What the Health?

Health's look at the rarest medical conditions—and sometimes freak accidents—that will probably never happen to you, but you still want to read about.

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A Teenage Girl Developed ‘Rapunzel Syndrome’ After Eating Her Own Hair—Here’s What That Means

A Teenage Girl Developed ‘Rapunzel Syndrome’ After Eating Her Own Hair—Here’s What That Means
Doctors found that the mass of hair actually perforated her stomach wall.
This Woman Found Out She Had Tapeworm Larvae in Her Brain After Suffering Painful Headaches

This Woman Found Out She Had Tapeworm Larvae in Her Brain After Suffering Painful Headaches
This Woman Went to Doctors for a Sore Throat—and They Found a Live Worm in Her Tonsil

Doctors Found a Live Worm in a Woman's Tonsil 5 Days After She Ate Sashimi
She sought treatment for a sore, irritated throat.
This Woman Went to the Doctor With Chest Pain and Found Out She Has Corkscrew Esophagus

What Is Corkscrew Esophagus? Here's What a Gastroenterologist Says
The condition is often misdiagnosed as acid reflux at first.
The Growths On This Woman's Lips Were Actually a Rare Sign That She's at Risk of Breast Cancer

The Growths On This Woman's Lips Were Actually a Rare Sign That She's at Risk of Breast Cancer
The condition, called Cowden's syndrome, makes a woman's chances of having breast cancer shoot up to 85 percent.
Surgeons Literally Removed This Branch-Shaped Buildup of Bile From Inside A Woman's Body

Surgeons Literally Removed This Branch-Shaped Buildup of Bile From Inside A Woman's Body
She went to the ER after having jaundice for two months.
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This Woman's Double Big Toe—Yes, a Toe Within a Toe—Was So Painful She Needed Corrective Surgery

This Woman's Double Big Toe—Yes, a Toe Within a Toe—Was So Painful She Needed Corrective Surgery
This rare deformity resulted in an oversized and painful toe.
Graphic Photo Shows Girl With Lead Lodged in Her Eye After a Classmate Threw a Pencil at Her

Graphic Photo Shows Girl With Lead Lodged in Her Eye After a Classmate Threw a Pencil at Her
She was "just millimeters" away from going blind.
The Strange 'Velvety' Appearance of This Woman's Palms Was Actually a Sign of Lung Cancer

The Strange 'Velvety' Appearance of This Woman's Palms Was Actually a Sign of Lung Cancer
This Man's Toe Started Bleeding After Someone Stepped On It—But It Turned Out to Be a Symptom of Melanoma

This Man's Toe Started Bleeding After Someone Stepped On It—But It Turned Out to Be a Symptom of Melanoma
This Woman's Urine Turned Purple—and That's Actually More Common Than You'd Think

This Woman's Urine Turned Purple—and That's Actually More Common Than You'd Think
This Man Had a 3-Inch Pair of Tweezers Stuck in His Urethra—But Showed No Symptoms for 4 Years

This Man Had a 3-Inch Pair of Tweezers Stuck in His Urethra—But Showed No Symptoms for 4 Years

This Woman's Back Rash and Cold Agglutinin Disease Might Have Been Triggered By New York Weather

Here's more motivation to hibernate for the winter.

All What the Health?

The Large, Painful Sores on This Man's Hands Were Caused By An Extremely Rare Inflammatory Disease

The Large, Painful Sores on This Man's Hands Were Caused By An Extremely Rare Inflammatory Disease
Doctors Removed a Grapefruit-Sized Stone From This Woman's Bladder After She Complained of Stomach Pains

This Woman's Excruciating Stomach Pain Was Actually a Grapefruit-Sized Bladder Stone
This 16-Year-Old Developed Balloon-Sized Blisters on Her Back After Being Outside for Just an Hour

A Severe Sunburn Caused A 16-Year-Old Girl To Develop Protruding Blisters On Her Back
The Terrifying Reason You Should Not Be Swimming in Your Contacts

Swimming in Contact Lenses Can Cause Vision Loss—Here's How
This 7-Year-Old's Tongue Was Covered in Large, Yellow Growths—and They Led to His Cancer Diagnosis

The Growths on This Child's Tongue Led to an Extremely Rare Medullary Thyroid Cancer Diagnosis
Rare Skin Infection Caused This Man to Have a 'Double Tongue'

Rare Skin Infection Caused This Man to Have a 'Double Tongue'
Acupuncture Gone Wrong: This Woman's Lung Collapsed During a Routine Treatment

Acupuncture Gone Wrong: This Woman's Lung Collapsed During a Routine Treatment
E-Cigarette Explodes in 17-Year-Old's Mouth, Proving How Dangerous This Habit Really Is

This Is What Happens When an E-Cigarette Explodes in Your Mouth
The Dark Lines Under This Man's Nails Signaled a Serious Heart Condition

What Are Splinter Hemorrhages? Here's What You Need to Know
This 9-Year-Old Inhaled Her Loose Tooth in Her Sleep and It's Literally Your Worst Nightmare

Can You Inhale Your Tooth While Sleeping? Here's How It Sent One Girl to the Hospital
This Woman Had a Black, Curved Horn Growing Out of Her Thumb—and Doctors Aren't Sure Why

This Woman Had a Giant Cutaneous Horn Growing Out of Her Thumb—and Doctors Aren't Sure Why
The Huge Lesion on This Man's Tongue Was Caused by Something Surprisingly Common

Valley Fever Fungus Caused the Huge Lesion on This Man's Tongue
This Woman Thought She Had a Brain Tumor, but It Was Actually a Tapeworm

This Woman Thought She Had a Brain Tumor, but It Was Actually a Tapeworm
Two Maggots Burrowed in This Woman's Scalp While She Was on Vacation and She Had No Idea

Two Maggots Burrowed in This Woman's Scalp While She Was on Vacation—Here's How That Happens
41-Year-Old Rushed Into Surgery After Doctors Discover a Huge Hernia That Had Taken Over Her Ovary

This Woman Had a Hernia in Her Groin that Enveloped Her Ovary
The Bulge in This Man's Stomach Turned Out to Be a Condition That Could Have Killed Him

The Bulge In This Man's Torso Turned Out to Be a Huge Aortic Aneurysm
Doctors Removed a Tick From This Boy's Eardrum After He Complained of a Buzzing Noise in His Right Ear

Doctors Removed a Tick From This Boy's Eardrum After He Complained of a Buzzing Noise in His Right Ear
A Flesh-Eating Bacteria Destroyed This Man's Hand After He Was Pricked By a Hook

A Flesh-Eating Bacteria Destroyed This Man's Hand After He Was Pricked By a Fishing Hook
Viral Photo Shows Rare Disease That Made a Woman's Gums Look Exactly Like Strawberries

Viral Photo Shows Rare Disease That Made a Woman's Gums Look Exactly Like Strawberries
A Poisonous Spider Bite Left This 9-Year-Old Boy With a Gaping Hole in His Leg

A Poisonous Spider Bite Left This 9-Year-Old Boy With a Gaping Hole in His Leg
This Man Died After Developing Huge Lesions on His Skin From Rectal Cancer

This Man Died After Developing Huge Lesions on His Skin From Rectal Cancer
74-Year-Old Man Develops Huge White Bump on His Eyeball Following Surgery

The Huge Bump on This Man's Eye Turned Out to Be a Rare Complication of Cataract Surgery
18-Year-Old Dies After Tapeworm Eggs Infect His Brain

18-Year-Old Suffering Seizures Dies After Tapeworm Eggs Infect His Brain
A Teenager Was Diagnosed With Schizophrenia—but It Turned Out to Be an Infection From His Cat

A Teenager Was Diagnosed With Schizophrenia—but It Turned Out to Be an Infection From His Cat
This Photo of a Bloody Hole in a Man's Head From Skin Cancer Is a Serious Wake-Up Call

This Photo of a Bloody Hole in a Man's Head From Skin Cancer Is a Serious Wake-Up Call
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