Bezoar

• Alternative Names

  Trichobezoar; Hairball

• Causes, incidence, and risk factors

  Chewing on or eating hair or fuzzy materials (or indigestible materials such as plastic bags) can lead to the formation of a bezoar. The rate is very low and the risk is greater among mentally retarded or emotionally disturbed children. Generally bezoars are mostly seen in females aged 10 to 19.

• Symptoms
  • Indigestion
  • Stomach upset or distress
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Diarrhea
  • Pain
  • Gastric ulcers
• Signs and tests

  The child may have a lump in the abdomen that can be felt by the health care provider. A barium swallow x-ray will show the mass in the stomach, sometimes a scope is used (endoscopy) to directly view the bezoar.

• Treatment

  The bezoar may need to be surgically removed (especially trichobezoars which tend to be large). Sometimes small bezoars can be removed through a scope placed through the mouth and into the stomach (similar to an EGD procedure). Then, follow the prevention measures described.

• Expectations (prognosis)

  Full recovery is expected.

• Complications

  Persistent vomiting can lead to dehydration.

• Calling your health care provider

  Call your health care provider if you suspect your child has a bezoar.

• Prevention

  If your child has had a hair bezoar in the past, trim the child's hair short so he or she cannot put the ends in the mouth. Keep indigestible materials away from a child that has a tendency to put items in the mouth.

  Be sure to remove the child's access to fuzzy or fiber-filled materials.

• References

  Pfau PR, Ginsberg GG. Foreign bodies and bezoars. In: Feldman M, Friedman LS, Brandt LJ, eds. Sleisenger & Fordtran’s Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2006:chap 23.

Review Date: 8/2/2009

Reviewed By: Neil K. Kaneshiro, MD, MHA, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.