This article was originally published on RightLivin
There's no doubt science and medicine have come far in the last century: humans have developed top-grade treatments, vitamins, and medicines and researched what foods and activities can keep us as healthy as can be. But every once in a while, a rare medical case comes along that leaves even the most experienced experts at a total loss. Are you brave enough to plunge into these baffling - and sometimes disturbing - instances?
Meet the "Toxic Lady"
Imagine becoming a legend after your death and being known as the "Toxic Lady." That is sadly exactly what happened to Gloria Ramirez. When she was admitted to the emergency room due to complications with her cervical cancer, things got pretty crazy. A total of 23 people who came in contact with her became seriously ill; many fainted, and some were hospitalized. Some nurses even mentioned a strange smell coming from her blood.
No one ever found out the cause of this strange toxicity. But one thing's for sure: the medical staff had never seen anything like it before.
The Youngest Mother in the World
If you are someone who thinks people in their early 20s are too young to become mothers, your mind is about to be blown. Do you know how old the youngest known birth mother in the world is? 5 years old! In 1939 in Peru, Lina Medina made history by giving birth at the wildly young age of five years old. What everyone thought was simply a bloated stomach turned out to be something else entirely.
The circumstances behind her impregnation are still unknown, but doctors figured out that she had sexually matured at an extraordinarily young age. Fortunately, she managed to give birth to a healthy child at the age of five, and she herself stayed healthy, too. For a long time, they told her son that his mom was his older sister.
Forever a Toddler
All of you out there wishing to stay forever young: be careful what you wish for. Brooke Greenberg appeared to be a perfectly healthy young baby for the first three or four years of her life until she quite literally just stopped aging and growing. Her parents took her to doctor after doctor to figure out what was going on, but nothing helped, not even growth hormones. Brooke remained in the body of a toddler until her passing at the age of 20.
A few people have since been diagnosed with the neotenic complex syndrome, but it was completely new to experts at the time.
The Man Whose Body Is a Natural Suction Cup
Everyone has something interesting about themselves that they can share when they meet people for the first time. Jamie Keeton has never had a lack of something to say in such a circumstance as he has a very interesting condition where his skin acts as a type of suction cup for objects. He can even keep up to eight cans on his head at once. He is almost like a human octopus!
We can just imagine his fun fact at parties: "Did you know that I am the closest equivalent to a human octopus?" or "Things suction to my head naturally."
Can You Believe He Survived This?
Most people wouldn't even think that it's possible to survive a metal rod through the skull - we certainly didn't think so. But this man survived this insane life event and proved us wrong. Phineas Gage was only 25 years old when a metal rod went right through his brain. The shock of him surviving was surpassed by the way his personability changed after the accident. He went from being a kind and friendly man to being rude, cruel, and profane.
This incident caused a whole ripple effect of learning in the world of psychology. It was one of the first times in history (1848) that psychologists were able to link personality with brain damage.
The Piece of Shrapnel That Caused an Accent Change
During a German air raid in World War 2, a Norwegian woman named Astrid was hit by a piece of shrapnel that caused a brain injury. What was the result of this brain injury? She suddenly started speaking with a German accent, despite never having left Norway in her entire life. It seemed almost too crazy to be true, especially considering the shrapnel was German, but this really did happen!
Apparently, there is even a name for this strange occurrence, and it is called "Foreign Accent Syndrome."
Creepy Crawlies Underneath Your Skin
Sometimes, people get the feeling of having creepy creatures crawling underneath their skin. And apparently, there is a small group of people who are medically diagnosed with a disease that causes them to feel that way pretty much non-stop. Morgellons disease is a rare disease that causes people to have that feeling constantly. To make things worse, people infected with this disease also grow mysterious fibers on their skin and have unexplainable sores pop up.
It must be akin to torture what these people experience day to day, and the worst part is that there is no cure or real treatment to offer them some relief.
The Only Person to Be Hit by a Meteor
Although this isn't exactly a strange medical condition, it is a very strange event to have occurred. As far as humankind knows, there is only one person in the history of the world that has been hit by a meteor (and survived). The likelihood of it is so slim that it is nearly impossible, and yet there is one person documented that it happened to. Ann Hodges was peacefully taking a nap when this meteor came down from the sky and hit her.
Although she was mostly unharmed, the encounter caused much attention and fame since it's a one-of-a-kind case.
From Lung Transplant to Peanut Allergy
Who knew that allergies were contagious through the form of a lung transplant? Although you never know exactly what you are getting yourself in for when you insert another person's lung into your body, it is unlikely that you would expect to get their allergies along with their lung. This patient was surely surprised when they noticed that they were beginning to have allergic reactions to peanuts shortly after their lung transplant surgery.
After further investigation, they found that the original donor was indeed allergic to peanuts and was most likely the root cause of the sudden allergy. This had been seen before in liver transplants and blood transplants, but it was the first time that doctors had seen it in a lung transplant.
The Man Who Hibernated for Nearly a Month
A man named Mitsutaka Uchikoshi was on a lovely hiking trip in Japan when things took a tragic turn: he suddenly fell and slid into a stream, injuring himself and breaking his pelvis. 24 days later, he was found by another hiker and rushed to the hospital. Somehow, miraculously, he made a full recovery. It was found that his body had entered a state of hibernation, which had saved his life.
All the man remembers is that he fell asleep in the grass after the incident and woke up what felt like just a few hours later.
Guess How Long the Tape Worm Inside Him Was
It is pretty much agreed upon that eating raw meat is not the best idea in the world; there are many health risks involved. This man probably didn't know exactly how dangerous it could be and what state he would end up in. After suffering from stomach pains, weight loss, and vomiting for over two years, the hospital was finally able to find the root cause: a twenty-foot tapeworm that was living inside of him.
If there is one thing to keep you from ever eating raw meat, it would be this picture. Imagine having that enormous creature living inside you, causing havoc for years!
Incapable of Feeling Pain
Although it might seem nice not to be able to feel pain at all, it seems that Gabby Gringas has a bit of a different story to tell. As a little child of three years old, her mother took her to the hospital as she was biting her hands so horribly hard that they were being ripped to pieces. They found out that she has a rare condition where she is incapable of feeling pain.
Things got even worse when Gabby started to scratch her eyes so hard that she became legally blind and lost all of her teeth from biting things too hard.
She Didn't Have the Same DNA as Her Biological Children
A woman named Karen Keegan had a few DNA tests done to check if her children were a good fit for a kidney transplant that she was planning to get done. And then things took a bizarre turn. What she ended up finding out instead was quite shocking indeed. The DNA results seemed to show that Karen was not the biological mother of her two children (although she, in fact, was).
It was eventually discovered that Karen was something known as a "chimera" - a person composed of two genetically distinct cellular lines. Karen absorbed her twin while still in the womb, and her children inherited the unborn twin's DNA instead of her own. That is what resulted in the confusion.
The Ice Woman Who Could Survive Underwater
This story is certainly one for the history books: Anna Bågenholm was out skiing with her friends when a terrible slip led her headfirst into a freezing body of water. Unfortunately, it took a long time before she got the necessary help: she was stuck there for over 80 minutes before emergency services finally rescued her. Despite the freezing waters and nearly being unable to breathe, Anna survived the incident.
It took her a few years (6 exactly), but Anna did return to skiing once again, despite this life-threatening encounter.
12 Girls and Their Shared Mystery Disease
October of 2012 proved to be a very weird year for a group of 12 young ladies and their families who were living in a small town. All of the teenage girls started to develop a strange and uncontrollable tic at the same time. It came out of nowhere, started randomly, and could not be stopped. Doctors couldn't figure out what caused it and had no offers for a solution.
There were many different theories involved, such as stress, the Gardasil shot, or a conversion disorder. Sadly, however, no one ever figured out which it was. Whatever the cause, the coincidence was certainly quite strange.
Ever Heard of Men Allergic to Their Own Semen?
Apparently, there is a syndrome called POIS (postorgasmic illness syndrome), which affects certain men around the world. What are the symptoms of this syndrome? It is almost a flu-like list of symptoms such as fever, fatigue, burning eyes, and difficulty concentrating. This affects men who are in some form or fashion allergic to their own semen. Yes, really. The allergic reaction kicks in about an hour after ejaculation and is quite unpleasant for them.
Doctors were finally able to research the subject after coming across multiple men with similar symptoms. What is the potential treatment for this syndrome? The men were injected with their own semen for some time, and it seemed to do the trick!
This Probably Isn't What You Think It Is
Parasites are some nasty creatures, and people seem to underestimate how invasive they can truly be. This man was shocked when he discovered that there was a parasite growing in his eyeball! After researching it, he found out that there is a specific fly that transmits parasites in its bite. The loa loa worm usually chooses to live in people's eyeballs, but it can embed itself in any part of the body.
Next time you see a fly, maybe you should remember this terrifying parasite and swat it away immediately to avoid having a new friend growing in your eyes (or somewhere else).
The Kind of Memory That Seems Like a Magic Trick
Although most people can admit that their memories are not the best, especially surrounding names and dates, a very select few are the exact opposite. Joey DeGrandis, for example, can remember every single event that happened to him in his life. The minute he sees any date, he can remember the exact thing that happened on that day, where he was, everything. It must have been pretty helpful to him when it came to taking tests!
In the long run, this condition would probably be more frustrating than convenient as there are many things in life you would rather forget.
The Real Life Mother Mary (kind Of)
Okay, buckle up because this is one of the wilder stories on this list. Ready? Sure you are. After performing oral sex on her boyfriend, one woman was then stabbed in the stomach (in a knife fight with strangers). A few months later, she went to the hospital for strange stomach pains and realized that she was pregnant. Somehow the sperm managed to enter her reproductive system through the wound openings.
So apparently, we've been wrong all along: there's more than one way to get pregnant. Although we definitely don't recommend this method.
The Iceman - He Feels No Cold
Somewhere in the world, there is probably someone wishing for the superpower to feel no cold. Little do they know that there is a person in the world who already possesses this power and his name is Wim Hof. Wim was born in the Netherlands and has developed what he calls the Wim Hof Method (WHM), which allows you to regulate your body to horribly cold temperatures.
Researchers were skeptical that this was actually possible. However, they studied his blood and found that he was somehow able to manipulate his immune system slightly to reach this effect.
Never Ending Hiccups
Hiccups can be pretty frustrating for everyone. People try everything to get rid of them, like scaring people and drinking water upside down; there are so many different methods out there that allegedly do the trick. But Christopher Sands suffered from hiccups for four years straight. Sometimes, he would have hiccups every few seconds and last for fourteen hours straight. Doctors ended up finding a brain tumor that was causing it all.
If the doctors hadn't noticed this tumor, Christopher would have most likely died within a few years. So it looks like these hiccups were a blessing in disguise.
Not What You Expect to Find in a Kneecap
After injuring himself in a motorbike accident, a 16-year-old boy was taken to the hospital and treated for all of his wounds. But as it turned out, that wasn't the end of the story. It was only six months later, after complaining of serious pain and a "locking kneecap," that he went back for a reevaluation. Only then did the doctors find that somehow there was a plastic bottle cap lodged in the boy's kneecap.
It seems they missed the bottle cap the first time since they only did a CT scan and an x-ray, and not an MRI.
A Brief Break From a Long Coma
Falling into a seven-year coma is already bad enough for the person and all of their family members. There is always the lingering hope that the person might suddenly wake up and return to their old self. Gary Dockery delivered that hope when he briefly woke up for a few days after being in a coma for seven years straight. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be the longest-lasting awakening, and he slipped back into a coma a few days later.
Gary never woke up again after those short few days when he was suddenly himself again.
Trapped Inside His Own Body
Martin Pistorius of South Africa was 12 years old when he started to experience the real-life version of a horrible nightmare. A strange illness started to take over his body, causing him to lose control of his bodily functions. Doctors had no idea what was going on and assumed that the young boy would soon pass away. However, the exact opposite happened, and he lived for the next 12 years fully cognitive on the inside but unable to express that in the least bit.
This story is at least a hopeful one as he was eventually able to get a computer to help him communicate, and he ended up living a happy life with his wife and child.
There's Such Thing as a Water Allergy
It seems like people are allergic to just about everything these days, and yet you would still be surprised to hear about perhaps the worst allergy to have. Some people, like Ashleigh Morris, are allergic to water. Although it almost seems impossible, it is the case, and she breaks out into horrendously itchy hives whenever she comes in contact with any water (including sweat). It would be like being allergic to air!
She can hardly even take showers as the minute her skin comes in contact with the water, she is in itchy pain.
Math Caused Him to Have Seizures
A lot of people do not like math, but it seems like it is a bit more traumatic of an experience for some of us compared to others. There is a case of a 12-year-old boy who would quite literally get seizures whenever he would try to do any sort of mathematical problem. Multiplication and division, in particular, would cause issues, while addition and subtraction were generally nonproblematic. How strange!
That is one great excuse to get out of math class, although it was probably difficult to get the teachers to believe him!
The Man Who Remembers Everything
Although at first, it may seem like a type of superpower to remember everything, Brad Williams may be witness to the truth. He is one of the very few people who can literally remember every single detail of their life. They are incapable of forgetting anything. It can certainly be convenient at times, and school must have been very easy for him, but think of all the awkward moments you try to forget in life!
Ordinary people struggle enough to forget the less pleasant moments of their lives; it would seem like torture to be forced to remember absolutely everything!
The Unexplainable Terrible Body Odor
Body odor is one of everyone's worst nightmares. Deodorants and perfumes have been around for as long as humans to prevent the unpleasant odor from affecting everyone around you. This forty-year-old man suffered for years with a terrible body odor for more than four years. After being examined by his doctors, he was informed that he has a strange bacteria that causes a sick smell to come from his armpits.
In between his armpit hairs, there was a strange "creamy yellow" substance that could be found oozing out of his arms, and that was the source of his strange and repulsive odor.
Her Eyes Would Just Glue Shut Randomly
Who would think that a random sinus and staff infection would lead to eventual blindness? Sadly that is exactly what happened to a young woman who noticed that her eyes would suddenly start closing tight for a few days straight (and she was unable to open them at all). After about three days, she could usually open her eyes again, but the length of time kept getting longer and longer.
Eventually, after years of suffering multiple-day blindness and undergoing many surgeries, she was pronounced legally blind. Sadly, they haven't found any solution or any way to help her.
The Blood Transfusion That Caused Allergies
It looks like you never know what you are getting yourself into when you get a blood transfusion. After all, it is someone else's blood entering your system. This Canadian boy was not so lucky with his transfusion and ended up with a serious allergy to multiple food items. He even went into anaphylactic shock after eating some salmon, which certainly came as a shock since he was never allergic before.
He became allergic to both nuts and fish after the transfusion, which probably came as quite the disappointment as he had never had any allergies before. Luckily for him, these allergic reactions passed in just a few months!
The Man Who Forgot How to Read
Strokes can leave people with countless different long-term side effects. One very uncommon side effect is something that occurred to a well-known Canadian author Howard Engel. After his stroke, he somehow lost the ability to read entirely. However, strangely enough, he could still write perfectly fine. After months of therapy, he was slowly able to decipher his own writing but was not able to read properly ever again.
Howard even went on to write a book about his disability entitled "The Man Who Forgot How to Read." This rare condition is called "word blindness," and it does happen on rare occasions.
People Danced Themselves to Death
This one sounds almost too crazy to be true, and yet it is a historical fact. In France, in 1518, there was what is now known as "The Dancing Plague." It started with one woman who began dancing in the streets nonstop. It was only a few weeks (about a month) before hundreds of people had joined her and refused to stop dancing. People started dying from heart attacks and strokes, and exhaustion, but the dancing continued.
Although they never really found out what caused the craziness, one theory is that it was a fungus or stress-induced psychosis that caused the dancing rage.
The King Who Thought He Was Made of Glass
Ok, so this one almost seems too strange to be true (and far too specific), but apparently, there was a fairly common ailment in the 1800s which caused people to believe that they were made of glass. King Charles VI of France was among those who believed this delusion, and he would not allow people to get within a certain distance of him for fear of breaking himself and shattering to pieces.
This ailment was common enough at the time for doctors to come up with a medical term for it and even try to find a solution! One man even thought that his own buttocks were made of glass, and as a result, he refused to ever sit down.
Crazy, Insatiable Appetites
Everyone knows the feeling of being so extremely hungry that you feel like you could eat anything in the world. Although most people do not actually end up eating anything, in 1700s France, there was a soldier who literally did. A man named Tarrare would get so hungry that he would eat anything that crossed his sight. He would eat candles, apples in one bite and was even known to eat live animals whole.
This man couldn't control his appetite under any circumstance, and he even sometimes ate people's pet dogs and cats. Anything was up for grabs for him!
No Explanation for the Madness
George III is well known for the fact that he was the King of Great Britain from the late 1700s to the early 1800s but even more famous for the fact that he was plagued with "madness." No one is quite sure, even to this day, what caused his crazy, erratic behavior, but there have been many different possibilities given over the years. Some people think he had a blood disease, and others say he suffered from bipolar disorder.
To make matters worse, there is a high likelihood that the medicine he was given to treat his "madness" was laced with poison, undoubtedly only making matters worse.