BuzzFeed Readers Share 64 Unusual Medical Mysteries, From 0.001% Missing Appendixes to 8-Foot Intestines
Updated
Updated · BuzzFeed · May 30
BuzzFeed Readers Share 64 Unusual Medical Mysteries, From 0.001% Missing Appendixes to 8-Foot Intestines
1 articles · Updated · BuzzFeed · May 30
Sixty-four BuzzFeed readers described body phenomena they once assumed were normal, ranging from chromhidrosis and visual snow to cataplexy, aquagenic urticaria and synesthesia.
Many said they learned the issue was unusual only after a doctor, friend or family member reacted with confusion, turning everyday symptoms into diagnoses or long-running mysteries.
Several accounts included concrete medical details: dermatographia affects 2% to 5% of people, one reader’s intestine measured 8 feet versus a typical 5, and another was born without an appendix — a roughly 0.001% occurrence.
The roundup frames those experiences as less isolated than they feel, using reader submissions to show how rare conditions, atypical anatomy and unexplained symptoms often go unrecognized for years.
Are you allergic to water or hear explosions in your sleep? Are these rare diseases or normal human variations?
When does online self-discovery become self-misdiagnosis, and how can patients tell the difference?
Is your unique way of thinking a disorder to be cured, or a natural variation to be embraced?