else counteracts them. I desperately want ice; Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall --- regardless of whether it's 99 degrees or 22 degrees outside. Rather like addiction I assume, including all the adverse side affects. (See pagophagia.) But, of course, as is often the way with such things, constantly eating ice can leech nutrients out of a person's system though humans require water in order to live and our bodies are full of it. (See irony.) In other words, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. I suffer from iron deficiency anemia, therefore I crave ice, eating it by compunction. I eat a great deal of ice which, in turn, exacerbates my anemia. Round and round, we go.
Another danger of compulsory ice crunching is that it can be very damaging to one's teeth. The bigger the cubes and harder the ice, the more likely one will crack a tooth or something similar. I work to manage my pagophagia by distraction, I try to keep crunchy snacks at hand which approximate the feel of crunching on ice. It's not a perfect solution, but does help. Seemingly, I cannot stop myself from craving to crunch on ice and so I have decided to better manage it by making the practice safer (for my teeth at least).
I've been researching ice machines which allow one to make smaller cubes or even crushed ice. I plan to purchase one, once I find the features which I desire at the best price. Hopefully, I can score a deal soon. As a bonus, it will be a great addition to my home bar. I've setup one of those price tracker alerts for a Portable/Countertop Icemaker Machine that makes bite sized ice cubes. (I could spring for one of those commercial numbers like they have in motels, but the ability to make tons of ice easily might serve to encourage my habit.)
