Her unusual food habits have become a subject of discussion in the entire district. Banita Behera of Simulia village, Orissa consumes kerosene like water.
She can consume 500 ml of kerosene at a time and one litre a day. It is not that the 17-year-old daughter of Bimal Behera and Minati Behera can only consume kerosene. She claims she has been taking soaps and pain-killer balms - Amrutanjan and Mentho-plus - like pickles regularly.
"I am consuming kerosene and other non-edibles not for sake of record or media coverage. I like the taste of these items and love to consume that. I prefer to take biscuits with kerosene than tea," said Banita, who studies in a women’s college in Soro.
Her parents claimed she developed the uncommon food habit ten years ago. "We first spotted her when she consumed kerosene by draining out lamps and lanterns. Though we tried a lot to prevent her from doing so but she didn’t stop," said her father Bimal.
Surprisingly despite her unusual food habit for past ten years she has developed no health complications. "Moreover, I feel irritated the day when I don’t take kerosene and balms," Banita said.
But the physicians see it otherwise. "Kerosene is toxic to human body. It has very low surface tension and hence it can sustain more time in stomach," said Dr Santanu Das, a physician, warning that regular intake will lead to clinical manifestation including fever and respiratory complications and neurological manifestation. "Similarly, consuming of soaps can lead to renal trouble and gastric irritation while intake of balms can lead to eye-site defect and gastric irritation," Das added.
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