That's right. It's that day again. The day we take a moment to consider the bezoar. The bezoar has a colorful history. They were once believed to be an antidote to poison and, as you can see in the above picture, there may be some things that you can't polish, but a bezoar clearly isn't one of them. A girl in England died in 1999 after doctors removed a bezoar the size of a football from her stomach, which was the result of her chewing on her hair. Bezoars come in several gross types:
Food boli (singular, bolus) imitate true bezoars and are composed of loose aggregates of food items such as seeds, fruit pith, or pits as well as other types of items such as shellac, bubble gum, soil, and concretions of some medications.
Pharmacobezoars (or medication bezoars) are mostly tablets or semi-liquid masses of drugs. Normally found following overdose of sustained release medications.[8]
Phytobezoars are composed of nondigestible plant material (e.g., cellulose) and are frequently reported in patients with impaired digestion and decreased gastric motility.
Diospyrobezoar is a bezoar formed from unripe persimmons.[9] Coca-Cola has been used in the treatment.[10][11]
Trichobezoar is a bezoar formed from hair [12] - an extreme form of hairball. Humans who frequently consume hair sometimes require these to be removed. The Rapunzel syndrome, a very rare and extreme case, may require surgery.
No comments:
Post a Comment