Woman With Unusual Condition Has Eyelash-Like Hair Sprouting From Her Gums
Image via Shutterstock
An Italian woman’s extremely rare condition is astounding the internet after doctors found eyelash-like hairs growing in her mouth.
As reported in the scientific journal Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology, doctors are still looking into why the unusual phenomenon occurred, but they believe it is due to the woman having abnormally high levels of testosterone. The condition is a characteristic of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and it causes excess hair growth.
To combat her condition called Gingival Hirsutism, doctors prescribed her birth control pills to stop whiskers from growing on her gums. Unfortunately, the condition worsened when the woman decided to stop taking the medication six years later.
Gingival Hirsutism also causes her to grow excess hair on her chest, neck and chin areas.
ScienceAlert reported that there have only been five other reported cases about the phenomenon in history. It is unclear if the woman has been treated.
"A woman in Italy developed a rare, literally hair-raising medical condition, her doctors say. In a case study, they describe how the woman grew eyelash-like hairs inside of her mouth.” via @Gizmodo https://t.co/r2I5F1opSn pic.twitter.com/My8oVtZ1lt
— RealClearScience (@RCScience) February 2, 2020
This woman grows hair out of her mouth due to a rare medical condition called "gingival hirsutism," a condition so unusual that it’s only been seen six times in modern history. Discover the bizarre medical mystery behind “hairy gums” here: https://t.co/wY91GGQZFZ pic.twitter.com/CkhwrgTnxY
— AllThatsInteresting (@ATInteresting) February 5, 2020
[via New York Post, opening image via Shutterstock]
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