A trichobezoar is a bezoar made up of hair and is a rare cause of bowel obstruction of the proximal gastrointestinal tract. They are seen mostly in young women with trichotillomania and trichotillophagia and symptoms include epigastric pain, nausea, loss of appetite and bowel or gastric outlet obstruction.
Typically, ingested hair remains asymptomatic and is not harmful. However, if trichophagia is severe or chronic, a large mass of undigested hair can accumulate in the stomach, resulting in a trichobezoar. This can be symptomatic, including nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.
Complications of Rapunzel Syndrome
As the hair ball grows in your belly, with time it can cause you to have other problems within your body, such as: Obstructive jaundice. Physical blockage in your belly or small intestine. Erosion of the mucus lining in your stomach and small intestine.
These patients present with nonspecific symptoms such as abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, early satiety, anorexia, and weight loss. Nonetheless, they usually are diagnosed as incidental finding.
Hair structure
The hair root is in the skin and extends down to the deeper layers of the skin. It is surrounded by the hair follicle (a sheath of skin and connective tissue), which is also connected to a sebaceous gland. Each hair follicle is attached to a tiny muscle (arrector pili) that can make the hair stand up.
The Rapunzel syndrome is an unusual form of trichobezoar found in patients with a history of psychiatric disorders, trichotillomania (habit of hair pulling) and trichophagia (morbid habit of chewing the hair), consequently developing gastric bezoars. The principal symptoms are vomiting and epigastric pain.
A bezoar is a ball of swallowed foreign material most often composed of hair or fiber. It collects in the stomach and fails to pass through the intestines.
After the hair ball has reached sufficient proportions to cause gastric irritation, there may be nausea, loss of appetite, dyspepsia, headaches, epigastric pain, and mild anemic symptoms. With increase in size, pain becomes more severe, the patient is able to eat less, and there may be blood in the stools.
Trichophagia may present with symptoms of abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, recurrent diarrhoea or constipation, and weight loss due to formation of a trichobezoar. A diagnosis of trichotillomania may have already been made, or signs of hair pulling noted on examination.
So, if you ever happen to spot a strand of hair in your food, by all means pick it up and throw it away, and continue eating your food. And if you swallow a strand by mistake, don't worry, for you are most likely to continue living exactly the way you were before swallowing it.
Trichobezoars are masses of hair that accumulate in the gastrointestinal tract, mainly in the stomach. Hair is indigestible; thus, it can accumulate to form a mass in the digestive system over time. The mass results in several symptoms, including; Abdominal pain.
Keratinases are proteolytic enzymes capable of catalysing the hydrolysis of highly stable keratin proteins that compose hair and feathers, and other keratinous materials. Common proteases like pepsin and papain are not capable of degrading keratin.
Although uncommon in humans, some hairballs have been reported. These hairballs occur when hair strands collect in the stomach and are unable to be ejected due to not enough friction with the surface of the gastric mucosa. Hairballs are often seen in young girls as a result of trichophagia, trichotillomania, and pica.
Dumping syndrome describes a range of symptoms that occur when food is emptied too quickly from the stomach into the small intestine, filling it with undigested food that is not adequately prepared to allow efficient absorption.
Sarcomas that begin in the abdomen may not cause signs or symptoms until they get very big. As the sarcoma grows and presses on nearby organs, nerves, muscles, or blood vessels, signs and symptoms may include: Pain. Trouble breathing.
Most bezoars do not completely block the digestive tract and thus cause no symptoms. However, people may feel very full after eating a normal-sized meal and may have nausea, vomiting, and pain. People may also lose their appetite and lose weight.
Trichotillomania is a disorder characterized by chronic hair pulling that often results in alopecia. Eating the part of hair pulled out is a common practice and trichorhizophagia is a new term to denote the habit of eating the root of hairs pulled out, associated with trichotillomania.
A phytobezoar is a type of bezoar, or trapped mass in the gastrointestinal system, that consists of components of indigestible plant material, such as fibres, skins and seeds.
In some individuals, the change in color of pubic hair may occur around the age of fifty, but it can happen earlier or later, depending on individual genetic predispositions and lifestyle factors.
A thick head of hair is often a sign of a healthy scalp. So, when your locks become noticeably sparse, it could be a tell-tale sign of hypothyroidism. This glandular condition affects nearly five out of 100 Americans ages 12 and older and can be treated with thyroid medications.
What is the White Bulb at End of Hair? The white bulb at the end of your hair is essentially a bundle of protein, known as keratin. The role of the white bulb is to help the hair follicle root to the scalp, which then allows the hair to grow until it is shed.