In India, a 17-year-old girl wasn’t able to keep any food down.
She was taken to a medical facility where they found something that was described as ‘hairy’ in her stomach.
The girl was then rushed to a hospital and underwent emergency surgery.
In her stomach, doctors found a 2.2-pound hairball.
Image Credit: Cover Asia Press
The girl was diagnosed with something called “Rapunzel Syndrome” which is also called trichotillomania.
People with the disorder pull out their own hair and eat it.
It is not known how long the girl had been eating her hair, but it had collected in her stomach and extended all the way to her colon.
Image Credit: Cover Asia Press
The majority of people afflicted with this rare disorder are young women.
In October 2012, another girl from India, who was 19 was found with four pounds of hair in her stomach.
The girl reportedly ate her hair and chalk during class.
Image Credit: Cover Asia Press
She didn’t know that it was bad for her. In 2014 Ayperi Alekseeva, 18, had a nine-pound hairball removed from her stomach.
Ayperi was killing herself and nearly died from malnutrition and dehydration.
Image Credit: Cover Asia Press
Please keep an eye on your daughters. They may not realize that eating their hair can have such devastating consequences.
Once eaten, the body cannot absorb it, so it accumulates in the stomach and intestines. Symptoms include nausea and abdominal pain.
There may also be evidence of an abdominal mass. It may take years for the symptoms to manifest.
Once the mass starts to obstruct the intestines, that is when the problems start.
Share away, people.
