Teen Has 3-Pound Hair Ball Removed from Her Stomach

Eating hair is not a great idea. (Image credit: Shutterstock)

A teen in India who secretly ate her own hair ended up having a giant hair ball removed from her stomach, according to news reports.

The girl was diagnosed with Rapunzel syndrome, an extremely rare condition in which a hair ball in the stomach — known medically as a trichobezoar — extends into the intestine, Live Science previously reported. Only about 60 cases of Rapunzel syndrome have been reported in the medical literature since the condition was first recognized, in 1968, according to a 2018 paper on the condition published in the journal Pediatric Reports.

People with Rapunzel syndrome typically have a mental health condition known as trichophagia, or the compulsive eating of hair. This condition is related to another psychiatric disorder known as trichotillomania, or the urge to pull out one's hair.

Originally published on Live Science.

Rachael is a Live Science contributor, and was a former channel editor and senior writer for Live Science between 2010 and 2022. She has a master's degree in journalism from New York University's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program. She also holds a B.S. in molecular biology and an M.S. in biology from the University of California, San Diego. Her work has appeared in Scienceline, The Washington Post and Scientific American.