My friend with pica mentioned that necco wafers are a good alternative for chalk (or things with a hard, dry feel)

 

magnesium tablets, i just chew them, they taste exactly like chalk

 

Raw carrot leafs instead of paper. In moderation. Sharing because it did stop the craving... For a now.

Christmas wafer (the thin one) also reminds me of it, but the texture is a bit different, so it's good for smaller cravigs for me. For greater it only whets my appetite.

 

I don't have pica, but I know a guy who ended up making edible paper and eat that. Said it wasn't like the real thing, but close enough in moderation.

 

Raw carrot leafs instead of paper. In moderation. Sharing because it did stop the craving... For a now.

Christmas wafer (the thin one) also reminds me of it, but the texture is a bit different, so it's good for smaller cravigs for me. For greater it only whets my appetite.

also seaweed (like the type you use for sushi) for paper

 

Nori seaweed (the one you’re on about) is so good for paper 🙏🙏 I defo second this

 

I feel like rice cakes might work for styrofoam

 

For styrofoam, I like different types of puffed snacks. Baby food sections have unflavored ones that have similar textures

 

pre-sweetened koolaid powder for sand/ashes

 

I feel like rice cakes might work for styrofoam

I just found these gerber banana puff cereal things and they have the exact texture of styrofoam but without the squeaky noise and obvious health hazards, I love them so much

 

if anyone has a substitute for pop can tabs hmu

 

Anyone with ideas for replacing soap bars? I love coconut soap so much. Glycerin ones also and sometimes i get fancy bath soap bars as present and lick on them when I am bathing (i dont swallow, i just wash my tongue and enjoy the remaining taste of it on my tongue). I would appreciate if someone has found a substitute and could share it

 

Anyone with ideas for replacing soap bars? I love coconut soap so much. Glycerin ones also and sometimes i get fancy bath soap bars as present and lick on them when I am bathing (i dont swallow, i just wash my tongue and enjoy the remaining taste of it on my tongue). I would appreciate if someone has found a substitute and could share it

What about marshmallows? If you put it in coffee or tea it will get more melty and fizzy when you put it in your mouth.
Also, freeze dried fruit works really well for styrofoam!

 

Anyone with ideas for replacing soap bars? I love coconut soap so much. Glycerin ones also and sometimes i get fancy bath soap bars as present and lick on them when I am bathing (i dont swallow, i just wash my tongue and enjoy the remaining taste of it on my tongue). I would appreciate if someone has found a substitute and could share it

This is kind of late, but what about making your own soap. Not technically soap, but finding an edible base and adding cilantro (a lot of people and my dad says it tastes soapy) and from there add some coconut. maybe like a hard gelatin thing? There's also some "edible soap" recipes online. Hope that helps

 

My pica food is Johnson's baby powder and I pretty much haven't had any since the original lock down in March because of cost and accessibility. But I had already been weening myself off of it. At my worst I used to buy the 22oz weekly or the double packs from whole sale places like BJs or Costco. After along while I weened myself down to 15oz bottles max. Then I got myself down to the 4oz or 9oz bottles. Then I got myself down to the 1.5oz travel size with an occasional 4oz bottle and that's where I was at before the lockdown. But I've done pretty well in this time with not being very interested it it at all. And some of the last times I had it it really did taste horrible and not at all as I remembered it. I wouldn't say I'm completely cured, because I have been having some low key cravings lately. But I think I can likely resist out of habit now and I'd expect now that it likely wouldn't taste good. On top of that I'd already been concerned about the health risks. I wasn't inhaling it but I'm sure having it that close to the nose and respiratory system was not ideal. And there's long been murmurs of links to cancer. So I'd been saying for a cool decade I need to quit this shit.

I'd tried testing out corn starch as an alternative once I but I didn't like it. The texture and experience is off. Plus I've researched that corn starch is a pica food for some people and it also can have negative side effects, like weight gain. That's a hell no, rofl.

 

My pica food is cornstarch
It's actually not that bad in calories tho lol

 

I used to follow a blog for neurodivergent folks who have pica looking for safe alternatives to non-edible things - a good trick is to try and imitate the texture of things you want to eat. For example, if you feel like eating paper, a good alternative is seaweed, or rice paper. Or if you want to eat chalk, smarties and necco wafers are good alternatives (that's what I do! I like sweet tarts candies). For rocks, rock Candy works, and for sponge, something like marshmallows can be a good alternative. Ofc it won't be exactly the same, but it can def be a form of harm reduction.

 

Is this blog still up?

 

sunflower seeds are great, they really help with wanting to bite down on something.

 

There is an etsy shop called queerodditiescandies that makes candy versions of things like candles, aquarium gravel, plastic, clay, foam, soap, and a few other things. I've only tried the foam, aquarium gravel and plastic so I can't say how good any of the other ones were but I liked all the ones I tried although the foam was very wet for some reason and kinda an odd texture but the other two were great. The plastic had a very subtle citrus flavor to it which made it resemble the taste of real plastic somehow

 

Hey, just wanna let people know that in 2022 queerodditiescandies openly admitted to not using gloves when making products and used actual glue bottles with glue bottles in them, and their products were making customers sick so be careful! An alternative shop you can go to is wittlefoxden, they have edible rocks, potting soil, chapstick glitter glue, sand, aquarium gravel, etc! Be safe

 

Corn starch packing peanuts. You can crunch them, dissolve them on your tongue, fully biodegradable. And very cheap!

 

Where do you get these?

 

i eat rice paper and candy cigarettes for paper and chalk cravings

 

Sorry, I know this is an old thread, but does anyone have any good suggestions for string and rubber/eraser shavings? I've been craving really badly for ages.

Low calorie suggestions would also be preferable if possible

 

Sorry, I know this is an old thread, but does anyone have any good suggestions for string and rubber/eraser shavings? I've been craving really badly for ages.

Low calorie suggestions would also be preferable if possible

erasershavings- possibly the strip bubblegum? like the kind in a pouch that they give to baseball players.

 

erasershavings- possibly the strip bubblegum? like the kind in a pouch that they give to baseball players.

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll definitely give those a try!

 

I always craved talc and washing powder when I was pregnant. I've found that nequik milkshake powder is fantastic for giving me the same crunchy powdery feeling but it's safe - although a lot of sugar!

 

I used to eat powdered peanut butter as a substitute for this

 

Anyone have anything for like plastic or like? I don't know... The edge of carpet, like what holds the carpet together? I guess I really just crave eating plastic. But like a chewy sort of plastic. Any ideas?

 

Lowkey communion wafers for paper/a specific type of crunchy plastic i always want to eat. u get loads of them for not that much money on eBay lol

 

(deleting all my posts - nothing personal, just leaving the forum)

 

Every time I see thin glass somewhere, usually just an exposed lightbulb, I want eat it. I melted some jolly ranchers in the microwave and poured the goo onto parchment paper and spread it very thin. It was sooooo nice. Scratched an itch I won't dare let myself scratch any other way. Best part? Soaked the glass bowl and the metal spoon in warm water and there was no sticky candy residue left! ❤❤

Stay safe, my friends