"Princess" syndrome causes many children to be hospitalized due to strange mass in the stomach

(Dan Tri) - When a child is hospitalized with abdominal pain, ulcers, intestinal obstruction, etc., many parents are shocked to learn that their child has a very large fibrous mass in the abdomen.

As Dan Tri reported, on July 16, a representative of Ninh Thuan General Hospital confirmed that they had successfully performed surgery to remove nearly 0.5 kg of hair from the stomach of a 5-year-old boy.

Previously on March 12, Quang Ngai Province Maternity and Pediatrics Hospital said that doctors had surgically removed nearly 1kg of hair from the stomach of a 12-year-old girl.

Hair bun taken from the patient's stomach (Photo: Ninh Thuan General Hospital).

During the examination of both children, doctors discovered a hard mass with hair in the abdominal area, obstructing the digestive system, leading to symptoms requiring hospitalization. After surgery to remove the hairball from the stomach, both children quickly recovered and returned to eating normally.

Doctors warn of a psychological disorder characterized by a love of eating hair, which can lead to stomach blockage and hinder digestion. This syndrome is known as Rapunzel Syndrome.

Strange syndrome causes children to like eating hair

Rapunzel syndrome is a rare condition characterized by the habit of chewing or eating one's own or someone else's hair. Many children have the habit of pulling out their own hair or picking up fallen hair to taste and then swallow it.

With large hairballs removed from the stomach, it is possible that this habit has been maintained by the child for a long time.

Hair in the stomach cannot be digested, accumulates into clumps in the abdomen, hinders food digestion, causing serious health consequences such as intestinal obstruction, ulcers, and even intestinal perforation.

The cause of trichotillomania in children can come from both habits and psychological influences.

Trichotillomania can result from touching, pulling, or scratching the head, leading to hair loss.

This behavior is repeated many times to form a habit, children may unconsciously "scratch their heads and pull their hair" or even pull their own hair out to satisfy or reduce feelings of anxiety and stress.

With the hair that has fallen out, children will taste and swallow it to hide it. In the long run, the hair will accumulate into a mass in the abdomen, hindering the digestive system from working.

Children with Rapunzel syndrome may develop hair-related psychiatric disorders such as trichotillomania and trichophagia. Both of these psychiatric disorders involve neurotic stimulation of hair-pulling and hair-eating behaviors in children.

Rapunzel syndrome can manifest through a child's habit of pulling out their hair (Illustration: DallE).

Additionally, Pica syndrome in children can also be the cause of the habit of eating hair. Pica is an eating disorder that causes children to chew and swallow non-food items, including hair.

Pica syndrome can be caused by many factors such as nutritional deficiencies, developmental disorders, lack of necessary attention or stress... causing children to not be aware of the foods they should eat.

The medical term for areas of fibrous accumulation of human or animal origin is bezoar. Not only hair, many other types of hair such as eyebrows, eyelashes, beard, mustache, pubic hair... even fibers and straw are also on the list of foreign objects that form bezoars.

In most cases, removing a bezoar requires open abdominal surgery.

Recognizing children with Rapunzel syndrome

Up to 70% of children under 16 years old, especially girls, are susceptible to Rapunzel syndrome.

Parents need to pay attention when their children show signs of constantly scratching their heads and pulling their hair (Illustration: Dall.E).

Parents need to pay attention when their children show unusual signs such as frequent scratching and pulling of hair; increasingly thin scalp, with obvious patches of thinning hair; abdominal pain, nausea, indigestion, loss of appetite due to foreign objects compressing the digestive tract...

When noticing that their child has symptoms of Rapunzel syndrome, parents need to take their child to a medical facility for timely medical intervention.

Children need to be treated with both medication and psychological therapy after surgery. However, the habit of eating and swallowing hair comes from behavior, so if not thoroughly treated psychologically, children are very likely to repeat this action.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/hoi-chung-cong-chua-khien-nhieu-tre-nhap-vien-vi-khoi-la-trong-da-day-20250717141024523.htm