Puzzle cramps and 6 more strange medical cases that surprised even doctors
'14.04.2021'
Source: Tut.by
From the “brewery” in the stomach to seizures from sudoku to barbecue skewers in the skull, we talk about strange medical cases that have occurred in recent years in the world. But caution - some stories may seem unpleasant.
Logic Puzzle Spasms
The publication LiveScience published a story about how a young man from Germany had cramps due to sudoku, writes tut.by.
True, sudoku is only part of the story. In fact, a lover of logic puzzles while riding in the mountains fell under an avalanche. He was saved, but after being buried in the snow for 10 minutes, the guy survived hypoxia - a condition in which body tissues and the brain do not receive enough oxygen. Subsequently, this caused the young man sudden muscle twitches around his mouth when he spoke, and in the muscles of his legs when he walked. He also experienced spontaneous cramps in his left hand.
Doctors prescribed antiepileptic drugs and found that seizures were controlled. However, a few weeks after being discharged from the hospital, the man started cramping in his left hand again - but only when he solved the sudoku.
It turned out that the part of the brain that was involved in thinking about three-dimensional things was damaged. And her excessive load caused seizures. Unfortunately, the guy had to give up his hobby.
Sneezing Throat Injury
We told earlier how a man from the UK clasped his mouth and nose with his palm so as not to sneeze, and eventually tore his throat.
The man was diagnosed with mediastinal and subcutaneous emphysema of the neck. In his deep tissues, muscles, and under his skin were air bubbles that cracked when they burst. Typically, this condition causes injury, in rare cases - vomiting or severe coughing. In the case of the Briton, air entered the internal tissues due to perforation of the pharynx under strong air pressure.
The Briton spent a week in the hospital due to the risk of complications. He was fed through a nasogastric tube, and drugs were administered through a dropper until the sore throat calmed down. Then he was released home with a recommendation not to restrain himself the next time he felt an itchy nose. It turns out that if you hold back sneezing in this way, then the pressure on the tissue will be 38 times higher than with ordinary sneezing.
On the subject: 5 typical of 'our' diseases that foreign doctors are unaware of
Vulvar Breast Milk
Not so long ago, a rather unusual case was described in the medical journal Obstetrics & Gynecology: after giving birth, a 29-year-old patient from Austria began to release milk not only from the breast, but also from the vulva. It turned out that the woman developed the so-called ectopic (that is, displaced to an unusual place) breast tissue right in the external genital organs.
About 1 to 5% of female babies are born with ectopic or “extra” breast tissue, but it is very rare to find it in the genitals. Most often, ectopic breast tissue is found in the armpits. Usually this disease is diagnosed during pregnancy or when a cancerous tumor develops in the tissue.
Since ectopic breast tissue can become malignant, doctors recommend that women with a similar problem consider removing it.
Spit falling that didn't damage the brain
10-year-old boy from Missouri, USA, was very lucky: a meat skewer stuck in his head, but did not cause him serious damage.
It is reported that the child was playing in a treehouse when wasps attacked him. The boy stumbled during the descent and fell right on the barbecue skewer, which his family was going to cook.
A pin pierced his face and went right under the skull, right down to the back of his neck. But, surprisingly, it did not hurt either the brain or the main nerves. Doctors say that the trajectory of the spit was "one in a million."
Thanks to a thorough operation, the doctors were able to remove the skewer, and the child recovered quickly.
Cerebrospinal fluid leak
A fifty-year-old American suffered from allergies, headaches and a runny nose for at least two years - it began after a car accident when she hit her face on the dashboard. In the end, the woman was diagnosed with cerebrospinal fluid leak.
Cerebrospinal fluid performs several functions, including surrounding the brain with an aqueous medium, protecting it from injury. But in this case, a “leak” formed - in the unfortunate woman, about 250 milliliters of liquid flowed out every day.
Fortunately, it all ended well. In 2018, doctors performed an operation by placing a transplant from the adipose tissue of the woman herself to close the hole and stop the leak.
On the subject: 9 dangerous diseases that doctors most often miss in women
"Brewery" in the stomach
An 46-year-old American was found to have a rare disease called “brewing syndrome,” in which ethanol is formed in the body itself.
In 2011, a man injured a finger and was treated with antibiotics. After that, he began to suffer from memory lapses, impaired coordination, bouts of aggression and depression. Once he was even arrested for drunk driving, although he did not drink that day.
Fortunately, the doctors were able to find the reason: they found in the patient's feces Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast and the fungus associated with them. These yeasts produce carbohydrates and form ethanol. That is, the man was constantly intoxicated.
As a result, the American was prescribed antifungal therapy and a course of probiotics. And now, for a year and a half, he lives without symptoms, but still checks the level of alcohol in his breath.
A lost contact lens that didn't really get lost
The 42-year-old resident of the UK turned to an optometrist complaining that her left eyelid was swollen and began to fall. It turned out that within the eyelid for almost three decades, a “lost” contact lens was stored.
When the patient was 14, a shuttle hit her eye while playing badminton. It was then that the contact lens turned out to be in the century. True, it is not clear why she calmly lay there for 28 years and only then caused inflammation.
