When Jodie Collins’ daughter began complanining of stomach issues, the mum put it down to a gluten intolerance.
But it turned out that 14-year-old Erin actually had a giant hair ball in her stomach — measuring 8.3in wide, which is roughly the size of a melon.
‘They’re not sure how long it was there for,’ Jodie, 48, says. ‘I suspect it was years looking at the size of it.
‘It took up pretty much the whole of her stomach.’
When Erin had initially complained of pain back in November 2024, tests for intolerances came back normal, but over time her symptoms worsened.
‘She was suffering with really bad stomach cramps for a good six months,’ Jodie, from Newquay, explains. ‘I thought she could be lactose or gluten intolerant.’
The doctors struggled to pinpoint the problem and Jodie became increasingly concerned for her daughter.
‘The pain was really sporadic but when it came, it was really bad and she had to be off school.
‘I pushed it with the doctor and they referred her for an ultrasound but that didn’t pick up anything.’
With her daughter continuing to experience more pain, Jodie had had enough, and in May 2025, she took her daughter to the hospital for further tests.
An MRI scan found a hard mass in her stomach, which doctors suspected was in fact a hairball — known medically as a trichobezoar — swallowed hair that accumulated in the stomach or intestines, primarily caused by the habitual eating of hair.
Erin was rushed to Bristol Children’s Hospital where surgeons spent five hours removing the hairball, which had left her anaemic and suffering with multiple nutritional issues.
‘The surgeons said the smell was unbelievable,’ Jodie said. ‘I’d imagine it was like your worst plughole. He said it was putrid and one of the biggest they’d ever dealt with.
‘They were really grateful when they went in that it hadn’t gone into her intestines, as that would’ve been really complex.’
Because of how large the hairball was, Erin wasn’t digesting her food properly, so surgeons drained her stomach, which meant she couldn’t eat for five days.
The teen was also given a personalised vitamin and mineral food bag to help replenish the nutrients her body had been unable to ingest.
‘It was much more serious than I’d ever anticipated,’ Jodie added. ‘She would’ve collapsed eventually.’
Jodie also says she didn’t realise her daughter was habitual hair eater. ‘As a baby I used to bottle feed her and she would grab my hair and twist it,’ Jodie recalled.
‘She’s always been really tactile and played with hair, but I’ve never seen her put her hair in her mouth, which is why it was shocking to me.
‘The surgeon said she could be doing it in her sleep without even realising. She twirls her hair a lot.’
After 10 days recovering in hospital, Erin was able to go home, but her stomach may remain oversized for years.
The ordeal has left Jodie intent on spreading awareness of the dangers of hair eating.
‘We’ve now bought her one of those bonnets to sleep in just in case she’s doing it in her sleep,’ she said.
‘Look at getting kids who twirl their hair fidget toys or something to break that cycle, or if it’s really bad, then apparently CBT therapy can be good for breaking hair-twirling.
‘Don’t just leave it for years. Definitely try and break the habit.’
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