Medical professionals discovered an extensive balding region within a young female's abdomen.
A 10-year-old girl in India endured agonizing abdominal discomfort for weeks. Ultimately, her parents brought her to a healthcare facility, where physicians discovered a 50-centimeter-long hairball, a consequence of the uncommon "Rapunzel Syndrome."
Children may experience abdominal aches due to various factors, such as excessive sweet consumption or gastrointestinal infections. However, the underlying reason for the girl's persistent abdominal pain in the metropolitan area of Vasai-Virar, India, was the unusual "Rapunzel Syndrome."
According to the "Times of India," the girl has been enduring persistent abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting for several days. Despite her parents' attempts to seek medical help, the girl's condition did not improve. After nearly three weeks of recurrent discomfort, they took her to the Bai Jerbai Wadia Children's Hospital in Mumbai, which is approximately 50 kilometers away. Upon admission, the girl had been constipated for over five days, according to a pediatric surgeon. She appeared underweight, exhibited intense lower abdominal pain, and had undergone considerable weight loss. During an examination, the doctor detected a firm to hard mass within her abdomen.
An ultrasound revealed the source of the girl's symptoms: a hairball that seemed lodged in her stomach and had even penetrated her small intestine. The girl had apparently been consuming her own hair. Doctors at the children's hospital reportedly eliminated a 50-centimeter-long hairball from her abdominal cavity.
The girl received emotional support before and after the operation. Her mother was taken aback by the diagnosis, but the girl has since made a full recovery and is excited to resume her schooling, as her mother informed the "Times of India."
Diagnosis: Compulsive Hair Consumption
Compulsive hair consumption and ingestion, often referred to as hair-eating or trichophagia, is a condition where individuals struggle with the inappropriate consumption and digestion of their hair strands. This phenomenon, predominantly affecting adolescent girls and young women under 30 years of age, can result in the formation of a "trichobezoar" in the stomach. In the case of the Indian girl, this caused severe pain due to the human body's inability to digest hair. This rare occurrence of hair-eating is referred to as the "Rapunzel Syndrome."
The "Rapunzel Syndrome" was first documented in 1968, with fewer than a hundred cases reported globally. Deriving its name from the famous long-haired fairy tale character Rapunzel by the Brothers Grimm, in affected individuals, hairballs may pass through the stomach and intestines. Besides abdominal pain and nausea, the "Rapunzel Syndrome" can also lead to depression and personality disorders, and in severe circumstances, it can even be fatal.
The girl's persistent abdominal pain and nausea were symptoms of the rare "Rapunzel Syndrome," caused by her compulsive hair consumption. After weeks of discomfort, the hairball in her abdomen was finally removed, leading to her full recovery.
