Trichophagia

Trichophagia is the compulsive eating of hair. Most often, long hair is chewed while still attached to the head and then swallowed. The hair eventually collects in the gastrointestinal tract causing symptoms such as indigestion and stomach pain.

In some cases, surgery may be required to remove the mass as shown in the picture below. The hairball weighed 10lbs and taken from the stomach of an eighteen year-old Chicago woman.