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Thursday, April 7, 2011

Strange and Rare Diseases

Throughout the years, I've often been fascinated with strange and rare diseases. Whenever I'd stumble upon articles on this type of subject matter in medical journals and books at home (my mother was a nurse in the mental health department of a hospital in a neighboring state) or in the library or doctor's office, it would cause me to either gasp in disbelief or shake my head, feeling pity upon those afflicted.

I've read a lot about these conditions that made unfortunate victims of these people and the following information about them is something you, yourself, may find interesting.

Exploding Head Syndrome-

Those who suffer from this disease experience a very loud noise as if it’s within his/her own head like an explosion. Typically this happens within several hours of falling asleep although not due to a dream. Patients may feel fear and anxiety associated with increased heart rate. Some physicians suggest that there’s a relationship with stress and extreme fatigue.

Stendhal Syndrome-

This disease causes people who have it to experience dizziness, rapid heartbeat, confusion and hallucinations when exposed to large amounts of beautiful art work.

Blaschko's lines-

Blaschko's lines are an extremely rare and unexplained phenomenon of human anatomy first presented in 1901 by German dermatologist Alfred Blaschko. Neither a specific disease nor a predictable symptom of a disease, Blaschko's lines are an invisible pattern built into human DNA. Many inherited and acquired diseases of the skin or mucosa manifest themselves according to these patterns, creating the visual appearance of stripes. What makes them more remarkable is that they correspond quite closely from patient to patient, usually forming a "V" shape over the spine and "S" shapes over the chest, stomach, and sides.

Cotard’s Syndrome-

Those who suffer from this disease feel that they are dead and non-existent. The sufferer may also feel that he/she lost his or her blood or internal organs; the patient even feels that the internal parts are putrefying. It can show up due to mental illness and is also associated with depression.

When you hear or read or see something about these diseases and others that are, in no doubt worse, you can't help but to wonder how you would react or struggle with any one of these diseases. Although I feel great empathy for people who endure life changing obstacles, such as a few of the ones described here, I can't help but to be impressed by those who are able to cope with whatever they are afflicted with each and every day that passes.

It's something worth thinking about. At least to me, it is.

23 comments:

bazza said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
The Wolf said...

That's some messed up conditions that I've never heard about before.

Unknown said...

I was with bazza. I was waiting for the syndrome where you explained that 'gullible' was misspelled in the dictionary.

ResCogitans said...

i've just started watching 'house' from the start. i'll be watching out for these :)

LilPixi said...

Those are messed up! Esp. the Stendhal Syndrome.

Exploding Head Syndrome is something I'd just like to stay far away from my ass. Sounds like my worst nightmare.

I'd maybe be into rare diseases if I wasn't such a hypochondriac. It was hard for me to read this cause of that. lol

Interesting stuff.
Hope you're ready for the big day tomorrow, Kelly. HaHa!

bazza said...

You know, Kelly it wasn't until I was at least half way through reading this post that I realized you were serious.
I thought "that rascal has made all these things up". I think maybe the first picture made me think that way!
Bazza’s Blog ‘To Discover Ice’

THE SNEE said...

Shoot! I missed yesterday's post! Well done keeping up with your personal challenge Kelly. I'm flabbergasted by these medical conditions. They're real? You make an important point about resilience though. It gives me something to mull over. Be well, and what's so fun about tomorrow LilPixi?

billy pilgrim said...

i almost had exploding head syndrome after a night of heavy drinking. my head was fine but my arse exploded.

klahanie said...

Hi Kelly,
Those who have conditions in life that seem overwhelming, are often people who show such courage and resilience, that they have my utmost respect. In fact, I marvel that they can cope as well as they do.
Some of the most positive folks I know have suffered with some horrific ailments. Yet, despite this, they embrace and are grateful for all the good that is in their lives.
I guess it's a case of living with, rather than suffering from, an illness, be it physical or mental.
And of course, physical and mental illness can be interrelated.
Take care, my friend.

Kelly said...

The Wolf- Yeah, when I first heard and read about them, it kinda freaked me out a little. Take care, dude.

Kelly said...

lost.in.Idaho- Tee hee. I slip some people up sometimes when they come to this site because you never know when I'm going to be serious or silly or God knows what. I don't do that, intentionally on the blog. I just have a lot of interests in different things- plus I have a warped sense of humor- or so they tell me. :)

Kelly said...

ResCogitans- I love that show. Talk about your rare diseases. That show truly takes the cake and turns it into Alice in Wonderland Syndrome- which is also a very real mental disease. :)

Kelly said...

LilPixi- I wonder if there is a connection between Stendhal syndrome and certain colors or the brightness of certain colors used in the artwork that sets people off with this condition. I don't know. Gotta laugh at what you said about Exploding Head Syndrome. I feel the same way. I've got enough to deal with, with the Major Depressive Disorder.

Yeah, I remember well what you said in your blog post about your fear of germs and so on. I'm that way, to a point. It pisses certain people off that have to live with me. Hahaha. But I'm not naming any names. I'll wash my hands at least a dozen times a day. Hey, better safe than sorry, right? Thanks for enduring the scary read, here, LilPixi and yeah, I'm excited about the Q&A fest. :) I'll probably be workin' on some of that tonight. Looks like I've got a shitload to answer! Woo hoo! Take care, LilPixi.

Kelly said...

bazza- I thought your first comment at the top was the same as the one you made here until I reread it in my email. Now I see what you deleted. Hahaha. I liked that little joke you put on the end of your first comment. Anyhoooo... Yeah, that first pic would kind of make you think this was going to be one of my zanier or funnier posts. You never know what to expect at the ol' blog, eh? :) Have a great day, Bazza, my friend.

Kelly said...

THE SNEE- Shoot!? Actually, yesterday's post was about shooting. I wrote about the AA-12 combat shotgun and the firepower it had going for it. What a coincidence, eh?

Thanks for the encouragement, Rebecca, on keeping up with my challenge. So far, so good. Yes, the conditions are, unfortunately, very real. The resilience of these folks should never be underestimated. You take care, Rebecca. :)

Kelly said...

klahanie- I know what you mean about people like that. I have the utmost respect for them, as well. I guess it comes down to inner strength and whether you're going to fight to live or lay down and surrender. You have had your own battle(s), I know and so have I. I think it is somewhat easier for us to relate to people who have had inner turmoil churning away inside them. Plus, like you said, you've known folks with horrific ailments that are still able to see the positive in their lives. So you see it from that angle, too.

Yeah, it's so true about the connection between physical and mental health. That, I know, on a personal level and what I've seen from others and what I've read. It would be great if more folks tried to understand mental illness. Have a terrific day, Gary.

Drama Queen said...

You are so not alone there buddy. I have an addiction to "Medical Mysteries" shows and anything similar.

I am starting to wonder, though, if we've just come up with labels for everyone to come up with some type of organization for unique personalities and genetics.

I mean hell, in my house, we've got a paranoid schizophrenic, an autistic kid, and I'm bipolar. The only "normal" one is the 8yr old girl, but I think she's only "normal" still because we haven't figure out what's wrong with her yet lol.

Kelly said...

Drama Queen- Good lordy, DQ, you have a whole houseful of mental disorders goin' on. lol. My entire family is the same way. We got three or four that suffer from depression in one form or another, including myself. Dad suffers from dementia. Two of his brothers do, as well. We have a couple autistic relatives thrown in the mix, to boot. Hopefully, your 8 yr old won't develop anything- but since you're all so well acquainted with mental conditions... If she does, she'll be with understanding people around her. Take care, Drama Queen!

Greg said...

Interesting post, and I'm with Bazza i thought these were made up until about half way down.

At least I know now there is something I'm not suffering from.

The one that makes my spine tingle is the Cotard's syndrome...eerie!

Kelly said...

Greg- All very real but I can see why you might have thought that. Glad I could put your mind at ease. Cotard's syndrome would be a fucked up way to live (or not live, actually).

JadeTurner@ xlpharmacy said...

There are really a lot of odd names of diseases and only few of them are familiar to us. It's nice to know though that those diseases do exist.
xlpharmacy

Dixie@dcrelief said...

Like Bazza, I too thought this at first to be one of your sublime jokes. Wow, you really found some awful things to share. How would one cope with any of these? Maybe my situations is not so bad after all. Thanks Kelly for being real!!

Kelly said...

No problemo, Dixie. Nope. No joking about these diseases. Not at all. I thought they were so unique and awful, in fact, I just knew I had to share them with my friends. :) Btw, seriously, I hope your situations improve. Take care, Dixie!

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