“Rapunzel syndrome”, which is named after the fairy tale, is caused by people plucking and eating their own hair. The condition is rare, although a reported medical event where a large hairball needs to be extracted for someone who is suffering the physiological effects is reported every few years. What makes this recent case interesting is the size of the extracted hairball.
The medical name for “Rapunzel syndrome” is trichophagia and it refers to the compulsive eating of hair associated with trichotillomania (hair pulling). Often this is confined to a form of compulsive behavior; however, in very rare cases it can lead to a hairball being formed inside the person (which is known as trichobezoar). With this, the extreme form of trichobezoar concerns the “tail” of the hair ball extending into the intestines. This leads to stomach pains and it can be fatal if misdiagnosed. Because the human gastrointestinal tract is unable to digest human hair, the extreme form of trichobezoar needs to be treated surgically.
The syndrome is rare, with less than 120 cases reported in the medical literature, and almost always affects young women. With the recent case, which has been reported to the British Medical Journal, the woman, who is anonymous but hailed from Arizona, developed sudden vomiting and constipation. In addition, her stomach swelled as it filled with liquids and gas.
According to the BBC, this led to a loss of appetite and weight loss. When medical staff performed abdominal surgery they uncovered a 6 by 4 inches (15 by 10 centimeters) ball of densely packed hair in the stomach. A second, smaller hairball, was found in her small intestines. The hair was removed and the woman, after weeks on a carefully controlled protein rich diet, recovered.
