A 36 -year -old woman developed a passionate passion for whitening. Scientists now know why

We all have our unusual nutritional preferences, but it is unlikely to be just strange like the desire for a 36 -year -old woman in a recent case report. Her doctors described how a woman developed a sudden starvation of whitening – a passion for autoimmune disorder.

Doctors in Michigan detailed the strange story in a paper Published Last month, in the case of a magazine in psychiatry. The woman had developed a severe seizure of anemia caused by vitamin B12 deficiency, and it was not long after she started enjoying the sun and savored bleaching powder in the end. Although she was successfully treated because of her poverty and lack, it is not known whether her passion for whitening has disappeared forever.

Concept

According to the case report, the woman visited a local emergency room with severe anemia symptoms, including shortness of breath, fatigue and pain along the lower left side. Initial tests have found that they suffer from anesthetic anemia (anemia that is excessively large red blood cells) caused by a chronic deficiency in vitamin B12. Soon the woman was given blood transfusion and was accepted in the intensive care unit for further treatment and evaluation.

Women had a history of previous mental disorders, including depression and anxiety, although they were well managed with medications. But given this date and its extreme poverty, the doctors were concerned that they had also evolved BeccaOr the compulsive desire to eat things that are not suitable for implementation. Pica is a complex and incomprehensible condition, and is often associated with psychological issues as well as anemia and lack of nutrition.

The woman received a psychological consultation, in which she revealed a whitening habit. I just enjoyed the smell and texture of the whitening powder, but later began to taste it. For more than a month, two to three times a day, she wiped her finger, broke her in the powder, and put her finger on her tongue. She claimed that she did not eat fully whitening and instead, she revolved around her mouth before she spit and rinsed her mouth with water. She also stated that although she had not had any problem with her passion, her family expressed great concern “and tried to make her stop.

Subsequent tests showed that women carry antibodies harmful to a protein known as the essential factor, which is necessary for our bodies to absorb vitamin B12 of food. In other words, the vitamin B12 deficiency for a woman and subsequent anemia – may also have Becca – due to autoimmune disorder.

This interpretation only makes a woman’s disease more strange. For beginners, whitening is already rare, if not unheard of, A passion for Pica (the most common desire is dirt, chalk or hair). It is known that vitamin B12 deficiency causes many psychological symptoms, but as much as the authors are known, this is the first passion for Petch associated with a vitamin B12 deficiency. The issue is also noticeable because the woman did not suffer from iron deficiency, which is a more common player for PICA.

Fate is sure

Soon the woman was transferred from the intensive care unit to the general hospital unit and has been largely regained during the next three days. She was said to take regular vitamin B12 supplements and a drug for gastritis. But she never followed up with doctors, so whether she continues to treat – or what her current health seems – is a mystery.

However, doctors say that the epic provides a timely lesson on the importance of searching for psychological consultations for medical conditions.

“We suggest that PICA’s accurate presentations require a comprehensive assessment of mental illness in patients with poverty expiration, especially since PICA can include toxic substances such as bleaching,” they wrote.