title: Self-harm in adolescence: a girl who swallowed needles.
abstract: Self-harm represents a serious and pathological behavior that occurs most notably during adolescent years and currently seems to be a problem that is on the increase. Self-harm is a self destructive behavior which most frequently takes the form of cutting and burning. Relative to suicidal behavior, self-harm, in and of itself, is not intended to be lethal and tends to be repeated and addictive. However, in cases of self-harm the risk of suicidal behavior cannot be ignored. This presentation is a case study of a girl who engaged in an unusual form of self-harm, by swallowing needles.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Psychiatry, Charles University and Motol Hospital, 2nd faculty of Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic. jana.kocourkova@lfmotol.cuni.cz
authors.forename: Jana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kocourkova
authors.forename: Jiri
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Koutek
authors.forename: Michal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hrdlicka
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D003679:Deglutition; D054541:Family Conflict / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D009339:Needles; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology