The Weirdest Medical Cases of 2024

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

Case studies are an important part of medicine, since they can sometimes be the first clues to a new discovery. But they are an eternal reminder that the human body can be weird or have weird things happen to it in all sorts of ways. Here are some bizarre medical highlights published in scientific journals or otherwise making news in 2024.

Most vaccinated people in the world

In March, scientists from Germany published One study featured a man who claimed to have received more than 200 Covid-19 vaccines over two years. German authorities alleged that the man had given the vaccinations primarily to secure vaccination cards that could then be sold to others, although they ultimately declined to pursue charges of fraud. By the time the researchers contacted him, however, he genuinely preferred getting his shots—he even chose to get two more vaccinations on his own during the study.

The researchers found no signs that the man was harmed in any way by his mass vaccination 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 has no reports of Covid-19 infection – a rarity in today’s world. Still, as the researchers pointed out: You don’t need more than 200 shots to get your Covid-19 vaccination. Just a few will do.

Lose your courage

Two separate incidents of literally letting their guts out this year have made waves.

In a case, Published this May, a 63-year-old man sneezes and coughs through a recent surgical site involving his abdomen and expels his intestines. The man’s breakfast and shirt were ruined, but paramedics were able to get him safely to a hospital and he recovered without incident. D In other cases Originally published in September 2022 but only available online in January 2024. It involved a 52-year-old woman whose bowel protruded from an old hernia repair surgery site due to a Covid-induced cough. He was hospitalized, but his courage was also successfully restored.

Abdominal surgeries are known to be a risk factor for abandonment, but they are rare. Still, I’m probably going to panic a little for the foreseeable future every time I feel a sneeze.

A hairy situation

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

In July, a surgeon from Ecuador Report Removing a two-pound hairball from a young woman’s stomach. Doctors in Massachusetts reported their own treatment Hairball case This past November, involved a 16-year-old girl who had experienced abdominal pain and other gastrointestinal symptoms for several weeks.

These cases are examples of Rapunzel syndrome, a rare medical condition in which a mass of swallowed hair grows large enough to obstruct the stomach and possibly the small intestine. Rapunzel syndrome can be life-threatening, although in both cases it was caught before it happened. This is often caused by an emotional compulsion to pull and eat one’s own hair.

threeness

In October, the doctor of the United Kingdom Report A medical marvel that doubles as 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 never knew about his unique anatomy. The man’s extra genitalia were inside his body, and his external penis appeared and functioned normally. Scientists discovered his condition after the body was donated to science for research. This is the second recorded case of someone having three penises – a condition coined triphalia – and the first found in an adult male.

hairy danger

As a cat parent myself, I can attest to the many benefits of owning a cat. But sometimes, these felines may have bouts of medical distress.

This past May, for example, doctors in Portugal detailed how a little girl developed Rare bone infections Adopted by her family from a young kitten. Earlier this February, Oregon health officials Report A woman in her 50s who developed a rare case of plague probably caught it from her recently sick cat. In both cases, the patients appeared to make a full recovery, although unfortunately the Oregon woman’s cat died of the infection.

Although these cases are stranger than most, they are an important reminder that cats can still be animals and potential vectors of infectious diseases. You get bitten and scratched by a cat, you should always Wash the wound immediately with soap and water for five minutes (do not scrub), clean it with antiseptic, and see a doctor if you notice any signs of infection. As with plague and some other germs, both cats and the fleas they carry can potentially spread it, so flea prevention is also important.

Brainworm Migraine

It’s the most Florida human story possible: In March, state doctors Report on a man whose months of severe and frequent headaches were caused by a parasitic brain invader: the pig tapeworm (Tape soles)

This condition is formally known as neurocysticercosis and is caused by tapeworm cysts. These cysts may not mature into full-grown adults but will migrate to various parts of the body, including the brain. Their presence in the brain can sometimes trigger a harmful immune response that causes a wide array of neurological symptoms such as seizures and migraines. In this particular case, the man may have contracted a simple tapeworm infection from eating undercooked bacon, only to re-infect himself with cysts from not washing his hands properly after going to the bathroom. The man was treated with steroids and antiparasitic drugs, which helped reduce his symptoms. other Well-known brainworm survivors are rich as well.

Toilet trouble

Some stories start out bad and get worse. Canada in January described A man in his 70s was bitten by a rat that went into his toilet bowl. The man later developed a life-threatening infection from the bite that sent him to the intensive care unit. The rat gave the man the bacterial disease leptospirosis, which made the case even stranger, since these bacteria are usually found in rat urine, not saliva. As the medics could tell, the rat first contaminated its own mouth with bacteria-soaked urine before biting the man—a true insult to a trauma scene if I ever heard one. Thankfully, the man was successfully treated with antibiotics, but who knows if he’ll ever be able to use the toilet again without a sense of hidden dread.

The margarita is burnt

Here’s a reason to limit your daytime drinking. In December Dr details A strange case of phytophotodermatitis—aka “Lyme disease,” aka “margarita burn.” The man developed nasty rashes and blisters on his hands a day after manually consuming lime juice 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, triggering an inflammatory response that destroys skin cells.

Unfortunately, no existing treatment can speed recovery from limescale (not to be confused with Lyme disease)—victims only have to wait a few days or even a few 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 hand eventually returned to normal.

weird wall

Honestly, I’d love to detail all the weird medical cases that happened this year, but we all have to get back to family. So here’s a short message for some honorable mentions.

There the man saw pink world After orgasm; women who went blind (temporarily, thankfully) from using hair dye; D discovery an autoimmune disorder that prevents B vitamins from reaching your brain; Two men who catch one Severe fungal infection from bat guano that they used or planned to use as fertilizer for their native cannabis; The woman who held Parasitic pneumonia from eating deer meat; And family reunions where people get caught Parasitic worms From tainted bear meat (perhaps people should stay away from game meat in general?).

The great eel escape

Few cases have struck us at Gizmodo like this one.

Doctor in Vietnam in July Report After a two-foot (61-centimeter) eel was pulled out of a man’s intestines and inserted into his ass – though not before the eel started chewing on his intestines.

The man visited an emergency room with severe abdominal pain. Once there, he told doctors that he had voluntarily inserted an eel into his anus, although he refused to give the exact reason (although this is often true, although it was probably sex-related). He made his condition worse by shaking a lemon there, apparently to keep the eel where it was. The piercing passenger, however, was not cooperative. By the time the doctors operated on the man, the eel had bitten through the intestines and reached his abdominal cavity. The man survived his ill-advised experiment despite not losing part of his colon.

Remarkably, this was actually the case Second case of the butt eel There have been reports from doctors in Vietnam this year, though another case involved a smaller eel, measuring 12 inches (30.5 cm).

Here’s to hoping that nothing comes anywhere close to the astonishing weirdness of these two events in 2025. Oh, who am I kidding: Weird, well.