Mum craves CLEANING PRODUCTS when she’s pregnant – and is banned from going shopping on her own as a result
RHIANNON Cole, who has urges to eat non-food items, is expecting her fourth child
A YOUNG mum has told how she experiences uncontrollable urges to eat CLEANING PRODUCTS every time she's pregnant.
Rhiannon Cole, 25, suffers from Pica disorder – which involves a craving to eat non-food items, such as chalk or soil – but oddly, the condition only strikes Rhiannon when she is expecting.
At her lowest, the mum of three even began to get withdrawal symptoms and sought help from an addiction counsellor.
Rhiannon is currently pregnant with her fourth child and said she's terrified about suffering with the bizarre symptom again.
She said: "In many ways, Pica is like an addiction, I don't choose to have it, I can't control it.
"It becomes a mental battle within yourself, because the urge is so strong, but you know you can't have the thing you're craving because it's bad for you.
"Some people don't understand. They'll just say, 'Don't do it' – but that's like telling an addict not to take drugs.
"The fact I only have it when I'm pregnant does help me to stay strong and to resist the urges. I know I need to suppress them for the sake of my unborn babies."
Rhiannon first experienced Pica whilst expecting her eldest daughter, Chloeann, now five.
Having also suffered with hyperemesis – severe vomiting – she put her strange cravings down to the fact she'd had a complicated pregnancy.
However, the symptoms also returned while she was pregnant with Sarah, four and Emily, one.
She recalled: "It started when I was going through the nesting phase, during my first pregnancy.
"I was washing the floors using a multi-purpose spray, and got an overwhelming urge to inhale it.
"My partner Michael, 39, walked in when I had my head literally in a bucket smelling the cleaning product."
Aware of how dangerous it would be to both her and her unborn child's health, Rhiannon has managed to resist the temptation of swallowing the cleaning products – and thankfully has never put them in her mouth.
Instead, she simply smells them, inhaling from them deeply – but she can experience withdrawal symptoms, such as shakes and even hot flushes.
Desperate, she sought help from a drug and alcohol addiction counsellor when she was pregnant with Sarah.
She said: "My counsellor really understood. He commended me for coming forward, and gave me the same techniques for coping that he would an addict,
"He told me to keep myself distracted, and to find another outlet for my behaviour.
"From there, I began to chew gum whenever I got cravings. I found it blocked my senses and kept me occupied.
"I've lost count of how much money I've spent on gum over the years. At one point, I was easily getting through eight packets a day."
Rhiannon’s counsellor also recommended that she shouldn’t go shopping alone - just in case temptation to give in to her cravings became too much.
While she admits that there have been a couple of occasions where she's snuck out to the supermarket by herself to smell cleaning products, she has largely stayed determined.
She and her partner even threw away all the cleaning products that they already owned, and began making their own using all-natural ingredients.
In the past, Rhiannon said that she felt "too ashamed" to tell anybody about her condition, but after reading about Pica online and realising she wasn't alone, she began to open up about her experiences.
She said: "Once I was officially told I had Pica, I felt a huge sense of relief, it was like I'd been carrying round a big secret. For so long, I was ashamed. I had no idea what was happening but I was too afraid to tell anyone for fear of judgement.
"But since then, I've felt less like I need to hold back.
"I've posted in some pregnancy and parenting groups about it and people have been very understanding, but I still think more can be done in the way of research and awareness."
Now, Rhiannon is approaching the 20-week mark of her fourth pregnancy – the point at which the Pica cravings usually begin.
While she does admit to feeling nervous that the cravings will happen again, she added that she feels more prepared this time – as well as being confident enough to seek medical help straight away.
"Before, I wasn't expecting it to happen and it really shocked me, but now I feel prepared," she said.
"It is nerve-wracking because I feel like my family and I are on stand-by, waiting for it to happen.
"It can be terrifying. My whole body craves cleaning products, but I know I can't give in to them.
"But I hope by speaking out I can show others that they aren't alone, and that they have nothing to be ashamed of."