Very rare and strange diseases and disorders

Very rare and strange diseases and disorders

Disease that makes you feel shrinking
People with Alice in Wonderland syndrome (the common name for this disease) feel they are shrinking or expanding rapidly, and often they think things seem smaller than they actually are, according to the Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine. It is curious to find out that Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice in Wonderland, himself suffered a severe migraine that doctors have noticed may be related to the disorder we are talking about. Some believe his condition may inspire many scenes in the book.

Very rare and strange diseases and disorders

A disease that accelerates your aging at a rate 7 times higher
At the age of one or two years, children with this condition begin to show signs of aging, which can include slow growth and hair loss. In the end, people lose most of their body fat and have wrinkles, making them look older than their real age. The root cause of this is a rare genetic condition called progeria, a word derived from Greek that means: premature aging. No treatment has yet been found, with the patient expected to die at the age of 14, according to the Progeria Research Foundation.
The disease that makes you hear very loud sounds is not real
People with explosive head syndrome say they hear very loud noises such as shooting or cymbals while they are sleeping or awake while no one around them can hear anything. There is no consensus on why, but it is thought to be a sleep disorder caused by stress or fatigue. Although most people hear the sound only once or twice in their lives, the drug is sometimes necessary for people with frequent problems.
The disease that makes your hair suddenly turn white
People with this disorder, also called Marie-Antoinette, suffer from a sudden turn of their month to white as a result of stress or bad news. The disease was called Queen Marie Antoinette, whose hair was said to have turned white the night before her execution - but it is also said that some famous personalities also suffer from the same disorder like Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin. Scientists tend to favor this because of an autoimmune disorder that targets melanin, which affects pigment production.
Disease that prevents you from feeling pain
Believe it or not, there are some people who feel no pain if you pinch, poke, or prick something sharp. They suffer from congenital pain analgesia caused by a genetic mutation that prevents the body from sending pain signals to the blood.
A disease that makes you believe you're dead
Most realize that zombies are fictional and not real at all, but those who suffer from Cotard's delusion are convinced that they have died, roted or lost at least part of their bodies. They often refuse to eat or bathe because of their fears and concerns. Research suggests that Cotard's illusion is caused by a failure in areas of the brain to recognize emotions, leading to a sense of separation from reality. Fortunately, psychotropic medications can be used to treat it.
A disease that makes you speak in a foreign accent
People with foreign tone syndrome wake up one day and start speaking in a foreign tone. This condition is very rare (there are only 60 cases). In 2002, scientists at Oxford University discovered that patients with these symptoms suffered similar brain abnormalities that caused changes in pronunciation of words and syllables. Studies show that the syndrome can occur due to a head injury or stroke.
A disease that makes you allergic to water
Most of us bathe and swim in the water without thinking of any danger to them. But for people with watery urticaria, the water-contact galaxy makes them exposed to a huge wave of allergies. Only 30 cases have been diagnosed with the disorder, according to CNN, most of them women. However, there remains much uncertainty about this strange situation, which also includes remedies. People with the disease often bathe with baking soda and cover their bodies with creams to minimize the effect of allergies, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Disease that turns the color of urine to purple
Vincent van Gogh and the insane King George III of England suffered an unusual disturbance: their extreme mood swings were explained by porphyria, a rare disease in which the body fails to produce heme, a protein that helps cells carry oxygen. The substances called porphyrins accumulate at toxic levels in the liver, at which point the urine and feces turn purple. Critics of the theory prefer to explain the extreme mood swings of these people to mental disorders such as bipolar disorder. In the case of Van Gogh, who spent much of his life in the hospital, "purple urine" was not mentioned in the doctor's reports - or in his private letters to his brother Theo.
The disease that causes you the urge to eat paint and dirt
People with pica syndrome crave unhealthy or inedible things, including paint, clay, chalk, soap and even dirt, as well as other uncooked food such as rice or flour. In order to be diagnosed with pica syndrome, cravings for such things must last for more than a month. The most common symptoms appear in pregnant women or children. Some suspect that the syndrome is caused by a lack of minerals, but experts do not reach agreement on the cause or treatment.
Disease that makes you remember every day in your life
Do you think anyone can remember a particular day 8 years ago, for example? People with ADHD can tell you the fine details. So far, there are 33 people who can remember all the details of each day of their lives. Since the condition is very uncommon, there is not yet enough information to find out the cause or suggest treatment.
A disease that converts soft body tissues to bones
The disease that causes soft tissue to turn into bones is still under investigation, with about 1 in 2 million people diagnosed with the disease, according to the National Institutes of Health. It is a genetic disorder that converts soft tissue into bone after injury or other trauma. Eventually, the disease can make the joints and muscles stiff and stick together. Experts have not been able to find a known cure so far.
A disease that turns the skin into something like a tree bark
This rare condition is also known as tree man syndrome, which leads to the development of a bark-like substance on a person's skin. This abnormal growth is in the form of warts, resulting from a rare genetic mutation. Although about 600 cases are reported each year, the syndrome is still puzzling for scientists and doctors. Surgery can temporarily remove growth, but researchers have yet to find a real cure for the injured.
The disease that leads to protrusion of very small strands of your skin
People with this disease feel as if their skin is bitten or tweaked and some say strange or dark threads or fibers appear from their skin. Research so far suggests that this strange condition can be linked to a tick-borne disease.
Disease that makes you feel the pain of others
We all have identical neurons in our brains, which is why we may cry when we see someone else's tears. But people with this neurological disorder are thought to have hyperactive neurons, making their responses more extreme. This condition causes people to feel the same physical sensations when they see another person in pain.
A disease that makes sleep impossible
This disorder is thought to be associated with a rare genetic mutation that makes it impossible for a person to sleep. Insomnia is usually the first symptom, followed by anxiety, dementia, and hallucinations. After a year or more of sleepless nights, most people die according to the National Institutes of Health.