Mother Of Five Is Addicted To Eating Johnson's Baby Powder Everyday Due To PICA Syndrome

A mother of five has been hiding a shocking secret for more than a decade now. Liza Anderson, a 44-year-old mom from Paignton, Devon, revealed she’s addicted to Johnson’s baby powder so much that she can eat 200 grams of it in a single day.

It all started 15 years ago while Anderson was drying her young son after a bath, according to Daily Mail. It was then that an “overwhelming” urge to eat baby power hit her seemingly out of nowhere.

Since then, she’s been eating talcum powder in secret until recently when she decided to reveal this problem so she could seek treatment. Anderson admits that her craving got worse with time that she eats the powder from the back of her hands every 30 minutes and even gets out of bed multiple times during the night for it.

“I remember getting really drawn to its smell,” Anderson said. “Now I can't do without it. I go up and get some every half an hour. I can't really go half an hour without it. The longest I've been without it is two days. That was the worst time of my life. I hated it.”

Ms. Anderson was able to keep her weird eating habits for a decade. It was only when her former partner asked her why she was always going to the bathroom that she confessed.

Ms. Anderson can’t explain what triggered her to suddenly crave talcum powder. Prior to the first incident, which happened in 2004, she explained that she always had baby powder in the house but she just used it on her kids after giving them a bath.

“And then one day I remember being in the bathroom and the smell was just overpowering,” she narrated how she suddenly felt the urge to eat it. “There was a bit of dust that had come off the top of the bottle.”

At first, she tried to resist the urge but felt powerless against it at that moment. “I had this sudden urge to eat it and I just couldn't fight it,” Anderson continued. “I just licked it off my hand and really enjoyed it. It just hit this spot. It was satisfying a craving I never knew I had.”

Doctors suspect that Anderson might have pica syndrome. It is an eating disorder characterized by the desire to eat non-food items such as dirt, sand, stone and even paint.

Anderson’s addiction to talcum powder is actually a dangerous one. The powder is believed to be poisonous if inhaled or consumed. Symptoms include breathing problems, chest pains, low blood pressure, vomiting, and even lung failure.

Anderson finally decided to go to the doctor. “I went online and did my own bit of research then I decided to go to my GP,” she said. “I spent years not knowing what was going on or happening. But it turns out it is a condition. And I just want to let others know they are not alone.”