Parents Take 4-Year-Old to Doctor for Painful Lump in Stomach — Never Could’ve Guessed the Cause

While it’s not unusual for children to put nonfood items in their mouths, sometimes, the tendency to do so can be a sign of a more serious problem. Such was the case for parents who took their daughter to the hospital because of severe stomach pain. In addition to the pain, the 4-year-old girl, was vomiting and feeling full after eating very little.

Her parents grew even more concerned when they noticed a visible lump in her stomach, reported the Mirror.

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Doctors found a large hairball in the girl’s stomach.

Through a surgical procedure, doctors identified the source of the girl’s pain: a large clump of hair. They removed the lump, which they described as “a stomach-shaped mass with a tail” from her stomach.

This condition is sometimes referred to as “Rapunzel syndrome.” According to WebMD, the shape of the large hairball ends up looking like a comma sign.

The girl had been eating hair.

Per the Mirror, her parents noticed her eating her own hair for about two weeks. This habit had caused her hair to thin. Medical professionals reportedly assessed the girl for trichotillomania, a mental health condition that causes people to pull out their own hair, and trichophagia, a type of disordered eating that involves chewing or eating hair.

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Rapunzel syndrome is rare.

According to WebMD, about 80% of cases occur in children and women under 30. Having a large hairball stuck in your stomach can lead to more serious complications as the hairball grows. Sometimes, it might lead to inflammation, acute pancreatitis, or small bowel perforation, notes WebMD. People might not begin to experience symptoms until the hairball has gotten quite large.

Those with Rapunzel syndrome often have another condition as well.

Most often, Rapunzel syndrome occurs in people who have trichophagia or trichotillomania. According to WebMD, Rapunzel syndrome is also more likely to occur in people who have obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, anorexia nervosa, or pica, which is an eating disorder in which people eat things that are not food.

While it’s common for kids to put nonfood items in their mouths, pica is more serious than that. The condition is most common in young children and pregnant women. It can involve eating items like dirt, rocks, hair, and crayons, per KidsHealth.

In this particular case, it’s unclear exactly what caused the condition.

Though medical professionals evaluated the young girl for trichophagia and trichotillomania, her parents did not take her in for follow-up appointments or for further psychiatric evaluation. The family reportedly did not have a history of disordered eating.

*Disclaimer: The advice on CafeMom.com is not a substitute for consultation with a medical professional or treatment for a specific condition. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem without consulting a qualified professional. Please contact your health-care provider with questions and concerns.