A Norfolk schoolgirl underwent a four-hour operation to remove a giant ball of hair from her stomach that had “worn away” parts of her digestive system – the unpleasant consequences of her six-year hair-chewing habit.
Sophia Goss, from Lenwade, Norfolk, started pulling out her hair and chewing on it when she was 18 months old as a “calming” technique to help her fall asleep.
The habit continued throughout his childhood despite his mother’s attempt to stop him by putting olive oil in his hair.
However, one December morning, the nine-year-old girl woke up with agonizing pain in her stomach, prompting her parents to rush her to the hospital.
There, doctors discovered the hairball ‘the size of her belly’, and operated to remove it.
Sophia Goss, from Lenwade, Norfolk, pictured with her father Lewis and mother Megan, began pulling out her hair and chewing on it when she was 18 months old as a “calming” technique to help her fall asleep.
Although her mother Megan Sayce, 32, tried to break her habit by putting olive oil in the young woman’s hair, Sophia, now nine, was rushed to hospital after fainting from stomach pain.
Stomach hair is known by some doctors as “Rapunzel syndrome,” which is extremely rare and primarily affects young women.
The problem is usually caused by trichophagia, a psychiatric condition in which sufferers eat their own hair.
The main symptoms of ‘Rapunzel syndrome’ include abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, stomach bloating, lack of appetite, weight loss and constipation or diarrhea.
McDonald’s manager Sayce said the ordeal was “terrifying.”
“The furball filled his entire stomach and had worn away the lining, meaning the contents of his stomach were leaking into his body.
“He was not allowed to eat or drink for seven days and was in the high dependency unit for seven of the ten days he was in hospital.
‘Six weeks before the operation we had taken her to the doctors with stomach pain and they told us it was her diet without examining her much.
“They didn’t seem to have much awareness of what could have been.”
Rapunzel syndrome is an extremely rare medical condition in which hair that a person has eaten becomes tangled and trapped in their stomach.
The main symptoms include abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, stomach bloating, poor appetite, weight loss, and constipation or diarrhea.
Sophia started pulling out her hair when she was just a little girl.
“She was doing it while she was falling asleep,” Mrs. Sayce said.
‘He pulled out locks all the time; the GP and health visitor didn’t really have any advice.
‘I Googled him and got him to stop in eight weeks. I put olive oil in her hair and bought her some gloves for when she slept so she couldn’t throw it away.’
When Sophia was four years old, she vomited a ball of hair.
“We took her to a doctor, but they didn’t really know what could stop it,” Mrs. Sayce said.
“Over time he got better and seemed to stop biting his hair, so we didn’t think much of it.”
On New Year’s Eve 2018, her parents took Sophia to the ER because they thought she had a stomach virus.
That was until he threw up a hairball.
But his parents were told that he had vomited everything and that there was nothing to worry about.
However, five years later, on December 12, 2023, Sophia woke up crying in pain and saying that she felt like she was “going to die.” He was vomiting and passed out.
“I’ve never heard her scream in so much pain so we called the GP when they opened but they couldn’t see her until 5pm,” Mrs Sayce said.
Following gastric perforation surgery which lasted four and a half hours, Sophia spent ten days at the University Hospital of Norfolk and Norwich and is now recovered.
The family wants to raise awareness about Rapunzel syndrome, as the mother said opportunities to identify the problem were likely missed.
He spoke to 111, who warned him that an ambulance would not be necessary and advised the family to avoid the “busy” hospital.
But worried that it was appendicitis, Sophia’s parents decided to take her.
Following gastric perforation surgery which lasted four and a half hours, Sophia spent ten days at the University Hospital of Norfolk and Norwich and is now recovered.
Sayce said: “He used to chew on the ends (of his hair), but since he wasn’t bald, we didn’t think it was that.” He doesn’t do it anymore.
The family wants to raise awareness about Rapunzel syndrome.
Sayce said: “There’s not a lot of help or knowledge because the act of hair chewing seems pretty harmless.”
“But we were lucky with Sophia: if we hadn’t taken her to the hospital, she would have had sepsis and who knows what would have happened.”
‘Simply chewing or sucking on hair can cause problems. Parents should monitor their children, go to the doctor, and pressure them for answers.
“If their stomach hurts and they are bloated, get answers and help them break the habit.”
