16-year-old girl dies from rare condition caused by hair chewing

From NetDoctor

For Jasmine Beever from Skegness, what could have been a trivial habit for any teen, sucking on her hair, proved deadly. On September 7, the 16-year-old college student collapsed suddenly at Lincolnshire Regional College, where she was later rushed to a nearby hospital and died soon after, Skegness Siren reports.

According to medical investigations, Beever died of peritonitis, which is the inflammation of the abdominal wall, Lincolnshire Live reports. Doctors found that Beever's habit of chewing and sucking on her own hair had caused a hairball to form inside of her stomach. It led an infection in her abdomen and damaged vital organs.

Her friend Billie-Jo Ashwell has since started a crowdfunding page to help Beever's family deal with their loss. In the page, Ashwell said she wants to raise funds because Beever's grandfather also died just days prior to her friend's passing.

"Just last week Jasmine and her family had to say their final farewell`s to Grandad," Ashwell wrote. "The heartbreak this family has endured in such a short time is understandably gut wrenching, so I have decided to raise funds for the family to try and unburden some of the financial strain at such a sad time."

Ashwell described her friend as a "wonderful, caring girl" who had a "real zest for life," adding that Beaver's life motto was "sometimes one act of kindness is all it takes to give someone hope again."

Ashwell's mother Donna M. Marshall has also stepped up to help Beever's family and clarify a few misconceptions on her Facebook page. Hair eating, or sucking, can often be linked to trichotillomania, or "Rapunzel Syndrome," which is a mental health condition that leads people to pull out their hair. However, Marshall said Beever's habit of swallowing her hair was accidental, and not meant to cause intentional harm to herself.

Ashwell and Beever attended Skegness Academy together up until last year. Their principal, Jo Edwards, spoke to Lincolnshire Live in remembrance of her former student. "The Academy community were shocked and stunned to learn on Friday of the death of Jasmine Beever," Edwards said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with her family at this difficult time. We will remember her as a friendly, positive, caring and lively girl who brought a smile to everyone's face."

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