diff --git a/src/rendering/line_iter.rs b/src/rendering/line_iter.rs
index c2de8850..9b947026 100644
--- a/src/rendering/line_iter.rs
+++ b/src/rendering/line_iter.rs
@@ -422,31 +422,30 @@ where
     fn process_word<E: ElementHandler>(
         &mut self,
         handler: &mut E,
-        w: &str,
+        mut w: &str,
     ) -> Result<(), E::Error> {
-        match w.char_indices().find(|(_, c)| *c == SPEC_CHAR_NBSP) {
-            Some((space_pos, _)) => {
-                // If we have anything before the space...
-                if space_pos != 0 {
-                    let word = unsafe {
-                        // Safety: space_pos must be a character boundary
-                        w.get_unchecked(0..space_pos)
-                    };
-                    handler.printed_characters(word, None)?;
-                }
+        loop {
+            let mut iter = w.char_indices();
+            match iter.find(|(_, c)| *c == SPEC_CHAR_NBSP) {
+                Some((space_pos, _)) => {
+                    // If we have anything before the space...
+                    if space_pos != 0 {
+                        let word = unsafe {
+                            // Safety: space_pos must be a character boundary
+                            w.get_unchecked(0..space_pos)
+                        };
+                        handler.printed_characters(word, None)?;
+                    }
 
-                handler.whitespace("\u{a0}", 1, self.spaces.consume(1))?;
+                    handler.whitespace("\u{a0}", 1, self.spaces.consume(1))?;
 
-                // If we have anything after the space...
-                if let Some(word) = w.get(space_pos + SPEC_CHAR_NBSP.len_utf8()..) {
-                    return self.process_word(handler, word);
+                    // If we have anything after the space...
+                    w = iter.as_str();
                 }
-            }
 
-            None => handler.printed_characters(w, None)?,
+                None => return handler.printed_characters(w, None),
+            }
         }
-
-        Ok(())
     }
 
     fn should_draw_whitespace<E: ElementHandler>(&self, handler: &E) -> bool {