Why does my daughter eat her hair?????

[alysmommy28]

My daughter is now 20 months old. Just a little history: she rolled around until 11 months when she finally started crawling. By 15 months she was walking. From the time that i can remember, she would always eat fuzzies off of the carpet. About the time she started walking, she still would pick things up off the carpet and eat them, no matter what it was. Then it moved on to her own hair. She pulled her hair out so much on her right top side that i had to start combing her hair to the side to try and hide the HUGE bald spot. She doesn't seem to pull it as much now, but she still does it, especially in the car. I always give her toys to distract her, but that only works for a short time. Not only does she pull her own hair, but if she finds any hair anywhere in the house (hairbrush, carpet, even the broom) she immediately puts it in her mouth and eats it. She even has hair in her poop :/ i am extremely worried about this issue causing some sort of health problem for her (ex:bowel obstruction). She also eats things like paper, paper towels, or toilet paper. she will tear little pieces off of it and put it straight in her mouth. I have talked to her pediatrician about this and they say that it is just the way she is and have suggested things like cutter her hair or making her wear a hat, which doesn't seem effective to me since it is not just hair that she is eating...and she hates hats. Any suggestions or advice would greatly be appreciated!!!


This discussion is related to Hair Pulling and eating.

[babygirl6152]

I would def. get a 2nd opinion from another pediatrician's office

[kumorilulu]

what she might have is trichophagia.