The strangest medical cases of 2024

It’s almost the end of 2024, and that can only mean one thing: another deep dive into the strangest medical cases that made us gasp, cringe, and groan in amazement this year.

Case studies are an important part of medicine, as they can sometimes be the first clue to a new discovery. But they are also an endless reminder that the human body can become strange or have strange things happen to it in many ways. These are some of the medical highlights published in scientific journals or that made the news in 2024.

The most vaccinated man in the world

In March, scientists in Germany published a study showing a man who claimed to have received more than 200 Covid-19 vaccines over the course of two years. German authorities alleged that the man originally continued getting vaccinated to obtain vaccination cards that could then be sold to other people, although they ultimately declined to press fraud charges. However, when researchers contacted him, he may have really loved receiving his vaccines; He even decided to receive two more vaccines on his own while he was being studied.

The researchers found no sign that the man suffered any harm from his mass vaccinations, and even found some evidence that his immune system was better protected against the coronavirus than average. Perhaps the most compelling evidence is that the man had no history of Covid-19 infection, a rarity in today’s world. Still, as the researchers astutely point out: no more than 200 shots are needed to get the most out of the Covid-19 vaccine. Just a few will do.

Losing your guts

Two separate cases of people literally bursting their guts caused a sensation this year.

In one case, published in May, a 63-year-old man sneezed and coughed through a recent surgical site that affected his abdomen. The man’s breakfast and shirt were ruined, but paramedics were able to get him safely to a hospital and he recovered safely. The other case was originally published in September 2022, but was not available online until January 2024. It involved a 52-year-old woman whose Covid-induced cough caused her guts to spill out of a former repair surgery site. of hernia. She was hospitalized, but her guts were also successfully reattached.

Abdominal surgeries are known to be a risk factor for disembowelment, but remain rare. Still, I’ll probably panic a little for the foreseeable future whenever I feel a sneeze coming on.

A dangerous situation

In case you’re wondering, hairballs aren’t just a problem for cats.

In July, surgeons in Ecuador reported removing a two-pound hairball from a young woman’s stomach. Doctors in Massachusetts reported treating their own case of hairballs last November, that of a 16-year-old girl who experienced weeks of worsening stomach pain and other gastrointestinal symptoms.

These cases are examples of Rapunzel syndrome, a rare medical condition in which a mass of swallowed hair becomes large enough to obstruct the stomach and potentially the small intestine. Rapunzel syndrome can be life-threatening, although both cases were caught early before that could happen. Most often it is caused by a psychological compulsion to pull out and eat one’s own hair.

the threes

In October, doctors in the United Kingdom reported on a medical marvel that also makes a great bar story: a man with not one, not two, but three penises. Perhaps the most surprising detail about this case is that the man himself may have never known his unique anatomy. The man’s additional genitals were inside his body and his external penis appeared and functioned normally. Scientists did not discover his condition until his body was donated to science for cadaver research. It is the second recorded case of someone having three penises (a condition called triphalia) and the first to be found in an adult man.

The furry menace

As a cat parent, I can attest to the many benefits of owning a cat. But sometimes, these felines can cause bouts of medical misery.

Last May, for example, doctors in Portugal detailed how a girl developed a rare bone infection from a young kitten her family had taken in. In early February, health officials in Oregon reported that a woman in her 50s developed a rare case of the plague likely caught from her recently sick cat. In both cases, the patients appeared to make a full recovery, although unfortunately the Oregon woman’s cat died from the infection.

Although these cases are stranger than most, they are an important reminder that cats are still animals and can be potential vectors for infectious diseases. If a cat bites and scratches you, should always Wash the wound immediately with soap and water for five minutes (do not rub), clean it with an antiseptic, and seek medical attention if you notice any signs of infection. In the case of plague and other germs, both cats and the fleas they carry can potentially transmit it, so flea prevention is also important.

Migraines due to brain worms

It’s a Florida man’s most typical story: In March, doctors in the state reported on a man whose months of frequent, severe headaches were caused by an invading brain parasite: the pig tapeworm (Tape soles).

The condition is formally known as neurocysticercosis and is caused by tapeworm cysts. These cysts cannot mature into adults, but they will migrate to different parts of the body, including the brain. Its presence in the brain can sometimes trigger a harmful immune response that causes a wide range of neurological symptoms, such as seizures and migraines. In this particular case, the man may have contracted a typical tapeworm infection by eating undercooked bacon, only to then become reinfected with cysts by not properly washing his hands after using the bathroom. The man was treated with steroids and antiparasitic medications, which did help reduce his symptoms. Other Known brain worm survivors They are also thriving.

Bathroom problems

Some stories start out bad and somehow get worse. In January, doctors in Canada described a man in his 70s who was bitten by a rat that got into his toilet bowl. The man later contracted a life-threatening infection from the bite that sent him to the intensive care unit. The rat had given the man the bacterial disease leptospirosis, which made the case even stranger, since these bacteria are usually found in rat urine and not saliva. For all doctors can tell, the rat could have first contaminated its own mouth with bacteria-soaked urine before biting the man, a true insult to injury situation if I’ve ever heard one. Fortunately, the man was successfully treated with antibiotics, but who knows if he will ever be able to use the bathroom again without a lurking feeling of dread.

burning daisy

Here’s a reason to limit alcohol consumption during the day. In December, doctors detailed a rare case of phytophotodermatitis, also known as “lime disease,” also known as “daisy burn.” The man developed nasty rashes and blisters on his hands one day after manually squeezing files and spending the day outside watching football. Phytophotodermatitis is caused by exposure to a class of chemicals commonly found in plants and fruits known as furanocoumarins, followed by exposure to ultraviolet A radiation. Furocoumarins are absorbed into the skin and sensitize it to UVA light, which triggers an inflammatory reaction that destroys skin cells.

Unfortunately, no existing treatment can speed up the recovery of limescale (not to be confused with Lyme disease): Victims simply have to wait days or even weeks for the condition to go away on its own. The man was given a topical steroid cream and moisturizer to relieve his symptoms and his hands eventually returned to normal.

The wall of weird

Honestly, I would love to describe in detail all the strange medical cases that occurred this year, but we all have families to return to. So here’s a quick ode to some honorable mentions.

There is the man who saw the world dressed in pink after having orgasms; the woman who went blind (temporarily, thankfully) from using hair dye; the discovery of an autoimmune disorder that prevents vitamin B from reaching the brain; the two men who contracted a deadly fungal infection from the bat guano they used or planned to use as fertilizer for their homegrown cannabis; the woman who contracted parasitic pneumonia from eating venison; and the family gathering where people contracted parasitic worms from contaminated bear meat (maybe people should stay away from game meat in general?).

The great eel escapes

Few cases have haunted us at Gizmodo like this one.

In July, doctors in Vietnam reported that they had removed a two-foot (61-centimeter) eel from a man’s intestines after he inserted it into his butt, though not before the eel began chewing through his insides.

The man went to the emergency room with severe abdominal pain. Once there, he told doctors that he voluntarily put an eel up his anus, although he refused to give an exact reason (although, as is often the case in these cases, it was probably related to sex). He somehow made his situation worse by also shoving a lemon in there, apparently to keep the eel where it was. However, the slippery passenger did not cooperate. When doctors operated on the man, the eel had reached his abdominal cavity by biting into his intestines. The man survived his reckless experiment, although not without losing part of his colon.

Surprisingly, this was actually the second case of eels Doctors in Vietnam reported this year, although the other case involved a shorter eel, which measured 12 inches (30.5 cm).

We hope that in 2025 nothing comes close to the disconcerting strangeness of these two incidents. Hey, who am I kidding? The rarer the better.