I have a friend whose daughter seems to have an addiction to Comet cleanser. She says she doesn't swallow it, she just crunches it in her mouth because it has like a sandy type of feeling. She also crunches on emery boards. Can't this be detrimental to her health even though she's not swallowing it? I read the back of the Comet cleanser can and it has no hazardous warning on it. It just says if swallowed, rinse well with water. But it seems to me that this could eventually make her very sick.

R.W.

While I can't say for sure how dangerous such eating (or chewing) behavior could be, I certainly wouldn't recommend it continuing. I'd ask a poison control center or contact the manufacturer for more information about the specific hazards of ingesting the product, especially the Comet cleanser. I suspect the label's instructions merely to rinse out the mouth are meant to apply to situations in which a small amount of the cleanser splashes into the mouth while scrubbing, not pouring the product directly into the mouth and chewing it.

Even though she says she doesn't swallow the cleanser or emery boards, some of their material (and whatever chemicals they contain) would be absorbed into her body through the membranes in her mouth as well as when she swallows saliva infused with the materials. Chewing such an abrasive material is probably also damaging the enamel of her teeth, which can lead to decay and/or infection.

I can't make a definitive diagnosis without personally evaluating your friend's daughter, but it's possible she might have pica. Pica is a type of eating disorder usually seen in infancy or adolescence (but occasionally in adults) in which the individual persists in eating non-nutritive substances such as paint, plaster, string, hair, cloth, sand, leaves, pebbles, clay or soil. Sometimes, but not always, vitamin or mineral deficiencies lead to such behavior. Medical and nutritional analysis might help determine whether such deficiencies are leading to your friend's daughter's behavior, and more directly address any such deficiencies. Psychological assessment and treatment might also identify any other reasons for eating (or mouthing) products not intended for consumption. Some people, for instance, engage in self-injurious behavior as a means of reducing emotional tension.

Of course, you can express your concerns to your friend and even her daughter, but there may be little else you can do unless the daughter is willing to seek help. If she's underage, though, I'd encourage her mother to MAKE her get help, as such behavior certainly could damage her teeth, and very likely her body as a whole.