FEBRUARY 28TH

 Hi everyone!

Welcome to Tory Teller's Blog. I hope you're following up on the result of the 2023 Presidential election in Nigeria. We keep our fingers crossed as we hope for a smooth transition.

I'm sure you're wondering what's so important about the date. Well, let me give you a little insight of what is so special about the 28th of February.


The date, 28th of February 2023 marks the 15th annual Rare Disease Day. It is a day specifically reserved to spread awareness regarding the unusual diseases in the world.

Rare disease refer to diseases that affect a small percentage of the population. 80% of the conditions have a genetic origin while the rest can be caused by allergies, infections or environmental factors.

Since 2008, Rare Disease Day has been sponsored by National Institute of Health (NIH) to raise awareness about rare diseases among the masses as well as policy makers.

These are the top 5 medical conditions that are present around the world:

1. Alice in Wonderland Syndrome: It is actually named after Lewis Carroll's book. It is associated with migraine (a throbbing headache that affects one side of the head). The condition makes the sufferer perceive objects incorrectly.



2. Morgellons: In this rare condition, thread like blue or black fibres appear under the skin accompanied by stinging, crawling and biting sensations. It is characterized by memory impairments joint pain and changes in vision. Nearly 14,000 people suffer from this illness.


3. Foreign Accent Syndrome: This is a medical condition in which patients develop speech patterns that are perceived as a foreign accent that is different from their native accent, without having acquired it in the perceived accents place of origin. It is common after a head injury stroke or some other type of damage to the brain. There are only 60 recorded patients of this rare condition.


4. Laughing Death or Kuru: This incurable disease is almost completely eradicated. This medical condition occurred in the 1950s due to the practice of cannibalism on corpses in New Guinea. The symptoms included bursts of maniacal laughter as well as shaking limbs, inability to return balance and eventually death within a year.



5. Water Allergy: This rare medical condition is also called aquagenic urticaria with about 30 reported cases. It is a case when skin contact with water causes itchy, red hives or swelling. In severe cases it can cause wheezing or shortness of breath.

I hope you enjoyed this article on Rare Disease Day as much as I did writing this post. My question for that 5th disease- water allergy; how does the sufferer have a bath? Because they actually stated that some sufferers may have to limit taking a shower!


I'd love to know what you think about these in the comment section. Thank you.


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Photo credit: The internet

Written by: Precious Udeh




© Onyinye Udeh

Comments

  1. Interesting.
    I never knew about this.
    Well done.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad to be the one enlightening you on this subject😊

      Delete

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