11 Rare Medical Conditions That May Occur in a Person of Any Age
The human body is strange and unpredictable. Know about these medical conditions that occur rarely and could be treated with medicines.
In ancient times, strange medical treatments were given to patients that were horrifying and showed weird results. The way the medical issues were handled could scare the hell out of patients and sometimes gives goosebumps. Several medicines and technologies were launched and helped healthcare professionals and patients in curing severe diseases.
You must have heard about diseases like allergies, diarrhea, stomach aches, and diabetes. But have you ever heard of Jargon Aphasia? Several rare medical conditions exist in the world that are not mentioned in the medical books. While some know about exploding head syndrome, others are unaware of Dysgeusia.
Read about rare medical conditions that occur only in 2-3% of people in the world.
1. Retired Husband Syndrome
Retired Husband Syndrome (RHS) is a psychosomatic stress-related illness, where women begin to exhibit signs of depression as their husbands retire. Common symptoms of RHS are ulcers, asthma, high blood pressure, and depression. This rare medical condition was identified by Nobuo Kurokawa and first appeared when he presented himself to the Japanese Society in 1991.
He summarized that RHS is a result of the fact that Japanese citizens who have reached 60 are members of the Baby boomer generation of Japan. The members were expected to be the breadwinner and to support his family.
The husband, as a salaryman, can demand long hours working away from home. That means that husband and wife might not interact, and when they stay together at home, they feel like a virtual stranger.
It can be stressful for women who expect to join their husbands for every need. Stress can bring the symptoms like depression and high blood pressure, and a level of resentment towards her husband. It is a rare syndrome but is estimated to occur in over 60% of Japan’s older female population.
2. Burning Mouth Syndrome
It is a rare condition that causes a burning feeling in the mouth. The sensation can occur anywhere in the mouth but is commonly felt on the tongue, lips, and roof of the mouth. According to research, only 2% of the population suffers from this rare medical condition. The symptoms of Burning Mouth Syndrome can vary from person to person. Also, it can be a constant pain for days, weeks, or months.
For an accurate diagnosis, doctors might recommend you to have a salivary flow test, blood, and oral test. Possible causes of BMS include dry mouth, acid reflux, hormonal changes, and medication. Doctors recommend avoiding acidic foods and citrus fruits.
Sipping cold liquids throughout the day eases mouth pain, and practicing a relaxation technique reduces stress. It is a complex condition that alters the taste of the mouth and can be found commonly in people who are above 60 years.
3. Exploding Head Syndrome
It is a sleep disorder that causes people to hear loud noises when they are sleeping. Hearing loud noises can cause stress, but it is not a life-threatening syndrome. It is an abnormal sensory perception in which a person experiences loud noises when falling asleep. It is believed that some people experience Exploding head Syndrome once in their lifetime, while others can experience it 6-7 times per night.
The noise might be frightening but is not life-threatening. Pain is absent & also the causes are unknown. The frequency of the condition is not studied properly but is estimated to occur in 7-10% of people.
Some people have experienced electrical tinglings before hallucinations occur. Other theories and causes of EHS include stress and anxiety, minor seizures, and temporary calcium channel dysfunction. Sometimes a muscle tweak or jerk may occur. The event is painless and can disturb your sleep.
4. Stendhal Syndrome
It is a psychosomatic condition that involves fainting, confusion, and rapid heartbeat. It occurs when a person becomes exposed to artworks, phenomena, and objects. Several people fainted while taking in Florentine art, dating from the 19th century.
This rare medical condition was named in 1979. It is named after the cases when the French novelist made himself sick on art in 1817. The overactivation of brain areas that may be at risk of mental health problems can explain the phenomenon of Stendhal Syndrome.
5. Auto-Brewery Syndrome
It is a rare medical condition that occurs when yeast in the gut produces excessive quantities of ethanol and causes symptoms like you are drunk. People who have suffered from auto-brewery syndrome showed high blood alcohol levels even if they don’t consume alcohol. It is sometimes also called drunkenness disease. It happens when your body turns starchy foods into alcohol.
One woman was found to have the condition after she was arrested for being drunk. Her alcohol level was nearly four times the regular limit. She was not charged because medical results showed that her auto-brewery condition raised her blood alcohol levels. When you have a hangover from drinking too much, you can have a headache, dehydration, fatigue, vomiting, and dizziness.
Causes of the auto-brewery syndrome can include Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, and Torulopsis glabrata. This medical condition is a complication of imperfection and infection in the body.
Other reasons you might have excessive yeast in the body are antibiotics, diabetes, or a low immune system. The disease can have severe effects on the body and can result in belching and stumbling.
6. Progeria
It is a type of disease that occurs majorly in children. It is a progeroid syndrome that usually develops by puberty and results in death. The symptoms may include a failure to thrive and a rare skin condition.
This rare medical condition is also known as Hutchinson-Gilford syndrome and causes children to age rapidly. People who suffer from Progeria live up to 20-25 years. This disease is characterized by short stature, the early loss of hair, and low body weight. Progeria can affect people of all sexes.
There are no symptoms noticed when a baby is born. However, physical traits like a thin nose with a beaked tip, a high-pitched voice, loss of body fat, and muscle development are experienced when the baby turns older. It doesn’t affect a child’s intelligence and brain development. If you see your child experiencing any of the symptoms like Progeria, then consult a doctor at the earliest.
7. Dysgeusia
It is also known as paragenesis and is sometimes associated with ageusia. This rare medical condition alters the taste or smell. Common causes of Dysgeusia include liver disease, chemotherapy, asthma, or zinc deficiency. Due to several causes of Dysegeusia, there can be multiple treatments given to a patient to reduce the symptoms of Dysgeusia. The major cause of this condition is chemotherapy which damages the oral cavity and results in oral mucositis.
It consists of inflammation of the mouth and ulcers in the tissues. There can be a variety of drugs that can trigger dysgeusia. Over 250 drugs can affect the taste. Also, changes in hormone levels during pregnancy can affect the sense of taste. If you smoke, then quitting smoking could help you in relieving Dysgeusia. Every year over 200,000 people visit doctors for experiencing taste disorders.
8. Jargon Aphasia
It is a type of fluent aphasia in which a person replaces the desired word with another that looks like the original one. A person with jargon Aphasia uses an isolated term or neologisms and replaces the words which they cannot find with sounds.
People with Jargon Aphasia may exhibit different behaviors like repetitive uttering of low-frequency words, fail to recognize mistakes being made, and mix real words while speaking or writing.
The only way to treat this rare medical condition is with a speech-language pathologist (SPH). It restores the person’s prior level of communication and improves language skills.
9. Walking Corpse Syndrome
People with Walking Corpse Syndrome or Cotard’s Syndrome believe that a few parts of their body are missing. They believe they are dead and do not exist. In 1850, neurologist Jules Cotard described this condition as a psychiatric syndrome of varying severity. A case is identified by self-loathing, despair, and chronic psychiatric depression. The patient denies their existence of the body art.
This rare medical condition occurs in three stages - Germination stage when symptoms of psychotic depression occur, Blooming stage when the development of syndrome and delusions of negation occurs, and the last stage is the chronic stage when severe delusion occurs with chronic psychiatric depression.
It is seen in people who are affected by psychosis. Several mono-therapeutic and multi-therapeutic, and mood stabilizers are found to be successful in treating this syndrome.
10. Fish Odor Syndrome
It is an uncommon condition that causes a fishy smell. Sometimes it is caused by genes that a person inherits from their parents. Trimethylaminuria or fish odor syndrome is caused by mutations in the FMO3 gene. Its symptoms can be present from birth and are characterized by body smell and rotting fish.
Other causes of the body can occur as a result of excessive proteins in the diet or from the increase in bacteria that produce trimethylamine in the GI tract. Its treatment includes the use of acid lotions, dietary restrictions, and use of certain antibiotics. It is an uncommon disorder, and its incidence is unknown.
11. Gourmand Syndrome
It is a rare disorder that occurs 6-12 months after an injury to the frontal lobe. A person suffering from this medical condition suffers from a right hemisphere frontal or brain lesion affecting the cortical areas.
This medical condition is characterized by an obsessive focus on talking, thinking, and writing about foods. According to reports, only 36 people are reported to be diagnosed with Gourmand Syndrome.
Final Words
If you read about the history of medicine, you would find it scary. Do you know other rare medical conditions that occur in only 3-5% of the population in the world? Do you know someone experiencing these rare conditions? If so, then share the facts below.
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