5 Spooky Real-Life Health Conditions — Scary Symptoms to Watch Out For
(AscendHealthy.com) – Some legitimate health conditions have symptoms can be downright terrifying, but forearmed with information, you can be sure to reach out for help if you know about them.
These may read like science fiction, but they’re real. Here are the frightening symptoms you need to know about.
1. Elephantiasis
Thickening of the body’s underlying tissues and the skin above them are both hallmarks of elephantiasis. The affected body parts swell up and become abnormally large. Mosquitos carry this disease, caused by parasitic, microscopic worms. These worms cause a chain reaction that shuts down the body’s lymph system and leads to the disease taking hold. There are a few treatments such as surgery, prescriptions, binding, and rigorous washing, but there aren’t any vaccines or cures.
2. Flesh-Eating Bacteria
Also called necrotizing fasciitis, this flesh-eating disease travels into the lower layers of the skin. As it spreads, it destroys the healthy tissue around it. People who already have compromised immune systems are the most at risk of this problem, but it can also happen to otherwise healthy people. Providing antibiotics right away, as soon as the condition is suspected, is the most common course of treatment. Surgery to remove the damaged areas — and sometimes even amputation — may be necessary.
3. Tapeworms
No one wants to think about having worms, but it can and does happen. Developing a tapeworm infection is most common in countries where clean water is hard to come by and sanitary procedures aren’t up to date. In the first world, tapeworm infections are very uncommon but not unheard of. People infected with tapeworms often have nausea, loss of appetite, and diarrhea, and they may also become anemic. A single dose of medication generally ends the problem, but the worm is removed whole and that can be the most unsettling part of the entire ordeal.
4. Trachoma
Most people haven’t heard of trachoma, but this condition involves the growth of white nodules that develop under the eyelid. That can cause the lid to turn toward the eye, and the eyelashes will grow directly toward the cornea. Corneal scratches and other eye damage can happen with trachoma, and blindness is possible. The mites that carry the disease are passed from person to person through eye, nose, and throat secretions, along with towels, cloth, and tissues. Antibiotics are often a sufficient treatment, but surgery may be required in extreme cases.
5. Chromhidrosis
While it’s rare, chromhidrosis is a disorder that causes people to have colored sweat. It could be brown, black, yellow, green, or even blue. The color comes from a pigment called lipofuscin, and some people have more of it than others do. In some people, the lipofuscin might also be in a higher-than-normal oxidative state. It’s important to find out what’s causing this to happen because there can be other reasons for colored sweat, such as an infection. With conditions like chromhidrosis, capsaicin cream or botox injections may solve the issue, and it’s important to talk to your healthcare provider.
No matter what strange health condition we might experience, consulting healthcare professionals is the key to diagnosis and treatment. Even though some conditions clear up on their own, chronic conditions should always be evaluated by a doctor.
We hope none of us are confronted by any of the conditions on this list — but if we are, we hope we have expert medical assistance.
~Here’s to Your Healthy Ascension
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