These off the wall medical disorders are so much more than the flu or your average run-of-the-mill
common cold. They're far more rare and mysterious. Some of them don't even have names. (Of course,
we took the liberty of naming them.) I'm Mike with List25 and remember this list next time
you have to pay a visit to that dreaded doctor's office and be glad that you don't have any
of these 25 Extremely Bizarre Medical Disorders!
25. Alien Hand Syndrome
Caused by the separation of lobes in the brain, people suffering from this disorder essentially
lose control of their hand as it seemingly takes on a mind of its own. While there is
no known cure, giving the hand something to grasp will often be enough to keep it preoccupied.
24. Progeria
While old age happens eventually, to children affected by Progeria, all of those symptoms
manifest themselves before the age of two. Although mentally they are still their age,
many of these children develop the illnesses typically associated with the elderly, such
as cardiovascular disease and arthritis. Rarely do they live to be older than 12 or 13.
23. Human Werewolf Syndrome
Sure, you may have some hairy friends, but not like this. There are only about 50 people
in the world afflicted with this rare disorder. Unfortunately for them, not even laser hair
removal is an effective treatment as the hair will rapidly grow back.
22. Stone Man Syndrome
This extremely rare mutation of the bodyâ€™s repair mechanism often causes injured muscles,
tendons, and ligaments to be ossified, or turned to bone. In fact, as the name suggests,
within decades, a person can be rendered completely immobile.
21. Alice in Wonderland Syndrome
Probably as a result of something malfunctioning in the brainâ€™s occipital lobe, this
disorder causes people to percieve objects as being either much larger or smaller than
they really are. Moreover, the individual will also mispercieve the passage of time
and possibly have their sense of hearing and touch affected as well.
20. Walking Corpse Syndrome
This mental disorder involves an individual who believes they are either already dead
or have lost all of their vital organs. Oftentimes, it's brought about by a brain injury and can
result in people believing themselves to be immortal, which can very easily lead to unintentional
suicides.
19. Foreign Accent Syndrome
Typically the result of a stroke or a severe migraine, this extremely rare disorder affects
the way someone forms words, giving the perception they are speaking with a foreign accent. One
of the most recent cases was Sarah Coldwill in the United Kingdom. After suffering from
an extreme migraine, she woke in the hospital speaking with what sounded like a Chinese
accent. She had never once been to China.
18. Allergy to Water
This disorder causes someone to be allergic to water in any form, including tears. Recently,
a British woman named Micaela Dutton explained to a local newspaper how she couldnâ€™t
even hold her boy because if he started sweating, she would break out with an incredibly painful
rash.
17. Allergies to Food
Although many people are allergic to food on some level, imagine being allergic to food
period. Joshua, a young boy who recently made headlines, suffers from a form of this. It's
so extreme that even the scent of food could kill him. Until more is known about the disease,
sufferers to this allergy have to be fed via a direct tube to their stomach.
16. Blaschko's Lines
Humans actually have stripes. Well, not really, but certain skin conditions expose a series
of lines on the skin that otherwise are invisible. The most remarkable thing about them, though,
is that in every patient, they always follow nearly the same pattern.
15. Pain Insensitivity
It sounds great, right? Never feeling any pain. The truth is, however, it's an extremely
dangerous condition for a human. Often, children affected by this disorder acquire terribly
debilitating injuries as a result of scratching themselves, biting off their tongue, or walking
around on broken bones.
14. Forgetlessness
This may sound like a really cool superhero power. The truth is itâ€™s not. Not being
able to forget anything can be extremely distracting. There's a reason brains are not wired this
way. While rare, several people in the world possess this superhuman memory, capable of
remembering seemingly unimportant details such as the weather every day for the past
decade.
13. Cold Immunity
Wim Hof of the Netherlands baffles the medical community as he climbs Mount Everest with
nothing but his shorts on and dives beneath Arctic ice for record periods of time. Evidently,
the cold has no effect on him, or at least not to the normal extent.
12. Cold Urticaria
On the other side of the spectrum, some are allergic to the cold. To someone afflicted
with this condition, even a snowflake in the face could cause uncontrollable itching. A
major exposure could lead to shock and eventually death.
11. Perpetual Hiccups
To get rid of hiccups, most grab a glass of water and wait it out, but for the past two
years, this hasnâ€™t helped Christopher Sands in the slightest. Having tried numerous
therapies, doctors around the world are stumped. While hiccups are typically caused by spontaneous
contractions of the diaphragm, they still havenâ€™t been able to find a cause in
Chrisâ€™s case.
10. Pica
Characterized by eating substances with no nutritional value, the reasons behind it vary.
It can be the result of cultural traditions but is also found in children with developmental
disabilities or iron deficiency.
9. Vampire Syndrome
Porphyria is an incurable and inherited disease that causes not only blisters but also cramps
and paralysis whenever that person is exposed to sunlight. This shouldnâ€™t be confused
with polymorphic light eruption. The latter is actually a fairly common disorder afflicting
approximately 15% of North Americans, creating mild rashes upon initial springtime exposure
to sunlight.
8. Trichotillomania
With this disorder, people compulsively pull out their hair. The peak is between ages 9
to 13. In extreme cases, they might actually ingest the hair as well.
7. Kleine-Levin Syndrome
This strange and little-understood disorder causes people to sleep for weeks on end. Fortunately,
most children afflicted will see the symptoms disappear by the time they reach their twenties.
6. Dystonia
A rare disorder, individuals suffer abrupt, involuntary twisting motions whenever their
muscles sustain any contraction. It can also be difficult to diagnose as it's often mistaken
for or coexist with other illnesses, like Parkinson's.
5. Exploding Head Syndrome
Often attributed to stress, people will be startled out of their sleep in the middle
of the night as a result of hearing a loud banging sound. As of yet, doctors have been
unable to isolate any negative effects of this phenomenon other than people developing
an extreme aversion to falling asleep. Fortunately, the bangs typically subside after several
days.
4. Perpetual Shuteye
In what has been baffling doctors all over the world, Natalie Adler of Australia has
a problem with her eyes, more specifically her eyelids. Every now and then, they will
close tightly and not reopen for up to three days. Doctors believe it may be a type of
conversion disorder, something that happens when a person internalizes various psychological
issues which then manifest themselves physically.
3. Fish Odor Syndrome
As a result of the bodyâ€™s inability to break down a certain organic compound found
in numerous foods, an afflicted individual tends to give off an overwhelmingly strong
fish-smelling odor. Unfortunately, no cure exists, but thus far, people have managed
to control it by employing various diets.
2. Blue Skin Disorder
As a result of something called methemoglobinemia, which causes decreased blood oxygen levels,
some people develop a very deep bluish tint to their skin. The cause of this hereditary
disorder was recently discovered, however, and those who it afflicted have since received
treatment, their skin reverting back to normal.
1. Tree Bark Skin
This hereditary skin disorder is caused by HPV. Wart-like growths appear on the skin
and spread out of control. One of the worst cases on record is Dede Koswara from Indonesia.
He recently had 95% of his warts removed, but within the year, almost all of them grew
back.
So, do you or anyone you know have a bizarre medical disorder? Let us know in the comments
below, or tweet your answer to us @List25.
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