Trichophagia is the compulsive eating of hair associated with

trichotillomania Trichotillomania (TTM), also known as hair-pulling disorder or compulsive hair pulling, is a mental disorder characterized by a long-term urge that results in the pulling out of one's own hair. A brief positive feeling may occur as hair is remov ...

(hair pulling). In trichophagia, people with trichotillomania also ingest the hair that they pull; in extreme cases this can lead to a hair ball (

trichobezoar A hairball is a small collection of hair or fur formed in the stomach of animals, and uncommonly in humans, that is occasionally vomited up when it becomes too big. Hairballs are primarily a tight elongated cylinder of packed fur, but may inclu ...

). The term is derived from

ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

θρίξ, ("hair") and φαγεῖν, ("to eat").

Signs and symptoms

Trichophagia is characterized by the person eating hair, usually their own; primarily after pulling it out. Most often, hair is pulled out and then the ends of the root bulb are eaten, or occasionally the hair shaft itself. The hair eventually collects in the gastrointestinal tract (on occasion, and depending upon severity of symptoms) causing indigestion and stomach pain. Ritual is a strong factor, and may involve touching the root bulb to the lips, tasting the hair, and occasionally chewing it. Sometimes those with the disorder may even eat the hair of others. In the psychiatric field it is considered a compulsive psychological disorder.

Prognosis

Rapunzel syndrome Rapunzel syndrome is an extremely rare intestinal condition in humans resulting from ingesting hair (trichophagia). The syndrome is named after the long-haired girl Rapunzel in the fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. Trichophagia is sometimes assoc ...

, an extreme form of trichobezoar in which the "tail" of the hair ball extends into the intestines, and can be fatal if misdiagnosed. In some cases, surgery may be required to remove the mass; a trichobezoar weighing was removed from the stomach of an 18-year-old woman with trichophagia.

History

Trichophagia is most often covered in the medical literature only "as a rare symptom of trichotillomania." In the 18th century French doctor M. Baudamant described the condition in a 16-year-old boy. Citing

In media

Trichophagia is mentioned in the '' 1000 Ways to Die'' episode
Stupid Is As Stupid Dies
featuring a young woman who died from it. It is also mentioned in ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into se ...

'' season 9 episode 11 "The End Is the Beginning Is the End". As well as Season 3 episode 16 of '' The Resident'', “Reverse Cinderella.”

References

External links

The TLC Foundation for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors
{{Emotional and behavioral disorders Body-focused repetitive behavior Eating behaviors Habit and impulse disorders Hair diseases Hair removal Human hair Pica (disorder)