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From: york@mbcrr.dfci.harvard.edu (Ian A. York)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: I wish to register a complaint
Date: 27 Mar 1995 00:55:15 GMT

I was skimming through the FAQ and I find this line in it:

F. Girl dies of big hairball in stomach from chewing on ends of her braids.

And I would suggest a modification of the entry. Some time ago I posted a number of references showing that hairballs in children's stomachs are indeed seen, they are in fact well recognized, if not common, causes of intestinal obstruction, they are caused by chewing on hair, and they can be fatal. Thus the F(=100% false) seems a little harsh for the topic. My suggestion is to add a qualifying line after the F: line saying something like:

T: People who chew their hair excessively can develop honkin' great gastrointestinal hairballs, which can be fatal.

Here are some references to show that hairballs (trichobezoars) are recognized problems especially of girls (see especially the review [1]); that they can be extremely large [2], can be fatal [3], and cause a wide variety of symptoms [4]. I couldn't resist adding a reference to show that your mother was right about that bubble gum, after all [5].

Ian "maybe that's where my hair has gone" York

[1] Mekisic A. Farmer E.
Trichobezoars.
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Surgery. 64(4):281-3, 1994

"Trichobezoars are a rare cause of upper gastrointestinal symptoms and most commonly occur in young females with trichophagia. A case, occurring in a 19 year old woman, complicated by transient pancreatitis and jejunal perforation, is presented."

[2]Canavese F. Maiullari E. Costantino S. Rosina F. Gesmundo R. Cortese MG. Bevilacqua A.
A gastric trichobezoar: a report of a clinical case with anomalous presentation
Pediatria Medica e Chirurgica. 16(3):289-91, 1994

"Therefore the patient underwent gastroscopy that showed a voluminous trichobezoar, so big and hard that gastrotomy was required for removal. The weight of the mass was 700 g; it occupied the whole stomach from fundus to pylorus. Postoperative recovery was uneventful.

[3] Balik E. Ulman I. Taneli C. Demircan M. The Rapunzel syndrome: a case report and review of the literature. European Journal of Pediatric Surgery. 3(3):171-3, 1993

"The Rapunzel syndrome, found characteristically in girls with varying gastrointestinal symptoms, is a rare form of gastric trichobezoar extending throughout the bowel. The previously reported cases have different clinical and pathological features affecting the mortality. We describe a new case preoperatively diagnosed with none of the complications previously reported."

[4] Mehta MH. Patel RV.
Intussusception and intestinal perforations caused by multiple trichobezoars.
Journal of Pediatric Surgery. 27(9):1234-5, 1992

[5] Truex JH. Silberman TL. Wood BP. Radiological case of the month. Bubble gum bezoar. American Journal of Diseases of Children. 143(2):253-4, 1989