The Causes and Symptoms of Trichophagia, a Compulsive Mental Disorder Essay

Trichophagia is a mental disorder in which the person eats their own hair or the hair of someone else. It comes from another disorder known as trichotillomania. This is when someone pulls out their hair obsessively. Over time, trichotillomania can turn into trichophagia. 5-20 percent of people who have trichotillomania also have trichophagia. People pull out and eat hair from all over their body, including head hair, facial hair, eyelashes, eyebrows, and pubic hair. This is a form of self-harm that many people with this disorder do unconsciously. The causes of trichophagia are for the most part unclear. According to the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research trichophagia probably results from a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Also, abnormalities in the natural brain chemicals serotonin and dopamine may play a role in trichophagia. Until more research on trichophagia is completed, it will be very hard to find exact causes of this disorder. About 2-4 percent of the U.S. population has trichophagia. About 80 percent of reported cases are found to be women. This is because many women use hair pulling and eating as emotional comfort. However, all hair eating begins in adolescence and develops over time. Once trichophagia is fully developed, it is very hard to completely recover. When first seeing someone with a serious case of trichophagia, they will have the obvious sign of a hair puller and eater. They will have hair loss in various places of the body. However, the real damage of trichophagia is happening inside the body. In most cases, symptoms of this disorder are abdominal pain, dizziness, fatigue, nausea, and weight loss. In the rarest cases, a trichobezoar is formed. This is a hair ball found in the stomach that has to be surgically removed. People with trichophagia have stomach problems because hair cannot be digested or dissolved. The hair that is eaten is usually found covering the stomach. Usually, the person...

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