Weird and Unusual Medical Conditions

The human body is one of the most complex naturally occurring things on the planet. Modern science has deciphered many of it's functions and tells us how it works, but what about when it doesn't? From creepy, to crazy, to just plain interesting, here are ten unique and unusual medical conditions that are products of malfunctioning human bodies and minds.

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  Alien Hand Syndrome:

  Those afflicted believe that their hand or arm is not their own.

  Alien hand syndrome (AHS) or alien limb sign includes failure to recognize ownership of one's limb when visual cues are removed, a feeling that one body part is foreign, personification of the affected body part, or autonomous activity which is perceived as outside voluntary control.1 Although the hand is most frequently affected, any limb or combination of limbs may fulfill the alien limb criteria.

  Two types of AHS have been described. Frontal AHS occurs in the dominant hand and is associated with reflexive grasping, groping, and compulsive manipulation of tools. It is a result of damage to the supplementary motor area, anterior cingulate gyrus, and medial prefrontal cortex of the dominant hemisphere and anterior corpus callosum. Callosal AHS is characterized by intermanual conflict and requires only an anterior callosal lesion. Callosal AHS is best explained by hemispheric disconnection manifested during behaviors requiring dominant hemisphere control.

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  Mirror-touch Synaesthesia:

  Those afflicted feel the same physical sensations that they witness others feeling.

  Mirror-touch synesthesia is a rare condition which causes individuals to experience a similar sensation in the same part of the body (such as touch) that another person feels. For example, if someone with this condition were to observe someone touching their cheek, they would feel the same sensation on their own cheek. Synesthesia, in general, is described as a condition in which a stimulus causes an individual to experience an additional sensation. Synesthesia is usually a developmental condition; however, recent research has shown that mirror touch synesthesia can be acquired after sensory loss following amputation.

  The severity of the condition varies from person to person. Some individuals have intense physical synesthetic responses to any physical touch they see, while others describe their experiences as feeling an "echo" of the touch that they see. This appears to be comparable to the projective versus associative distinctions found in other forms of synesthesia. In addition, some mirror-touch synesthetes feel the phenomenon only in response to other humans being touched, while others also perceive it when animals or even inanimate objects are being touched.

  Mirror-touch synesthesia is found in approximately 1.6–2.5% of the general population. Mirror-touch synesthetes have higher levels of affective and pain empathy than those without the condition, though cognitive empathy differs from person to person. Their emotional experience of the observed touch may differ from the emotional experience of the person being touched (a pleasant touch may be perceived as unpleasant or vice versa). Mirror-touch synesthesia may also co-occur with autism spectrum disorders.

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  Aphantasia:

  Those afflicted cannot picture things in their minds.

  Aphantasia is a condition where one does not possess a functioning mind's eye and cannot voluntarily visualize imagery. The phenomenon was first described by Francis Galton in 1880 but has since remained largely unstudied. Interest in the phenomenon renewed after the publication of a study in 2015 conducted by a team led by Professor Adam Zeman of the University of Exeter, which also coined the term aphantasia. Research on the condition is still scarce.

  The phenomenon was first described by Francis Galton in 1880 in a statistical study about mental imagery, describing it as a common phenomenon among his peers. However, it remained largely unstudied until 2015, when Professor Adam Zeman of the University of Exeter was approached by MX, a man who seemed to have lost the ability to visualize after undergoing minor surgery. Following the publication of MX's case in 2010, Zeman was approached by a number of people reporting a lifelong inability to visualise. In 2015, Zeman's team published a paper on what they termed "congenital aphantasia", sparking a renewed interest in the phenomenon now known simply as aphantasia.

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  Amok:

  Those afflicted can snap into extreme psychotic fits of rage with the smallest of stimuli, often followed with exhaustion and amnesia.

  Similar to the concept of the berserker made by the Norse. A syndrome first reported in the Malay people, usually male, consisting of a period of brooding followed by a sudden outburst of indiscriminate murderous frenzy, sometimes provoked by an insult, jealousy or sense of desperation. The person who runs amok may also die in a form of murder-suicide. Spelled also amuck. The Malay word for "furious attack." Similar syndromes such as cafard in Polynesia and mal de pelea in Puerto Rico are known to occur in other peoples.

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  Boanthropy:

  Those afflicted believe they are a cow and attempt to live their life as such.

  It should be fairly easy to spot a patient suffering from boanthropy. He or she may well be down on all fours chewing grass. Boanthropy is a psychological disorder in which the sufferer believes he or she is a cow or ox. The most famous sufferer of this condition was King Nebuchadnezzar, who in the Book of Daniel “was driven from men and did eat grass as oxen”. Nebuchadnezzar was the king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire from 605BC to 562BC. According to the Bible, he conquered Judah and Jerusalem and sent the Jews into exile. He was also credited with building the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar was humbled by God for boasting about his achievements, lost his sanity and lived like an animal for seven years, according to Daniel, chapter 4. When his sanity was later restored he praised and honoured God.

  Aside from boanthropy, other explanations for his behaviour include porphyria (a group of enzyme disorders that manifest with neurological symptoms including hallucinations, depression, anxiety and paranoia) or general paresis or paralytic dementia caused by syphilis. The porphyrias are a group of rare inherited or acquired disorders of certain enzymes that normally participate in the production of porphyrins and haem. They manifest with either neurological complications or skin problems, or occasionally both.

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  Cold Urticaria:

  Also called cold allergy, those afflicted have almost immediate reactions on the skin when exposed to low temperatures. This can occur with common things like cold air or cold water.

  Cold urticaria is a condition that affects the skin. Signs and symptoms generally include reddish, itchy welts (hives) and/or swelling when skin is exposed to the cold (i.e. cold weather or swimming in cold water). This rash is usually apparent within 2-5 minutes after exposure and can last for 1-2 hours. The exact cause of cold urticaria is poorly understood in most cases. Rarely, it may be associated with an underlying blood condition or infectious disease.

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  Cotard’s Syndrome:

  Most afflicted believe that they are dead (walking corpses), with rare cases causing people to believe they are immortal.

  Cotard’s syndrome is a relatively rare condition that was first described by Dr. Jules Cotard in 1882. Cotard’s syndrome comprises any one of a series of delusions that range from a belief that one has lost organs, blood, or body parts to insisting that one has lost one’s soul or is dead.

  Cases have been reported in patients with mood disorders, psychotic disorders, and medical conditions. Most cases of Cotard’s are more responsive to electroconvulsive treatment (ECT) than to pharmacological treatment. Previous reports of patients with Cotard’s syndrome have indicated that ECT has tremendous advantages in resolution of patient’s symptoms when pharmacotherapy has failed.

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  Exploding Head Syndrome:

  Those afflicted often hear loud explosions in their heads.

  Exploding head syndrome (EHS) is a condition in which a person experiences unreal noises that are loud and of short duration when falling asleep or waking up. The noise may be frightening, typically occurs only occasionally, and is not a serious health concern. People may also experience a flash of light. Pain is typically absent.

  The cause is unknown. Potential explanations include ear problems, temporal lobe seizure, nerve dysfunction, or specific genetic changes. Potential risk factors include psychological stress. It is classified as a sleep disorder or headache disorder. People often go undiagnosed. There is no high quality evidence to support treatment. Reassurance may be sufficient. Clomipramine and calcium channel blockers have been tried. While the frequency of the condition is not well studied, some have estimated that it occurs in about 10% of people. Females are reportedly more commonly affected. The condition was initially described at least as early as 1876. The current name came into use in 1988.

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  Maladi Moun:

  Translating to “human-caused illness,” those afflicted experience psychosis and depression, but many believe this disorder to be caused by the envy, hatred, anger, or other negative emotions directed at one person from another. Some even believe that it can cause academic or social problems.

  The term maladi moun, literally from Haitian Creole meaning “evil or sickness caused or sent by others” or “human-caused illness,” is used in the Haitian community to explain various mental health disorders. Maladi moun is popularly seen as a “spiritual attack” on an individual as a result of envy, hatred, or jealousy by another person, causing the individual to experience symptoms such as psychosis or depression. From a modern psychiatric point of view, it may correspond to disorders such as delusions (persecutory type) or schizophrenia (with paranoid features), or the first phase of psychosis.

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  Wendigo Psychosis:

  Those afflicted experience an insatiable craving for human flesh even when other food options are apparent and available.

  The Indian tribe with early experience with this disorder believed that those afflicted were possessed by a dangerous, flesh-devouring spirit called a wendigo. The wendigo (/ˈwɛndɪɡoʊ/)(also wetiko) is a mythological man-eating creature or evil spirit from the folklore of the First Nations Algonquian tribes based in the northern forests of Nova Scotia, the East Coast of Canada, and Great Lakes Region of Canada and the United States. The wendigo is described as a monster with some characteristics of a human or as a spirit who has possessed a human being and made them become monstrous. Its influence is said to invoke acts of murder, insatiable greed, cannibalism and the cultural taboos against such behaviors.

  The creature lends its name to the controversial modern medical term, described by psychiatrists as a culture-bound syndrome with symptoms such as an intense craving for human flesh and fear of becoming a cannibal. In some Indigenous communities, environmental destruction and insatiable greed are also seen as a manifestation of Wendigo psychosis.