Sometimes you can find a lock of hair in your soup and just decide to ignore it and swallow it along with the soup. A single strand of hair is not really dangerous, as it is very small and the greatest possibility is that it simply passes through the digestive tract. However, hair poses a danger when it forms a strand, which would eventually form a giant hairball in the stomach, requiring a doctor’s visit. So what happens when you swallow hair?
Some species of bacteria can try to act on the hair, causing an upset stomach and / or diarrhea. However, this scenario is highly unlikely.
Hair is dense with a protein called keratin that has a very fibrous structure. Keratin requires prolonged exposure to extreme acidic or alkaline conditions and temperatures well above 100 degrees Celsius to break down. However, the human digestive system cannot contain such conditions, making it impossible for humans to break down keratin. Most of the hair simply passes through the digestive tract along with other materials that cannot be digested and are eliminated in the feces. Therefore, you can take a chance if it is only one strand of hair. However, keep in mind that too many strands of hair can eventually build up and get stuck in the stomach.
Ingestion of hair is a scenario that is also very common in cats. Like humans, cats also cannot digest hair, which in their case is hair. Hair that does not leave your digestive system collects in your stomach forming a dense, firm hairball, also known as a trichobezoar. Most cats eventually vomit hairballs before things get too bad.
Humans also begin to develop hairballs when they eat a lot of hair. This sometimes happens to people with trichophagia, a unique hair-eating disorder. Unlike cats, humans do not vomit their hairballs. Instead, the hair simply settles on the stomach, obstructing the normal functioning of the digestive system. Eating hair can greatly alter the functioning of the liver and pancreas.
Some symptoms of trichobezoars in humans include:
Vomiting
Nausea
Appearance of hair and / or blood in the stool.
Poor appetite
Bad breath
Constipation
Intestinal obstruction
Excess gas
Intestinal perforation
Excessive weight loss
In extreme cases, a lock of hair can reach the small intestine, a condition commonly known as Rapunzel syndrome. The doctor can feel the hairball gently pressing on the upper and middle left part of the patient’s abdomen.
Hairballs can also be diagnosed by gastrointestinal x-rays, ultrasound, or by looking at the patient’s stomach with an endoscope. Removal of this hair requires major surgery in which the doctor opens the digestive tract and then removes the hair.
With all of these things in mind, you will eventually realize that that single strand of hair isn’t worth overlooking because, as harmless as it may seem, it can cost you a lot. Therefore, it is important to avoid mistakes that can be very costly. As they say; “ Being safe is better than regret. ”
