There are many unusual medical cases around the world that continue to puzzle experts, and the story of 7-month-old Mya Whittington is one of them.

Mya Whittington, a 7-month-old baby from Kansas, USA, was taken to the hospital after her parents noticed a swelling beneath her chin that had grown to about the size of a ping-pong ball. At first, doctors believed it was a swollen salivary gland, so they gave her a course of antibiotics and allowed her to return home, expecting the swelling to improve on its own.

However, the swelling did not go away, so Aaron and Emma Whittington brought their daughter back for another examination. This time, they noticed something beginning to appear from the center of the swollen area. Although it initially looked like a small bump, it gradually became more noticeable.

Doctors at Hutchinson Regional Medical Center believed Mya had a staph infection affecting a lymph node, so they attempted to drain the affected area and marked the swelling to monitor whether it continued to grow.

It wasn’t until Mya’s pediatrician carefully examined the area that the mystery was finally solved. During the examination, the doctor gently pulled a black strand of hair nearly 5cm long from inside the baby’s cheek, leaving her parents completely astonished.

Even now, doctors cannot say for certain how the strand of hair ended up inside Mya’s cheek. One possible explanation is that she accidentally swallowed or inhaled it, allowing it to gradually work its way through the inside of her cheek before her body naturally pushed it outward.

Emma said that for several months, Mya had frequently rubbed the left side of her face with her hand, but she assumed it was simply due to teething or an ear infection.

Source: Daily Mail