A mum has spent £8,000 on a bizarre addiction which sees her consume a tub of talcum powder every day. Lisa Anderson, 44, started eating the product 15 years ago when she felt the urge while drying off her son after a bath. She has since spent at estimated £8,000 on Johnson's Baby Powder, sneaking to the bathroom to scoff it off the back of her hand every 30 minutes. The mum-of-five can get through a whole 200g bottle in a day and even gets up four times a night to feed her craving - which costs her £10 a week. She kept her habit secret for a decade before confiding in her ex-partner, and has now plucked up the courage to get professional help. The mum-of five was recently told by doctors she may have symptoms of PICA syndrome - an eating disorder characterised by a compulsion to eat non-food items. Lisa, of Paignton, Devon, said: "I do get it's a bit weird - but it just has this nice soapy taste. "I can get through a 200g bottle in a day but the bigger ones I get through about one-and-a-half a week. "I remember getting really drawn to its smell. Now I can't do without it. I go up and get some every half an hour." Lisa first developed symptoms of PICA syndrome in 2004 just a few days after giving birth to her fifth child. She said: "I've always had it in the house and would douse myself with it after having a bath or shower. "I'd use it on the kids after giving them a wash no problem. And then one day I remember being in the bathroom and the smell was just overpowering. "There was a bit of dust that had come off the top of the bottle. "I had this sudden urge to eat it and I just couldn't fight it. 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. "I've never had it with any of the other children. Just my last one. "Just like someone with an addiction I was just having more and more each time I went to have some. "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." Lisa always has a drink of water after indulging to cleanse her taste buds and cannot stomach flavoured talc, just the Johnson's original. When she is out of the house, she munches on extra strong mints which satisfy her craving for the chalky texture. "I don't carry any around with me when I go out," she said. "If I do have to go out to the shops or go to hospital I eat mints outside. "The other day I was out for a few hours and I had eaten six packets of extra strong mints. "But when I got home I just went to have the powder. It's the chalky texture that I crave. "I wake up at least four times in the night as my body just craves it. "This has been going on for years now I just can't see a point when it isn't part of my life." It was not until she visited her GP last year that doctors identified the possible causes - iron deficiency, OCD and PICA syndrome. She has been referred by her GP for co
Mum spends £8k on addiction that sees her eat tub of Johnson's baby powder a day
A mum has spent £8,000 on a bizarre addiction which sees her consume a tub of talcum powder every day. Lisa Anderson, 44, started eating the product 15 years ago when she felt the urge while drying off her son after a bath. She has since spent at estimated £8,000 on Johnson's Baby Powder, sneaking to the bathroom to scoff it off the back of her hand every 30 minutes. The mum-of-five can get through a whole 200g bottle in a day and even gets up four times a night to feed her craving - which costs her £10 a week. She kept her habit secret for a decade before confiding in her ex-partner, and has now plucked up the courage to get professional help. The mum-of five was recently told by doctors she may have symptoms of PICA syndrome - an eating disorder characterised by a compulsion to eat non-food items. Lisa, of Paignton, Devon, said: "I do get it's a bit weird - but it just has this nice soapy taste. "I can get through a 200g bottle in a day but the bigger ones I get through about one-and-a-half a week. "I remember getting really drawn to its smell. Now I can't do without it. I go up and get some every half an hour." Lisa first developed symptoms of PICA syndrome in 2004 just a few days after giving birth to her fifth child. She said: "I've always had it in the house and would douse myself with it after having a bath or shower. "I'd use it on the kids after giving them a wash no problem. And then one day I remember being in the bathroom and the smell was just overpowering. "There was a bit of dust that had come off the top of the bottle. "I had this sudden urge to eat it and I just couldn't fight it. 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. "I've never had it with any of the other children. Just my last one. "Just like someone with an addiction I was just having more and more each time I went to have some. "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." Lisa always has a drink of water after indulging to cleanse her taste buds and cannot stomach flavoured talc, just the Johnson's original. When she is out of the house, she munches on extra strong mints which satisfy her craving for the chalky texture. "I don't carry any around with me when I go out," she said. "If I do have to go out to the shops or go to hospital I eat mints outside. "The other day I was out for a few hours and I had eaten six packets of extra strong mints. "But when I got home I just went to have the powder. It's the chalky texture that I crave. "I wake up at least four times in the night as my body just craves it. "This has been going on for years now I just can't see a point when it isn't part of my life." It was not until she visited her GP last year that doctors identified the possible causes - iron deficiency, OCD and PICA syndrome. She has been referred by her GP for co
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