On the Extra Hair

There's another condition I came across when I was searching up for congenital erythropoeitic porphyria. Apparently, this guy who I saw on the television years back had some form of rare disease as well.

I didn't know back then, to think it was probably just some hormone imbalance or something more than normal people. But now that I saw the picture, I only realized how wrong I was.

Hypertrichosis describes hair growth on the body in an amount considered abnormal; extensive cases of hypertrichosis have informally been called werewolf syndrome There are two distinct types of hypertrichosis: generalized hypertrichosis, which occurs over the entire body, and localized hypertrichosis, which is restricted to a certain area.Hypertrichosis is either congenital (present at birth) or acquired later in life. The excess growth of hair occurs in areas of the skin with the exception of androgen-dependent hair of the pubic area, face, and axillary regions.

Several circus sideshow performers in the 19th and early 20th centuries, such as Julia Pastrana, had hypertrichosis. Many of them worked as freaks and were promoted as having distinct human and animal traits.

Sad right? To be seen as a freak. I mean, well, if I were one of those inquisitive doctors, I would probably look at them as if they were an exhibit or something, like the animals in the zoo; but well, to be denied of a normal life and having need to work in a circus and be introduced as chimera... I feel kinda bad for them.

That said, I finally found out why Wikipedia shouldn't be trusted too much. LOL. Apparently the other searching website that most of us medical students use, written by medical professionals and doctors, did not come up with anything regarding "Hypertrichosis". LOL.