Some young men have such a poor understanding of the opening and closing of bras that they risk hand and finger injuries, such as ligament damage and bone fracture
For centuries, medical researchers have tried to pin down the many ways in which our bodies and minds can go wrong. Ever more ailments continue to emerge - some quite weird and wonderful; many you will never have heard of.
While a few are extremely rare, others are common. Most are, mercifully, benign. Here, for the first time, we have gathered them together in the strangest ever A-to-Z of human health - and it's not an April Fool!
A is for... Alice in Wonderland syndrome
This causes bizarre distortions in a person's perception of shape, so that objects or people may appear to be smaller or larger than normal. It can also affect your sense of time, where it seems to slow down and speed up, and make you feel as if the environment is 'zooming'.
It can affect people who suffer from migraine, as well as those with epilepsy. In rare cases it results from brain lesions caused by head injury or infections. A Yorkshire-based doctor, J. Todd, gave the phenomenon its name in 1955. It's thought that it might explain the imagery of Lewis Carroll's writing, as he was known to suffer from migraine.
B... Brassiere finger
Surgeons from St George's Hospital in London reported that some young men have such a poor understanding of the opening and closing of bras that they risk hand and finger injuries, such as ligament damage and bone fracture.
In the British Journal of Plastic Surgery, Andrew Fleming, a reconstructive surgeon at St George's, reported the case of a 27-year-old right-handed man who arrived in Casualty inebriated and with a painful left middle finger that needed surgery.
He'd got the finger twisted between the straps that crossed his partner's shoulder blade and, in so doing, fractured it and torn the ligament at the top of his digit.
C... Cashpoint amnesia
Also known as security protection code overload, this is a worrying state of mental blankness experienced when trying to recall a PIN.
Growing numbers of people are consulting doctors, fearful they have early signs of Alzheimer's or dementia. But they are simply suffering from 'security protection code overload', according to Professor Michael Saling, director of clinical neuropsychology at the Austin Hospital, near Melbourne, Australia.
'Overload often occurs when you are standing in the supermarket queue with your arms full and people queued up behind you and your mind goes blank when you need to punch in your PIN,' he says.
'It is no surprise to us that people can't remember them. It is not normal for a brain to store and recall all these numbers.'
Cashpoint amnesia s is a worrying state of mental blankness experienced when trying to recall a PIN
D... Dog walker's elbow
Painful inflammation of the elbow joint caused by a large dog, such as a labrador, tugging constantly 'to sniff bushes, poles, rubbish bins, fire hydrants, dogs both male and female, and cats and squirrels in particular,' according to W. N. Mebane III, a U.S. doctor, who identified the condition, writing in the New England Journal of Medicine.
E... Ear worm
A condition in which a song or piece of music plays continuously in your head.
The name derives from the German word Ohrwurm used to describe the condition. It differs from the common occurrence of having a song stuck in your head, because in extreme cases the music is continuous and perceived to be real and external. It can cause insomnia and significantly hinder concentration.
A 2005 report by Welsh investigators in the journal Psychopathology warns that the condition is becoming more common, thanks to people being increasingly inundated by music from radios and televisions, and in lifts, gyms and shopping centres.
Their analysis of 30 cases of the disorder found that in two-thirds of them, patients reported hearing religious music. Six heard Abide With Me.
'Golfer's ear is a form of deafness linked to the acoustic shock that results from the heads of modern golf clubs hitting balls'
F... Fiddler's neck
A sweat rash on the neck, jaw and shoulder that may result in scales of skin building up, acne-like pustules and eventually scarring.
It afflicts players of violins and violas, according to a report in the British Journal of Dermatology.
The report warned that if fiddle players don't wash their necks frequently, the area can become infected.
G... Golfer's ear
This is a form of deafness linked to the acoustic shock that results from the heads of modern golf clubs hitting balls.
The problem aroused medical interest after a 55-year-old player went to Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital complaining of hearing loss and tinnitus. Specialists found that the damage had been caused by the booming noise as his titanium-headed driver struck golf balls repeatedly, three times a week over 18 months.
Tests found that thin-faced titanium clubs produce greater noise levels than thicker-faced clubs, said Dr Malcolm Buchanan, an ear, nose and throat doctor at the hospital.
Writing in the British Medical Journal in 2008, he advised golfers to wear earplugs, although golfing experts have responded by warning that this would mean players could not hear others' shouts of 'fore'.
H... Hamburger asthma
There is a substantially increased incidence of wheezing among children who eat hamburgers more than once a week, according to a study of more than 1,000 New Zealand children published in the international scientific journal Allergy.
Researchers at Wellington Medical School found that the higher a child's hamburger consumption, the higher their risk of developing asthma.
A high salt intake from burgers may be to blame, they suggested. It's thought salt may increase the volume of blood in the tiny vessels in the lungs, forcing fluid into the space between the blood vessel and the airway, making it harder for oxygen to cross into the bloodstream.
Wearing small insertable earphones is linked to an increased risk of earache from infection
I... iPod infection
Wearing small insertable earphones is linked to an increased risk of earache from infection, reported the Online Journal of Health and Allied Sciences in 2009.
A study of 50 young men found that samples from regular earphone users contained thousands of times more bacteria than those from infrequent listeners.
This may be because earphones create a warm, humid environment which encourages bacteria to thrive, suggest researchers from Kasturba Medical College in Manipal, India. Sharing earphones is likely to make matters worse.
There is probably a similar risk with anything worn in the ear for long periods, such as in-ear hearing aids.
J... Jalaproctitis
A notorious burning sensation in the bottom, caused by eating hot curries or fiery jalapeno peppers, which may affect fans of highly spiced foods.
A report in the New England Journal of Medicine from a team led by Richard L. Bauer, a professor of medicine at the University of Texas, says the pain and discomfort is because very little of the powerfully hot capsaicin spice is absorbed as it passes through the human digestive tract.
K... Karaoke throat
Strenuous singing associated with karaoke has been linked to voice-related injuries such as laryngitis and deafness. Hong Kong University researchers reported in the Journal of Voice that 'as most karaoke singers have no formal training, these amateurs are more vulnerable to developing voice problems'.
L... Leisure sickness
A set of symptoms, such as nausea or sore throats, that strike people when they take time off work. The symptoms are real, though they are not the result of infections. The term was coined in 2001 by Dr Ad Vingerhoets, a psychologist at Tilburg University in the Netherlands.
In a survey of nearly 2,000 people, he found that 3 per cent regularly become ill as soon as they stopped working and tried to relax.
Colds and flu-like complaints were often associated with longer holidays, while nausea, fatigue and muscular pains were more common at weekends.
Stressful occupations and heavy workloads were found to be high risk factors for leisure sickness, as well as personality traits such as perfectionism and a general inability to take life easy.
M... Misophonia
The term for a hatred of sounds such as blackboards being scraped or carrots crunched.
Pawel Jastreboff, a professor of otolaryngology at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, claims to have coined the term in 2000 when he found that some patients suffer strong negative reactions to specific sounds.
The problem may be due to the way their brains are configured, he suggests.
Sleep-related eating, this is a form of sleepwalking where people recurrently raid the fridge at night
N... Night-eating syndrome
Also known as sleep-related eating, this is a form of sleepwalking where people recurrently raid the fridge at night without either waking or subsequently being aware that they have done it, until they notice weight gain and an inexplicably empty larder.
The rare disorder can affect people of all ages and sexes but is primarily seen in young women. It was first identified in 1955 in the American Journal of Medicine.
O... Online shopper's syndrome
This was first identified in 2006 and refers to harm to the immune system, such as reduced numbers of immune cells in the bloodstream, caused by stress from badly designed online shopping websites.
Researchers at the Social Issues Research Centre in Oxford examined internet users' brainwaves, heart rate fluctuations, muscle tension and perspiration. They concluded that 'mouse rage' can be as stressful as moving house, divorce or money worries.
Researchers at the Social Issues Research Centre in Oxford examined internet users' brainwaves, heart rate fluctuations, muscle tension and perspiration. They concluded that 'mouse rage' can be as stressful as moving house, divorce or money worries.
P... Panty-girdle Syndrome
A tingling or swelling in the foot may be caused by wearing an excessively snug panty-girdle, according to a report from two U.S. family doctors in the New York State Journal of Medicine in 1965.
This affliction bears a remarkable resemblance to tight-girdle syndrome, identified in 1973, where the symptoms include an accelerated pulse, stomach pain and a displaced diaphragm, which causes difficulty in breathing.
This affliction bears a remarkable resemblance to tight-girdle syndrome, identified in 1973, where the symptoms include an accelerated pulse, stomach pain and a displaced diaphragm, which causes difficulty in breathing.
Q... Qi-gong psychotic reaction
A brief episode of insanity after engaging in the Chinese exercise regimen of qi-gong (pronounced chee-gung), which is similar to tai chi. The psychotic reaction was first described in the journal Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry in the Seventies. Symptoms include visual and auditory hallucinations, rapidly shifting moods and strange sensations. It's been blamed on an 'imbalance in energy flow.'
R... Restless Genital Syndrome
A recently identified disorder, this causes spontaneous unwanted orgasms in women. It is linked to malfunctioning nerves in the vagina and can persist for hours, days, or even months.
It is unrelated to feelings of sexual desire and feels intrusive and unwanted, reported Professor Marcel Waldinger, a neuropsychiatrist at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.
Writing in the Journal of Sexual Medicine in 2009, he said he'd seen increasing numbers of women complaining of such sensations; all said it made them feel depressed and agitated.
Restless Genital Syndrome causes spontaneous unwanted orgasms in women
S... Sheet-fitting palsy
People who spend a long period of time making beds with sheets with fitted corners may be prone to blood clots in their wrists caused by the flexing movement needed to tuck in the sheets.
The clots cut off blood flow to the median main nerve, causing a local 'stroke' in the wrist, leading to numbness or weakness, says Francis Walker, a neurologist at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Centre, North Carolina, writing in the journal Clinical Neuromuscular Disease in 2012.
The clots cut off blood flow to the median main nerve, causing a local 'stroke' in the wrist, leading to numbness or weakness, says Francis Walker, a neurologist at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Centre, North Carolina, writing in the journal Clinical Neuromuscular Disease in 2012.
T... Topographical disorientation disorder
A condition which causes people to often get lost in their own homes or neighbourhoods. It is believed to be a brain disorder where sufferers are unable to orientate themselves.
Brain scans of a patient studied by neuroscientists at British Columbia University, Canada, found no evidence of damage, even though the patient often got lost in the neighbourhood where he had lived for many years.
Brain scans of a patient studied by neuroscientists at British Columbia University, Canada, found no evidence of damage, even though the patient often got lost in the neighbourhood where he had lived for many years.
U... Urban hypothermia
An illness that afflicts binge-drinking young women who wear skimpy clothes in cold northern weather.
In 2006, the then deputy chief medical officer for Scotland warned that soaring numbers of teenagers were going to A&E with hypothermia symptoms and viral infections.
He advised: 'Crop tops and miniskirts may be trendy but they are not a good plan when it is minus 10 degrees. Alcohol has the side-effect of lowering body temperatures.'
In 2006, the then deputy chief medical officer for Scotland warned that soaring numbers of teenagers were going to A&E with hypothermia symptoms and viral infections.
He advised: 'Crop tops and miniskirts may be trendy but they are not a good plan when it is minus 10 degrees. Alcohol has the side-effect of lowering body temperatures.'
V... Voice-blindness
Also known as phonagnosia, this is an inborn inability to recognise people's voices. Medics at University College London reported the first known case in 2008. Their patient, a 60-year-old successful professional woman, is unable to recognise people by their voice.
W... Walker's helmet paradox
Wearing a safety helmet raises the risk of being knocked off a bicycle - a problem identified by Dr Ian Walker, a traffic psychologist at Bath University. He rode a bicycle fitted with a computer and an ultrasonic distance sensor to record data about the space left by 2,500 drivers as they overtook him. Dr Walker, who was struck by a bus and a lorry during the experiment, spent half the time wearing a cycle helmet, half bareheaded. He was wearing a helmet both times he was struck.
Wearing a safety helmet raises the risk of being knocked off a bicycle - a problem identified by Dr Ian Walker
He found that drivers were as much as twice as likely to get particularly close when he was wearing the headgear.
In the journal Accident Analysis & Prevention, he suggested that helmets may make riders appear more experienced, so drivers leave less margin for error. The solution may be to wear a long wig. Dr Walker found that when he did so and appeared feminine, drivers gave him 14 cm (5.5 in) more space on average.
X... Xenoglossy
sudden ability to speak a foreign language after a brain injury. In a highly controversial case in 1931, a young girl named only as Rosemary, from Blackpool, supposedly began to speak in an ancient Egyptian dialect.
While some Egyptologists at the time said she was indeed speaking the ancient tongue, other experts, such as John Ray (then professor of Egyptology at the University of Cambridge), dismissed the claims as nonsense.
Y...Yoga foot drop
Repeated application of pressure to the ankle when practising yoga has been linked to temporary foot paralysis, as first reported by Dr J. Chusid in the Journal of the American Medical Association in the Seventies.
In one case, a male student had been sitting in a kneeling position on his heels for hours every day and soon had difficulty walking, running and climbing stairs. The problem was a damaged branch of the sciatic nerve, which runs from the lower spine through the buttocks and down the legs. The yoga pose had starved the nerve of oxygen, deadening it. Once the student gave up the pose, he improved rapidly.
Z... Zar
Identified in the American Journal of Psychiatry, this refers to shouting, laughing and head-banging linked to feeling 'possessed'.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2593653/Fingers-fractured-undoing-bras-Blood-clots-making-bed-An-extraordinary-A-Z-bizarre-health-problems-common-think.html#ixzz2xeQuuKdc
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
