#TerrificTuesday – Five strange medical conditions that actually exist
Hair suddenly turning white, your body making you drunk or forever eating and never feeling full. These are just some of the strange medical conditions that people have been diagnosed with.
According to the Facebook page Pictures in History, one in 2 500 babies are born with webbed toes or fingers.
Webbed fingers and toes occur when tissue connects two or more digits together.
This is a fairly common condition and occurs when the foetus’ hand grows into a paddle shape.
Normally, at about six or seven weeks of development, the hand begins to split and form fingers. In the case of webbed fingers and toes, this process is not successful and the webbing does not disappear.
Although every case is different, this condition can be rectified with surgery and the person can lead a normal life afterward.
Many of us know the feeling when we had a few drinks too many. What if you have not consumed alcohol but nevertheless experience the same feeling?
Unbelievable? Actually not. The rare medical condition, Auto-brewery syndrome, could be the reason.
Also called gut-fermentation syndrome, it occurs when intoxicating quantities of ethanol are produced by the fermentation of carbohydrates within one’s digestive system.
There have been reports of sufferers being pulled over and asked to take a breathalyser test. The test shows a high blood-alcohol level, without the ‘victim’ having even touched an alcoholic beverage.
An extremely rare condition is the so-called Capgras delusion or Capgrass syndrome. It is a psychological disorder that can cause suffers to believe that someone close to them has been replaced by an imposter that is physically similar but psychologically different from the person they know.
The condition when your hair turns white unexpectedly is known as Marie Antoinette syndrome and is not linked to aging. This extreme change in appearance could be caused by an emotional experience, unwelcome news, torture and even overworking. There is a chance that the original hair colour will return.
Queen Marie Antoinette’s hair turned white after she was captured. It turned white again on another two occasions.
The very relatable Prader-Willi Syndrome causes the patient to feel starved permanently.
I know I enjoy food as much as the next person and although my mother tells me I am always hungry, this syndrome is a very serious illness as the patient can eat himself to death.
The constant feeling of being hungry is caused by the loss of a specific gene and continuous eating can lead to obesity and diabetes.
Unfortunately there is no cure but there are treatments that can help.
* Original story on Scoop Whoop.
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