Doctors find a 10-pound hairball, not in a cat

[TheHoff]

She complained of a five-month history of pain and swelling in her abdomen, vomiting after eating and a 40-pound weight loss.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/11/21/hairball.case/

 

[whodini]

Trichophagia is fairly common among mentally ill patients, but I've almost always seen/heard it affecting the small intestines with a similar obstructional problem.

It's amazing how it perfectly took the shape of her stomach, almost down to the pyloric valve.

 

[rxcats]

I work at Poison Control and we hear of all kinds of strange things. Bezoars (trichobezoar is the medical term for a "hairball&quot can form from pretty much any poorly digestable/indigestable substance that is chronically over-eaten or after a single massive ingestion. Aspirin forms a big rock in the gut which is one of the things that makes managing those overdoses difficult. I know of one reported case of a Gummi-Bear (candy) bezoar forming in a child. I am not sure of the details of the case, but I suspect the child must have had access to a few "Costo-sized" bottles to get to that point!

 

[RJman]

Weren't bezoars supposed to have magic properties back in the day?

Originally Posted by rxcats

Bezoars (trichobezoar is the medical term for a "hairball") can form from pretty much any poorly digestable/indigestable substance that is chronically over-eaten or after a single massive ingestion.
Viva la turkey bezoar! Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[amerikajinda]

Well I learned two new words today: bezoar (trichobezoar) and trichophagia. Uhm... thank you?

 

[amerikajinda]

Originally Posted by RJman

Weren't bezoars supposed to have magic properties back in the day?Viva la turkey bezoar! Happy Thanksgiving!

Evidently.

"Bezoar stone, which is a calcified concretion found in the stomachs of some animals, was prized for its supposed medicinal properties as well as being believed to act as an antidote to poison."

http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/p...ar/bezoar.html

 

[Go Surface]

That's pretty disturbing.

 

[Tarmac]

*gulp*