15 Bizarre Medical Cases That Will Straight Up Baffle You

    Um, I apologize in advance.

    Kayla Suazo
    by Kayla Suazo

    BuzzFeed Staff

    Hello. Hi. This post contains some potentially distressing content and images. So, please continue at your own discretion.

    CBS

    1. The bizarre death of Gloria Ramirez, also known as the "toxic lady", who mysteriously caused 23 people to become seriously ill.

    Getty Images

    In 1994, Ramirez was admitted to the emergency room due to cervical cancer complications. As medical staff were treating her, many began fainting and experiencing shortness of breath and muscle spasms. Nurses also noticed a foul ammonia-like smell coming from her blood.

    After almost an hour of CPR, Ramirez died from kidney failure caused by her cancer. Meanwhile, 23 people who had come into contact with her became mysteriously ill and five were hospitalized themselves. The health department and investigators couldn't find a physical explanation — there are theories the hospital covered something up — so they said the entire staff had simply suffered from mass hysteria.

    2. The woman whose eyes would completely seal shut for days at a time.

    Seven News / Via au.news.yahoo.com

    After a sinus and staph infection, a 17-year-old woman began experiencing a weird phenomenon where her eyes would close tight for a few days straight. Around the third day, she'd be able to open and use her eyes again as normal. She's now 30, has had 99% of her eyelid muscles removed, and is legally blind. Her bizarre condition still baffles doctors.

    3. The controversial skin condition that feels like bugs are crawling under your skin.

    Grashalex / Getty Images

    People who are diagnosed with Morgellons disease complain of a sensation that feels like bugs are crawling under their skin. In addition, fibers (fuzz, specks, and crystals) supposedly grow from their bodies, in addition to sores they develop. Patients would actually bring these fibers to their doctors who then believed they were faking evidence to support their claims.

    It's a poorly understood disease and you should definitely read this article to learn more about it.

    4. The group of 400 people who practically danced themselves to death during the dancing plague of 1518.

    commons.wikimedia.org

    The dance epidemic began in Strasbourg, France in July of 1518 when a woman began to dance in the streets. In just a week, 34 people joined her fervent dancing, and within a month there were FOUR HUNDRED FREAKING dancers. People began dying from heart attacks, stroke, and exhaustion. Town officials built a stage and hired a musician in hopes to burn everyone out and cure the odd outbreak, but it only encouraged more people to join.

    Historians theorize that it could have been caused by a type of fungus or stress-induced psychosis, but a clear explanation has never been agreed on.

    5. The man who can recall almost everything that's ever happened in his life.

    ABC / Via youtube.com

    Brad Williams can remember events that happened on almost every day of his life. Could you imagine?! (I've literally spent years trying to forget all of my awkward encounters with potential love interests!!) There have only been a handful of people like Williams, so his incredible memory has been heavily researched yet still stumps scientists.

    6. The group of 12 girls who all mysteriously developed a Tourette-like illness.

    HLN / Via youtube.com

    Back in October 2012, a 17-year-old student woke up from a nap with uncontrollable tics. Twelve girls from the same town also began showing similar symptoms. Doctors believed it could have been caused from stress, the Gardasil shot (which was ruled out), or a conversion disorder, but there was never a solid explanation determined.

    7. The man who ate candles and live animals because of his insatiable appetite.

    it.wikipedia.org

    Buckle up, this one's a doozy. In the late 1700s, there was a French soldier named Tarrare. He had an absurd appetite and was known to swallow apples and live animals whole. Anyway, he later went on to become the subject of many experiments and regularly ate pet cats and dogs. If you thought it ended there, you're wrong. Around the same time, there was ANOTHER soldier who had an uncontrollable appetite. I'll let you read more about here.

    Doctors today know there are connections between eating and the hypothalamus, but there is no clear reasoning behind these mens' unbelievable eating habits.

    8. The man who ate raw beef and ended up with a 20-foot tapeworm in his stomach.

    The New England Journal of Medicine / nejm.org

    For two years a man frequented hospitals complaining of terrible stomach pain, vomiting, and weight loss. Doctors could not pinpoint a cause to his increasing discomfort until they microscopically analyzed his stool. They found an egg which then led to their surprising discovery of a TWENTY-FOOT TAPEWORM!

    Apparently the man enjoyed eating raw beef so...there ya have it.

    9. The guy with an armpit infection that caused terrible BO. (I'm sorry in advance for this one.)

    Getty Images

    A 40-year-old man strolled into the doctor's office complaining that he'd had awful body odor for four years. Hmm. Upon further inspection, the doctors noticed a "creamy yellow" substance around his individual armpit hairs. Yikes. It turns out the man's armpit was infected with a bacteria that causes a repulsive odor.

    10. And the man who can stick cans to his head because his body acts like an actual suction cup.

    11. The tragic tale of a man whose personality completely changed after a metal rod went through his skull.

    commons.wikimedia.org / commons.wikimedia.org

    Phineas Gage was 25 years old in 1848 when a metal rod went straight through his brain. Spoiler: he survived. The accident made him a celebrity throughout his town but his friends noticed a significant change in personality. He became profane, rude, and lacked empathy. Gage's tragic accident became prominent in the world of psychology because it was the first recorded case to link brain damage and personality.

    12. The man who hiccuped for four years straight.

    BBC / youtube.com

    For years, doctors could not figure out what was causing Christopher Sands' chronic hiccups. Some days, his hiccups would occur every two seconds and last up to 14 hours. Finally, doctors discovered a tumor on his brainstem. Sands had the tumor removed in 2011 and has been hiccup-free since. If the tumor had remained undiagnosed, Sands would have died within two years.

    13. The boy who developed a fish and nut allergy after a blood transfusion.

    Dydodellamura / Getty Images

    A Canadian boy battling brain cancer received a blood transfusion as part of his treatment. After the transfusion he went into anaphylactic shock when he ate salmon. He had no known allergies prior to the transfusion, so it came as a total surprise when he became highly allergic to fish and nuts. Six months later, his allergies just disappeared.

    The human body is a wild place, you guys.

    14. The author who lost his ability to read because of a stroke.

    amazon.ca

    This case blew my freaking mind. Howard Engel, a well-known Canadian author, woke up one day to realize he couldn't read the newspaper. Engel had suffered from a stroke that left him with a rare condition: word blindness. To sum it up, he can write, but not read. Engel received months of therapy, and while he's able to slowly comprehend his own writing, his reading abilities have diminished.

    He actually went on to write a memoir detailing his disability, The Man Who Forgot How to Read.

    15. And finally, the man and the worm that lived inside his eyeball.

    commons.wikimedia.org

    Brace yourselves: A man needed surgery after a worm was found living in his OWN DAMN EYEBALL. How the hell does this happen, you ask? Well, there is a type of fly that transmits a nasty parasite when it bites people. The parasite grows to become a worm — identified as the loa loa worm — and likes to live in human eyeballs. However, it can bury itself in other parts of the body. SORRY.

    Andddd that's it from me. Sweet dreams <3

    BBC