Mom Stunned After Doctors Find Massive Melon-Sized Hairball Causing Daughter’s ‘Gluten Intolerance’ Symptoms

What seemed like food intolerance turned out to be a massive hairball in the teen’s stomach

A mother was left completely shocked when she learned that her daughter’s suspected gluten intolerance had nothing to do with food at all.

Doctors eventually told Jodie Collins that something very specific was causing her teenage daughter’s ongoing stomach pain.

Erin, 14, had been complaining about painful stomach aches since November last year. At first, her mom thought it might be related to certain foods or even menstrual cramps, so she didn’t imagine it could be something more unusual.

However, after initial tests showed nothing unusual, life carried on as normal — until things took a turn in May when Erin began suffering more intense and frequent cramps.

Concerned by how bad the pain was getting, Jodie went to their local hospital determined to get answers, urging doctors to investigate further.

That’s when she was told something alarming — there was a large, hard mass in Erin’s stomach, and it wasn’t food. It was made entirely of hair.

The condition is medically called a trichobezoar, which is essentially a buildup of swallowed hair that collects inside the gastrointestinal tract over time.

Before long, Erin was transferred to Bristol Children’s Hospital, where specialists determined she would need surgery to remove the enormous hairball. The mass measured 8.3 inches across — far bigger than anyone expected.

Jodie is looking to warn other parents of the warning signs around hair-twirling Kennedy News and Media

The operation lasted five hours, with surgeons removing something roughly the size of a melon. The blockage had left the 14-year-old anemic and struggling with several nutritional deficiencies.

Jodie explained that Erin had always loved twirling her hair since she was small, but she had never noticed her actually putting hair in her mouth.

Doctors suggested Erin might have been chewing or swallowing hair in her sleep without realizing it.

Incredibly, just 10 days later, Erin was on the road to recovery. Her mother now wants to raise awareness about how a seemingly harmless habit like hair-twirling can become dangerous.

“Erin was suffering with really bad stomach cramps for a good six months. I put it down to food intolerances, I thought she could be lactose or gluten intolerant.” Jodie explained.

“The pain was quite high up. It was really sporadic but when it came, it was really bad and she had to be off school.” she continued, adding that earlier scans like ultrasounds hadn’t revealed the problem.

An MRI eventually uncovered the shocking truth. Reflecting on Erin’s childhood, Jodie shared: “As a baby I used to bottlefeed her and she would grab my hair and twist it. She’s always been really tactile and played with hair.”

“But I have never seen her put her hair in her mouth, which is why it was shocking to me.”

One surgeon suggested Erin might have been doing it without realizing, and the hairball had stretched her stomach to three times its normal size.

The eight-inch mass was removed from the teen’s stomach Kennedy News and Media

To help her body recover, Erin was given a vitamin and mineral-rich food bag to restore essential nutrients. Jodie recalled: “The surgeons said the smell was unbelievable. I’d imagine it was like your worst plughole. He said it was putrid and one of the biggest they’d ever dealt with.”

Doctors believe the mass could have been forming for several years. Fortunately, it hadn’t made its way into her intestines, which could have been much more dangerous.

As Jodie put it: “It took up pretty much the whole of her stomach.”

“The consequence of that was her food wasn’t being processed properly. She was anaemic and had lots of nutritional issues.”

After spending five days on a nil-by-mouth routine and having her stomach drained, doctors warned that if the hairball had remained untreated, Erin could have collapsed from the complications.

Although Erin has been discharged, her stomach may stay enlarged for years as her body slowly adjusts.

“We’ve now bought her one of those bonnets to sleep in just in case she’s doing it in her sleep.” her mom added, urging other parents to consider giving children fidget toys or even cognitive behavioral therapy in more serious cases to prevent such habits from turning dangerous.