Health stories are important. Some give us hope, like a person who has overcome a serious illness or life challenge. Others we can learn from — like cautionary tales about what not to do or things we should avoid if we want to stay healthy.
No matter what type of story it is, a health journey is highly personal, and it takes a brave person to share the details with the world. We are deeply grateful to all the people who shared their health experiences with us (or gave health practitioners permission to write about it in medical journals) this year so that we can learn a little more about the things that can affect the human body.
1. This woman who went temporarily blind after getting poorly done eyelash extensions.
Megan Rixson, a 20-year-old woman from the UK, knew something was wrong when her eyes started burning while getting eyelash extensions. It turns out she may have been given the wrong kind of glue during the process. She lost her vision for two scary hours.
Dr. Samuel D. Pierce, an optometrist and the president of the American Optometric Association, told BuzzFeed News that there a quite a few things that can go wrong while you are getting extensions, including allergic reactions. He recommended seeking help if you have any eye redness or discomfort after getting your eyelashes done.
2. This young man who got a gnarly hookworm infection while on a school trip.
A perfectly pleasant trip to a beach in Florida turned into a horror show for Michael Dumas, a teen from Tennessee. He was on a trip with his church group when they buried him in the sand.
Soon after, his body broke out in strange red bumps, and doctors eventually figured out he had hookworm.
Want to know more about this parasite? The CDC has details on what hookworm is, how it spreads, and how to avoid it.
3. This woman who had a contact lens in her eye for nearly 30 years.
Strange but true! Doctors fished an eye contact out of a 42-year-old woman’s eye. The lens had been there for 28 long years. She had no idea it was there, but she went to doctors after experiencing swelling, drooping, and a strange pea-sized lump.
A MRI scan revealed what seemed to be a cyst. The cyst was removed, and inside was a single rigid gas permeable lens, an older type of contact she hadn’t worn in decades.
4. This woman whose toenails fell off after a fish pedicure.
So this one is a little controversial. As reported in the journal JAMA Dermatology, a woman’s toenails fell off after getting one of those trendy fish pedicures where little fish bite off your dead skin.
The article’s author attributes the toenail loss to the pedicure, but another doctor we interviewed wasn’t so sure. Dr. Chris Adigun is a North Carolina–based nail specialist and board-certified dermatologist who hadn’t treated the patient, but suspected the condition might be due to ill-fitting shoes or another cause. Either way, this case makes the list.
5. This woman whose “weight gain” turned out to be due to a 50-pound ovarian cyst.
Kayla Rahn, from Montgomery, Alabama, was initially just told to shed some pounds when she mysteriously started to gain weight and have abdominal pain and shortness of breath. Well, it turns out a massive cyst was growing on her ovary. Doctors at Jackson Hospital were able to successfully remove it.
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