A TEENAGE girl has been warned brushing her hair could kill her.
Brave Megan Stewart is also at risk if she wears polyester clothing and can't touch balloons at parties as static electricity could cause her brain to shut down.
The 13-year-old suffers from an extremely rare condition called hair brushing syndrome.
And her mum Sharon said: "When we comb her hair, we have to lay her down and cover her head with water to stop any static building up.
"She can't rub balloons on her head at parties and she can't wear any shiny clothing."
The condition came to light in 2008 as Megan got ready for her first day in primary six.
Sharon, 41, said: "I was brushing her hair in the living room when she flopped over and her lips turned blue.
"I thought she was having a fit, which she'd never had before, so we called the paramedics. It was really scary."
Doctors at Glasgow's Yorkhill hospital for sick kids, where Megan had spent the first year and a half of her life, told her parents they had only ever heard of one other case of the bizarre syndrome.
Little is known about the condition, but it's thought it may be a result of birth complications.
Sharon, of Wishaw, Lanarkshire, was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia three months before she was due to give birth.
It meant there was a problem with the placenta, leaving her with dangerously high blood pressure, and she had to have an emergency caesarian.
She said: "I was absolutely terrified. I was put on a lot of drugs and can't remember anything. Apparently, I nearly died."
Both mum and daughter survived but Megan weighed just 2lb 5oz when she was born and could fit in the palm of a dad Ian's hand.
Ian, 41, said: "She was so, so tiny. When I got home from the hospital I got a phone call saying I needed to go straight back."
It became clear Megan also had a hole in her diaphragm into which her stomach fell through, leaving space for only one lung to grow.
She was transferred to Yorkhill for surgery. She spent a year-and-a-half there and was left with a string of health problems.
She has asthma and a condition called dorsal stream dysfunction, which means she can't see fast moving objects such as a kicked football.
But despite her health problems, and the fact she may need another operation in the future, she is a happy schoolgirl at Uddingston Grammar School, Lanarkshire and is living life to the full.
She is even planning a charity fundraiser for Yorkhill on October 8.
Sharon added: "She's a very happy and lively young girl. When she was in hospital, there were so many children dying and very ill, so we are just glad she is healthy and able to live her life.
"She really did defy all odds. She's a little miracle."
GP Dr Craig Lennox said: "This is a very rare condition I have never come across.
"But I have heard of reflex anoxic seizures, where kids can faint, or even have symptoms like epilepsy, which is triggered by pain or fear or even loud noises.
"It is plausible that static electricity could be another form of trigger."
