Here’s an interesting news report about a woman who had a 10-pound hairball removed
from her stomach. It seems she went to the hospital about a year ago complaining of pain, abdominal swelling and vomiting after she ate. She also lost 40 pounds in 5 months.
The problem? She had trichophagia, a condition in which a person eats their own hair. Doctors said she must have been doing it for years. The hairball was surgically removed and the patient is doing fine.
But it just goes to show you that cats aren’t the only ones who can get hairballs. If you think you have trichophagia, consult a doctor. There have been cases where a hairball was fatal.
–Midbrain
Have you ever tasted your tresses? Be honest! Leave a comment and confess.
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Ewww, I want to vomit just thinking about it. I get freaked out when hair is anywhere near my mouth. I don’t know how cats do it!
Sounds like the perfect subplot for an episode of Grey’s Anatomy!
The jokes aren’t funny. I have this condition and it isn’t controlled very well. I want to stop so badly but at the same time I want so badly to eat my hair. It sounds gross to me too, and it’s very embarassing. I just wish there was a way I could stop having these impluses without medication, seeing as I am a 21 year old mother.
I agree with Anna, I have this condition too.. I’ve had it for 2 to 3 years now and I can’t stop. It has only just come out to my cousin and my friend because I am so embarrassed of it. I hate doing it and it sounds really gross to me too, and reading most of them comments has upset me even more. I don’t know what to do, I can’t stop crying about it. All I want to do is stop since I’m only 14. I always seem to get stomach pains and chest pains recently and I’m not too sure what to do. I just want help …..
My 10 year old daughter is in a hospital now recovering. If you do this please see a GI doctor. My daughters was spotted with an x-ray and then a sonogram. I am so sad right now looking for help. Your digestive system will back up and bile will fill your stomach. If your vomit is green this maybe an indicator. If not treated you can die.
Thank You
Philip
My autistic daughter has started pulling her hair out and eating it. She can not talk due to autism, so I am at a loss as what is wrong, whether she is missing something in her diet that is causing this. For Anna, if you will share with me, what medication are you taking?
person below probably has eating disorder haha
eww. i feel like vometing
I HAVE THIS PROBLEM ALSO I HAVE BEEN DOING IT NOW FOR ALMOST 25 YEARS I AM 40 NOW I DONT DO IT AS OFTEBN AS I USE TO BUT EVERY NOW AND THEN I GET THE URGE TO DO IT ITS NOT A LAUGHING MATTER AND WE NEED TO GET MORE EDUCATED ON IT
i have it too i’m 13 an a boy but, ive only been doing it for like 6 months. i stopped when i read all the reports on having to have surgery. people ITS A DISORDER AND IF IT SOUNDS GROSS TO YOU, IT DOESNT TO US SO SHUT UP AND GET INTO OUR SHOES!!! i’m gonna see a gp so i can get advise and a scan to see i surgery is needed and for him to recomen me a behaviour doctor to control my tempation to eat my own hair. If you have this problem too, i suggest you do the same. I also almost cried when i found out that it was extremely dangerous… I can’t wait ntil i see that doctor, i’m dying!!!
Question.
im eighteen,and ive been doing this for about as long as i can remember. but heres the thing. i only eat little strands..its not like some people ive seen who eat chunks and chunks of hair.. i’ll pull out strands and just chew on them. sometimes i swallow it, sometimes i dont….is what i have REALLY Trich?
I’m wondering the same thing as the person above me…I mean I’m pretty sure it is trich but I could be wrong.
I use to just suck on the ends of my hair but then sucking turned to nibbling and nibbling turned to chewing and before I could realize it I had gone from 36 inches of long tresses to shoulder length choppy hair.
It was a nightmare. I missed my long beautiful hair so much that I vowed to stop but it was soooo hard!! My hair tasted so nice- it was thick, lusterous and healthy. The taste of hair is very similar to nails. Like when you grind a bunch of strands in your mouth into powder the taste is alot like finger nails- very karatin like.
So what I do now is run my fingers down my hair and only eat the loose hairs. So far my hair is down to my chest and continues growing healthy. But, do I still have trich?
My 2 year old daughter eat my hair as well as her, she’ll find hair on the floor, in the brush any where and she’ll eat it. It scears me what could happen.
Thankyou for tell us your storys so we know it’s not just us.
I apologise in advance-If you’re easily grossed you might want to skip this.I have been eating eyebrow and nasal hair for over 20 years-I dont know why or how it started I know its disgusting but I cant help it.I dont do it as much as I used to.I dont think it would form a hairball as I bite them into tiny bits!
As a young child 10-12 I used to eat coal,candle wax and firelighters !
I think I must be some kind of freak!!!
I don’t think you’re a freak! But you should talk to a doctor about it. There are certain things they can do to modify your behavior. As you can imagine, it is not really a good thing to do to yourself.
i’m a 13 year old girl, and when i read those comments, the worries come..
i always were twirling my hear but since 1/2/ year(s) i’m eating it! In the past i found it very oddy, but know i can’t stop anymore! I’m afraid todie and afraid that i have a psychic but then I think, well im not crazy you know ;s. It’s shaming when i eat my hear when there are strangers and people in my surroundings
i’m afraid, what do i have to do?
I have been eating my hair since childhood. I have never told my doctor,and I suffer from other mental problems. I don’t know if I even want to stop
I am turning 40 and have been pulling my hair and then nibbling it since I was 14. It is madness! I am intelligent and my life is fab and I hide my naughty secret really really well. I always pull from different spots to avoid bald patches. I have successfully hidden it from all of my friends and family plus my husband of 10 years. I really can’t stop. I look at the pictures on the web of hairballs and I have to wonder whether those people are eating long hairs and that is why they clump together. I have had various operations over the years and nothing has ever come up on an ultrasound.
umm.. yikes, I have a tendancy to nibble on my own moustache or the hairs on my fingers. I never actually thought to look this up until just now and I have done this for many many years. Time to stop, hopefully nothing is stuck in there. It would probably pass over time though. I also drink a lot of cokes which are acidic so, who knows they might have been my saving grace by helping weaken and erode the strands.
No need to do this, it is just hair, there are better things to eat out there!
This is disgusting. All you people that know you have a problem and won’t fix it is just ignorant and stupid. A person old enough to know that eating hair is wrong and disgusing and hazzard to your health and can’t stop? Just stupid.
That is the most disgusting thing I have ever heard. Hair and scalp is so damn disgusting. I am sick to read these.
@Gross – It’s not a matter of being stupid. It’s just how their brains are operating at the moment. It takes re-training help people change. Criticism is minimally effective.
I have been doing this for since i was 13, i am now 35. when I started I pulled all my hair out and ate it within 6 months. I was “bald” until I was 18 than I started doing it in sections so my hair would grow back because I was sick of the questions…do you have cancer? whats wrong with you?… I kept it from everyone including doctors my parents took me too. I just decided to get help for it this past week and to tell my husband, who doesnt know. I am in law enforcement and have 2 little boys. I lead a very normal life. This can happen to anyone. I am now wanting to get help for it because its getting bad again where i am getting blad in spots. I have tried to “retrain” myself but it isnt working. I think the reason for the pulling I am doing now is because my father was murdered 3 months ago. I think stress has alot to do with it. I have been doing it so long I dont even notice I do it anymore until I have a bald spot.
Yes its gross but to the people that do it as long as i have, it isnt. Its like biting your nails or sucking blood off your finger when you cut yourself. Its a habit and a addiction.
To the people that want to make jokes about it, you shouldnt be on this site., this is an addiction that can kill people. its nothing to joke about.
To the rest that have it I wish the best for you!
Wow. I thought I was alone in this. Its easy for people to criticize and say, “well if you know its bad, then just stop.” I think its similar to what smokers go through. You want to stop, but you have this horrible uncontrollable urge. But smokers have a much larger support system when they want to stop. Pulling/eating hair is terribly embarrassing and its hard to reach out for help. I know I do it because of stress. I don’t know when it started, but I’ve been doing it a long time, since I was very young and I’m in my 30s now. Sometimes I’m pulling out strands here and there and then biting each one into tiny pieces and then I usually spit it out and don’t swallow it. But the thing is..I’ll be unconsciously doing it. I want to stop. I just don’t know how. I’ve tried to be very conscious of “when” I’m doing it and stopping myself. I can go a day or two sometimes, but then its back. I’m an intellegent person, I know its disgusting. Same with people who bite their nails. Its gross yes, but its uncontrollable. So, before you post any comments on how we are all crazy people and need to just stop it…think about any bad habits you may have…not so easy to stop. Obviously.
I don’t eat the hair on my head but I do nibble, pull out or tweezer and eat hair from my fingers hands forearms and lower leg. And my toes! I’m very particular in the hair I won’t eat. For the last year I’ve also been eating the hair from my boyfriends arm, sometimes grinding it off with my teeth while he’s asleep. He knows I do it and is understanding, until posting this message he’s been the only person to know. I also pick and eat scabs. I’ve done all this since I was small, I’m now in my 40s. Anyone got any advice?
im pulling my hair and eat.now im bold.my age is 16.i have consulted a doctor he said because of stress.please can you send a medicine to me.and can you send an advice to me.please reply it to me.
i chew my hair too, been doing this for years. it’s like a compulsion. i just hope i don’t get hairballs.
@Rich: i drink a lot of pop/soda too, so i hope they burn off the hairs inside my stomach…
Some people may think it’s gross and it is, but its like any other habbit, you dont know why you do it but you do anyway.
And for those of you who worry, it is a health concern but theres only been one report of someone dying only because of problems in surgery.
Also, a possible way to counter this is to eat plenty of corn, which doesnt digest well so it will rub along your intestines and unblock some of what’s in there.
hi all,im 30 and have been eating my hair since i was about 10.i pul one trand out at a time and nibble it into tiny peaces and swallow.i know tons of people suffer this but is there anyone that actually has gone and seen a doc about it?i went to my doc and he lked at me and told me not to be stupid!damned if im going back again.if theirs anyone who has been treated for this please post a reply :0)
Ever since I read an article in regards to Rapunzel Syndrome yesterday, I’m freaking out. I’ve been eating my hair for I don’t know how long! Like many others, I’ll pull one hair out and chew it into little bits and swallow. I’m worried now that I may have a huge clump in my stomach/intestines. :/
Anyone know any definite symptoms of a hair ball, other than getting an ultrasound?
I realy though I was the only one. just dont forget there is a God. he will help me for sure. just believe in him. there is always a way.ik meen het met me zelfe.ik houw van me zelfe . dus ik doe wat eraan om te stoppen met haren eten.ik heb god gevraag voor kracht en wijsheid en mij te begeleiden. ik vertrouw in hem. als je echt hulp wilt zal nodig hebt ,dan zal je het zeker krijgen. je moet gewoon strek zelf verzekerd zijn. geef niet op. ik ben een moeder van 21jaar. ik heb een zoontje van drie. ik houw ziel veel van hem. en ikwil nog altijd heel graag daar voor hem zijn. ieder gaat een keertje dood. maar het hoeft echt niet op zoeen manier. want als je het goed bekijk is het zelfdooding . want niemand staat achter je met een geweer van je moet het doen. ij zelf neem je haar met je eigen vingers.niemand anders doet het voorje. dus er moet toch een manier zijn met oplossing…ik ben begonnen doen ik 12 jaar jong was. nu stop ik er mee. het moet gewoon zo. oke een ieder het beste en sterkte ja oke. ook bedank voor begrip. dit is LS
I realy though I was the only one. just dont forget there is a God. he will help me for sure. just believe in him. there is always a way.ik meen het met me zelfe.ik houw van me zelfe . dus ik doe wat eraan om te stoppen met haren eten.ik heb god gevraag voor kracht en wijsheid en mij te begeleiden. ik vertrouw in hem. als je echt hulp nodig hebt ,dan zal je het zeker krijgen. je moet gewoon strek zelf verzekerd zijn. geef niet op. ik ben een moeder van 21jaar. ik heb een zoontje van drie. ik houw ziel veel van hem. en ikwil nog altijd heel graag daar voor hem zijn. ieder gaat een keertje dood. maar het hoeft echt niet op zoeen manier. want als je het goed bekijk is het zelfdooding . want niemand staat achter je met een geweer van je moet het doen. ij zelf neem je haar met je eigen vingers.niemand anders doet het voorje. dus er moet toch een manier zijn met oplossing…ik ben begonnen doen ik 12 jaar jong was. nu stop ik er mee. het moet gewoon zo. oke een ieder het beste en sterkte ja oke. ook bedank voor begrip. dit is LS
OMG! i have been doing the same thing as everyone here. At first i only twirled hair in my fingers, then i started to pull hard coz i liked the feel of the silky hair in my fingers, then a strand might come out and i would grind it with my teeth so it would twirl up, i also would nibble very tiny bits of it and then swallow. When i heard of this i freaked, i had no idea that it was this dangerous! now i am scared that there is a big ball in my stomach! I cannot help it, i am totally unaware i am doing it sometimes! but i think i know how i can help, like any habit, it can be replaced by another, so i told all my friends that i am doing this, and whenever they see me do it, they must tell me or hit me or something, and i will remember and commence a new, perfectly safe habit. But this won’t be easy, and going a few days without it can make you so eager to want to bite on your hair! I am 17, i have been doing this for a year and a half now, almost 2 years. I just noticed a bald spot the other day and i hate it so much because i am obsessed with the way my hair looks. Everytime i pull a hair i will tell myself what can happen, how scary it would be to have a massive ball of hair in my intestines and go entirely bald! I would never want that, i am so willing to stop. I MUST! I suggest all of you try this, but really really try it, give it your best shot!
OMG, If you think that any of these are disgusting get ready for this one. I’m in my 40′s and I’ve been eating my pubic, under arm, eye brows, and eye lashes for twenty four years. It all began after I was molested in my early childhood years. I’ve been married for twenty two years and my husband doesn’t know. I hide my idiosyncrasy very well. however, it’s a disease for all of us, and I hope one day we can all be cured.
Me too….been doing it since High School, I’m now in my 40′s and can’t seem to stop. I bite my nails, smoke, and don’t know how to cope and stop. My family and friends know, and I cover my problem with wigs and hats. Sometimes I’ll go months without doing it, and then during times of high stress…..I go on a binge. Both knowingly and unknowingly do I do this several times a day. I’m glad I’m not alone with this problem, but what can I do.
I have been pulling out my hair and eating it since I was at least 12 years old and I just turned 28. I’ve never known what caused it. I assume it was being diagnosed with type I diabetes at 12. I’ve been able to take “breaks” from it which are few and far between but after stopping thyroid medication I do it worse now and I don’t have health insurance anymore so i can’t go to the doctor. Taking anti-depressants help keep it down and Lexapro actually stopped it for 5 days. I don’t know what to do about it. Everyone always yells at me to stop when they see my hand in my hair like it’s my fault but it’s not. I don’t know I’m doing it half the time. Anyone else have anything that even helps??? Please give some insight.
I used to twirl my hair as a young kid, now I constantly pick at my hair to find the “right strand” and then chew on it, slowly nibble on it. Sometimes I pull it out to eat it. I didn’t know it was a condition. I cannot stop doing it. I don’t know when I’m do it but when I catch myself, I try to stop. Sometimes I say “just one strand” and then I can’t stop again.
I have a therapist but forget to ask her about it.
i have a daughter who is 9 yrs old and we just realized that she has been eating her hair not pulling it out just eating the long hair right in front of us and we never thought there was a “problem” until we have been adding up the my stomach hurts forever….and no real conditions until just reading all of this..i am worried and think wow she has been doing this for 2yrs and has given herself bangs without visiting a hair salon and we never thought wow is everything ok….makes you wonder how really busy life “seems” and whats really important is right in front of you….i hope the best for all who are going through this and best of luck…hoping no surgery is needed with my daughter but….we shall see..thanks to all the stories and comments…helpful and scarry too
i am a 21 yr old father of a 2yr old and i have been pulling and eating my hair for 3 to 5 yrs. i just pull one strand at a time and run it thru my teeth like floss. is this the trich disorder or something diff? i do have stomach and chest pains but idk if it is because of my habit. i am so confused as to what to do about it. i also have VERY sharp but brief pains in my testicles occasionally. could this be related? somebody please give me some advice i do not want to die. i usually only do it when i am worried or anxious or when i just drift off into space and catch myself doing it when i come to. it is so embarrasing. my freinds ask me what im doing and i lie even tho i kno they kno because of the look they give me and my daughter trys to imitate me when she sees me do it. could it be genetic? i am so worried she will pick up the habit. i also bite my nails and pick my pubes and pretty much any hair i can get a hold of and seperate to get just one at a time and i also pick at my face really bad. it is all stArting to show in my appearance. i look like some kind of meth head or something. somebody please help me. thanx
I have trichophagina so thats not nice to say. you are lucky you don’t have it. Be thankful and please dont critisize this is a ten year old saying this!
sir you dont need help. just stop yourself like i did
I have been eating my hair from 19 yrs to present I pull from my head chin but I eat the roots it sucks but ill like to stop if you have doctors numbers that can help ill take them .I also get Sharp pains in my belly
i had a severe case of tricho. when i was young. around 8 years old, i’d use to climb into my parents bed and nibble and eat any strand hairs. growing up, i pulled and ate my own hair to the point that i had an obvious bald patch. i never told anyone i was eating hair because i knew i’d be labelled a freak. even knowing it was strange didnt stopped me. i was sent to the doctors who thought i was experiencing hair loss. i then realised how much i was harming my body so i stopped at around the age of 12 – 13. now im 19, i have almost stopped doing it. i may nibble some strand hairs still but i do not eat them anymore. i just hope that hair inside my stomach has disappeared by now. good luck to everyone who is suffering this!
I’m a 38 year old guy and I do this a lot! Not really sure when it started but it’s been many, many years now and definitely gets worse when I’m stressed. Eyebrows are my main “focus” and I certainly look a bit strange after a session of pulling them out! I also nibble them into tiny bits so I’m not too worried about a hair ball or anything. I presume that only occurs with long strands that tangle together. It’s certainly a bizarre habit but I guess everyone has their oddities. I’m not concerned enough to seek help but would like to stop, I guess. My wife thinks it’s very strange! Sound like there are lots of us out there…
I do pull and eat my hair too for 5 years;/ i cant stop it its too hard to control it..my family think that im crazy..i realy want too stop my hair was very beautiful…so what to doo i need the treatment??!!!
And i dn wanna go to the dr its embaressing;/
While I could agree that eating hair is similar to smoking in the sense that there is an urge to do something that you may not want / shouldn’t do. I have to say that you can’t really compare the difficulty of quitting either one as being similar or different. It is better compared to nail biting addiction, I smoke and compulsively bite my nails. The difference is that if I decide that I won’t bite my nails it is hard, when I want to do it I think about it and have to work very hard to distract myself from it I sometimes don’t notice until I have already done it. When I try to quit smoking (a chemical addiction not mental compulsion) when I have a nicotine craving my blood pressure goes way up, I sweat, and I get very irritated. Not the keep to myself kind of irritated the kind where you try extremely hard to control yourself but end up acting like a butt head to people despite the restraint. And when you smoke a cigarette it is very deliberate unlike nail biting, when I have a cigarette I feel the nicotine craving physically then deliberately satisfy it.
I have this as well….I didn’t do it as a child but it all started after my pareants got a divorce…idk I seen a physc but he didn’t help at all!!!! It was a waste of money….I’ve been doing it for about 2-3 years or so….I hope we all find a cure someday! <3 all my trich bros and sistas
Well, I am also a hair addict. I am 18 and I have been through anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating. I have never seen my nails grow over my fingertips, and I have an addiction to pulling my hair and biting the tips of it. Before I suffered from a low self-esteem, which was caused by mother’s treatment. After family problems ceased I kept doing this. It is weird because I am very social, in a few days I’ll be leaving home to go study at a top-knotch university, and well I consider myself good looking, so I do not know why I keep doing this. I would like to add that I am a very nervous person and knowing that I can’t puke all of the little pieces of hair that have already gotten into my system is nerveracking and such nerves make me pull my hair even more.
Nature has a way of weeding out the insane and stupid.
The cruelest action is to save these creatures from their own self-destruction motivations.
Oh and the proper common word is Bezoar (you might have heard it from the Harry Potter distraction dreck series).