5 Strange Disorders

The world is a-buzz with news of Mariana Bridi, the Brazilian Miss World contestant who passed away this week basically from an advanced case of necrosis, which is essentially a syndrome in which your skin dies, leaving your insides...out. If you feel like googling it, don't; because you'll end up with images that will sear your retinas and cause you to drink bleach to cleanse the filth.

In any case, her necrosis was a result of a rare infection. There are a lot of rare disorders, and being the morbid type I decided to do a little reading up on some of the more interesting ones.

So, here they are:

1) Foreign Accent Syndrome - This one is really weird. Due to severe brain trauma, people begin to speak in a different accent (a British person will speak with a German accent, etc.). Not only that, but they will also use phrases that someone from that culture would use (you would begin to use the word "lift" instead of elevator if you spoke with an English accent).

People who suffer from this are unaware of how they speak. Apparently, there's a part of your brain that says "I will speak this way" and when you're around a foreigner, your brain says "I won't speak that way". And if someone puts on the band Foreigner, you just cry and cover your ears.

But, if that part of your brain is destroyed, you end up talking like you're from anywhere, at any time. There's about 50 people who have suffered from this in about 65 years.

Here's a video of someone afflicted:


2) Stendhal Syndrome - This one is really strange. Have you ever gone to a museum and seen a Van Gogh or Picasso and been overtaken, almost mesmerized by its' beauty? Me too.

Have you ever been so mesmerized that you develop a rapid heartbeat, dizziness, confusion and hallucinations? If you have, then you're a victim of the Stendhal Syndrome. Also, if you have, you probably need to get out more.

OK, art is beautiful, but seriously; take a deep breath and remember that life is more beautiful than any piece of art.

Here's a clip of a no doubt hilarious movie that was made about someone with the Syndrome:



3) Argyria - OK, you're sitting on your portch, sipping some scotch, and you say to yourself; "you know what would be a good chaser? Some liquefied silver. Yum!" Then you wake up a few months later looking like this guy:
Yeah, that's right, your skin turns blue because you love the taste of that delicious alloy. Here's a lesson for ya; don't drink silver, no matter how tasty it is.

4) Morgellons - A sort of, but not really (yet) disease where patients believe that there are bugs (or parasites) crawling underneath their skin. Little fibers start to appear underneath your skin (sometimes coming up through your skin) and you get really achy.

No one has quite figured out what's going on (this is a rather recent phenomena) but scientists are divided between "this is a bunch of hooey" and "there's something spooky going on".

Here's an interview with the chief CDC person in charge of researching Morgellons:


5) Congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis - This disorder makes you unable to feel heat, cold and pain. The anhidrosis part means you can't sweat. Obviously very dangerous, because pain can save you from getting really badly hurt.

I just wish they had a disorder where you couldn't feel exhausting emotional pain. Sign me up.