Apparently cats aren’t the only ones who get hairballs.
A UK teen is recovering after having a hairball removed from her stomach that was over a foot long, the New York Post reports.
The hairball was discovered after the 17-year-old began having fainting spells that left her face bruised. She also complained of abdominal pain in the months leading up to being hospitalized. After ruling out a head injury, doctors discovered the mass in the patient’s abdomen in a CT scan and had it removed.
So how did the teen end up with a massive hairball? Well, they ate their own hair.
The outlet reports that the teen had a history of two rare health conditions — “trichotillomania, characterized by the urge to pull out one’s hair, as well as as trichophagia, which is the compulsive eating of hair.”
The teen is now well on the road to recovery with doctors sharing that she “was progressing well with dietary advice” and seeing a therapist regularly.