Serious Symptoms Linked To Trichotillomania

Chewing and Eating Hair

Not everyone with trichotillomania has oral symptoms, but a good portion of affected individuals will chew and eat their hair. Some of them may simply bite the ends and snap the strands with their teeth rather than swallowing, but others go through the full digestive process. This is often accompanied by playing with the strands of pulled-out hair and running them across the face or lips. Hair isn't meant to be digested, and it can cause serious health problems if it becomes tangled in the digestive tract. If patients eat a significant amount of hair over a large amount of time, a matted hairball called a trichobezoar may form in their digestive system. Slowly, over multiple years, this hairball can lead to weight loss, vomiting, digestive problems, obstruction of the intestines, and if not diagnosed and treated, even death.

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