Crazy Diseases

There are seriously some weird and crazy diseases out there, so crazy they scare me shitless! Have a look at some of these crazy diseases that you may never knew existed, until now.

Reflex sympathetic dystrophy
Type of Disease: Nerve disorder
Crazy Because: Causes searing pain as if on fire
Cure: Complex; disease may spontaneously resolve, but treatment usually only lessens symptoms

Imagine being tormented every waking moment of every day by searing pain in your limbs. Your arms feel like they are on fire, they are swollen, hot to the touch, and you sweat excessively. These are just a few of the symptoms of reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD), a poorly understood disorder defined by pain in the limbs that is way out of proportion from what is expected following a particular injury or harmful event, such as surgery or stroke. The disease is believed to be caused by an abnormal chain reaction of the sympathetic nervous system, the body system that regulates blood flow and other aspects of the skin. Experts liken the pain response to that of an engine revving out of control.

While the disease may spontaneously disappear on its own, many patients undergo intensive treatments for years just to lessen the pain. And for some patients, the pain can become so profound that they must undergo the most extreme and expensive of therapies -- being placed under a Ketamine coma -- to essentially reset the pain connections of the body. In 2003, under the guidance of German colleagues of renowned RSD specialist Dr. Robert Schwartzman, 14-year-old Lindsay Wurtenberg of the U.S. underwent Ketamine coma-therapy and successfully recovered from a particularly debilitating case of RSD that developed following a harmless spider bite. “I don’t think there is a worse pain problem,” said Dr. Schwartzman of Lindsay’s condition. He was probably right.

Trimethylaminuria
Type of Disease: Metabolic Disorder
Crazy Because: Causes patients to smell like rotting fish
Cure: None; limited treatment options

Trimethylaminuria (TMAU), also known as fish malodor syndrome, is a rare metabolic disorder that prevents affected individuals from properly breaking down trimethylamine (TMA), instead letting it build up in the body. TMA is then released in the breath, sweat, urine, and other body secretions, giving off a strong fishy odor that literally cannot be masked. For people with this crazy disease, frequent showering and the use of deodorants, perfumes and colognes are not enough; the smell remains, sometimes becoming so strong so as to fill entire rooms or even auditoriums. The result can be socially and psychologically devastating: "People think this disease is a laughing matter, but for the people who have it, it is not. This syndrome can be highly destructive to a person's personal and social life and to their work and career," Robert L. Smith, a molecular toxicologist at the Imperial College School of Medicine in London, told the Science News.

Currently, there is no cure for TMAU. Affected patients can only reduce the smell by restricting the diet to foods that are not converted to TMA -- a daunting task considering that everyday foods like eggs, legumes as well as certain meats and fish all contain the amino acid choline, a precursor molecule to TMA.

Seriously, if I had any of those diseases, I don't know how to live with myself.