Disease is something that has evolved right alongside man over the years. Today, we see the culmination of many of them in some of the strangest manifestations of disease anyone has ever seen before. Some of them disfigure people greatly, others cause incredible pain, and some are simply aesthetic. As the world's population continues to grow, we will undoubtedly continue to see new ones emerge. Here are twelve of the strangest, most bizarre diseases seen today: 1. Exploding Head Syndrome While this disease sounds like your head is literally going to explode, it's bad, but not in that way. People with this disease start hearing gunshots, bombs, and any other extremely loud noises as soon as they lay down to rest. Physically, it is not painful. But, it causes severe sleep deprivation that has incredibly harmful side effects. 2. Flesh-Eating Diseases These types of diseases are exactly like they sound: absolutely terrible. They navigate to the deepest layers of the skin and begin to kill tissue from the inside out. This leads to the rotting and decay of the infected areas. Typically, we see discolored, blistered skin with fluids leaking out of it. The only way to get rid of these diseases is through surgery, and about 73% of people who get them will die if left untreated 3. Alien Hand Syndrome A very rare and particularly bizarre disease, Alien Hand Syndrome is a neurological disorder that causes the hand to operate independently of the brain and nervous system, or, the hand is thinking for itself. Your hand will start grabbing for things and doing movements without you even realizing it. At the moment, there is no cure, but holding an object in that hand is seen as the best therapy. 4. Cotard's Delusion This strange disease makes the afflicted believe that they've died. They basically turn into undead people as they continue to walk and talk to others believing that they've passed away. Some folks take this delusion a step further and believe themselves to be immortal. Treatment for this odd condition requires drugs and hemodialysis. 5. Polydactylism This interesting disease is more common than the others. About one in every 500 children is born with extra fingers or toes. One strange thing about this condition is that the extra fingers or toes typically do not have bone in them; leading many people to get their extra digits removed surgically. 6. Alice in Wonderland Syndrome Although the name sounds inherently good, the condition itself is anything but. Symptoms of this disease include hallucinations, disorientations, and dysmetropsia (seeing objects as bigger or smaller than they really are). This disease is commonly found in children, most of whom eventually grow out of it. 7. Menkes Disease This condition occurs when the body has a copper deficiency. Men are typically who suffer from this condition, but it is possible for women to have it as well. Symptoms of this strange disease include the whites of your eyes turning blue, brittle and fragile hair, seizures, poor muscle tone and saggy facial characteristics. 8. Lymphatic Filariasis This disease is caused by a parasitic worm and has grave implications for the afflicted. Also known as elephantiasis, this disease has no symptoms at first, but eventually sees tremendous swelling in a targeted area, and the skin becomes thick and tough. The only way to treat this incredibly painful condition involves antibiotics. 9. Epidermodysplasia Verruciformis This disease has been coined the "Tree Man" illness, and is a genetic condition very rarely seen in the world today. People suffering from this disease sprout red-brown growths that look like wood on various parts of the body. The disease can cover just a certain area of the body, or the body in its entirety, and unfortunately, there is no cure for it yet. 10. Stone Man Syndrome When we become injured or work out, we destroy fibrous tissue in the body, and it gets repaired with more fibrous tissue. This disturbing condition is a genetic mutation that causes the body's repair functions to use bone tissue instead of fibrous tissue when reconstructing damaged tissue. As you can imagine, this means that the person's body slowly starts hardening internally, as every fibrous tissue gets replaced with bone. Eventually they become paralyzed by their own skeleton, causing a slow, completely immobilized death for which there is no cure. 11. Werewolf Syndrome This condition is painless and not life-threatening, thankfully. Women who have grown full beards often have this condition. As the name suggests, this disease causes people to have uncontrollable hair growth, making them look kind of like werewolves. One version of this condition causes hair to grow in a localized area, while the other means your entire body will be covered with hair. 12. Lion Face Syndrome Leontiasis Ossea, or Lion Face Syndrome, is rare disease that is marked by the overgrowth of bone tissue in the face and jaw. This condition often affects the mouth, nose and sinuses, and many folks who suffer from this condition are completely blind due to the bone tissue literally crushing their optic nerves. Source
