Not all diseases carry negativity. Some actually obscure, and surprising benefits. Here is just 10 diseases to prove my point.
10. Huntington’s Disease increases a person’s fertility
Huntington’s Disease: a devastating, hereditary, degenerative brain disorder for which there is, at present, no cure and only one FDA-approved treatment (Xenazine) for a symptom of HD. HD slowly diminishes the affected individual’s ability to walk, talk and reason.
For years, researchers in neurology have argued that people with Huntington’s disease have more children than others because of behavioral changes associated with the disease. In a new Tufts University study, three researchers have challenged that notion by suggesting that people with Huntington’s have more children because they are healthier – not more promiscuous – during their peak reproductive years.
9. Syphilis makes the sufferer high
One of the oldest STDs, syphilis is also one of the most frightening ones, because of the side effects and symptoms. The excruciating pain caused by non–healing skin ulcers, so deep that they may reveal the bone, combined with such complications as liver failure and nervous system breakdown. Yikes!
However, as funny as it sounds, syphilis is able to bring some comforting symptoms to the sufferer in its very last stage, the Neurosyphilis, when it finally reaches the brain and starts to affect the sufferer’s neurology. Before reaching its fatal destination, the Neurosyphilis triggers physical reactions very similar to those triggered by prescription drug consumption
8. CIPA makes you pain-free… but dead.
What if someone told you that you could take your pain away? That means your aching back will be gone, no more annoying tooth aches, no more headaches from drunken nights on the binge etc.
No more knowing whether you had a broken limb, no knowing if your appendix was about to burst, no realizing you had just cut yourself and were about to bleed out. Okay, maybe it’s not so great.
Congenital Insensitivity to Pain sounds like a disease you want to contract, until you actually think about it. No pain is great, but not realizing you’re injury– just gave yourself third-degree burns, in fact — would be horrible.
7. Bipolar people are more spiritual
Bipolar disorder can be a devastating illness. It affects approximately 1% of the population. If left untreated, it can result in suicide, ruined careers and devastated families. But for some people with Bipolar disorder, there comes an advantage – an increased sense of spirituality, creativity, and accomplishment. It may be that having a bipolar disorder holds great potential, if one is able to master or effectively channel the energies, which are periodically available, to some higher task. It might also be of assistance to consider a reconceptualization. Perhaps instead of it being a disorder, we can think of people with bipolarity as having access to unusual potency.
6. Hyperthymesia gives you perfect recall
Imagine being able to remember everything you did on September 18th of last year; everything you ate for dinner for the month of May in 2003; every moment of your eleventh birthday.
Hyperthymesia is a neurological condition that bestows near-perfect recall on those who are afflicted with it. One of the most famous hyperthymesia cases is Jill Price, a 45 year old school administrator from California. She is able to remember everything that happened to her from 1980 onwards, everything.
5. Gilbert’s Syndrome sufferers are less likely to have a heart attack
Gilbert’s syndrome is a fairly common liver disorder, that is present at birth and probably inherited. It is not a serious disease and is found more often in males. It shows up as mild, changing increases in the level of bilirubin (a yellow pigment) in the blood. It is most commonly diagnosed after puberty, when alterations in sex hormone levels cause the blood bilirubin levels to rise. Research has shown that people with Gilbert’s disorder are last likely to have a heart attack.
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4. Myostatin-Related Muscle Hyperstrophy makes you even buffer
Imagine being tough and muscular from the second you’re born. (No, we’re not joking.) In 2000, a boy was born in Germany with unusually well-developed muscles. The infant was jittery and given to muscle spasms, even as a newborn. Doctors assumed, at first, that he was having seizures. As it turns out, the infant had a rare genetic mutation on his myostatin gene, which regulates muscle growth. In fact, the boy has the same mutation as certain cattle breeds that are known for being muscular.
The study of Myostatin-Related Muscle Hyperstrophy has serious implications for medical science, in particular for sufferers of degenerative diseases like Muscular Dystrophy. So far as we can tell, everybody wins. (At least until Chuck Norris challenges the little upstart to a duel to the death. Then we’re all dead.)
3. ASD makes you a genius (maybe)
Autism is a complex developmental disability. Studies show that Autism presents itself during the first three years of a child’s life. The condition is the result of a neurological disorder that has an effect on normal brain function, affecting development of the person’s communication and social interaction skills.There is no cure or cause.
People with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) do not have an easy life. They often find it difficult to communicate and process information, have compulsive and ritualistic behavior, and are prone to self-harm behaviors. Many others who suffer from ASD have poor gross and fine motor skills development and muscle tone.
Also, about one in ten of people with ASD are genius. Savant Syndrome is a rare condition that compensates a lifetime of neurological difficulties with “islands of genius”. Living savants include Matt Savage, a musical prodigy, and Temple Grandin, an author and animal behavior scientist. Others include the creator of Pokemon, Satoshi Tajiri, Albert Einstein, Former U.S. President Thomas Jefferson, inventor Nikola Tesla, and Music Composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
2. Parasites make you healthier
Parasites can live in our intestines for months and at times years without notice. Entering through improperly cooked or washed foods, contaminated water, or insect bites, parasites live off the nutrients in our bodies, releasing harmful toxins that can then lead to a myriad of health issues. Because a healthy intestinal tract is the key to a healthy body, a periodic parasite cleanse will help to kill parasites and remove the toxins they create.
However, a decent exposure to some parasites will make human a bit more healthy. If humans do not enter in contact with parasites, by living in a germ-free environment, the Th2 will be the only enzymes working, not allowing the Th1 to exercise its “fighting skills.” In the long term, the Th1 will become lazy and will be unwilling to fight even the weakest microbe. Thus, humans will be more prone to get sick as soon as they leave their germ-free environment.
1. Cowpox keeps you alive
What’s about cowpox that is so appealing? Well, nothing. Someone infected with cowpox develop an unusual rash, which then develop into painful, crusty sores. Eventually, the sores heal, but the scars are permanent. Cowpox patients also generally experience fever, fatigue, vomiting, sore throats, and conjunctivitis. There’s no cure or real treatment, and it usually takes at least 6 weeks to get rid of it. Really, the experience kind of sucks.
The positive side effect is that it prevents you from contracting small pox.. Smallpox is highly contagious, nasty, and not to mention deadly. It makes a cowpox rash look like some eczema rash in comparison.
Because the two viruses are so genetically similar, the immune system of someone whose been infected with cowpox recognizes smallpox, and is better able to fight the infection. Cowpox was the first vaccination, popularized by the British doctor Edward Jenner, who pioneered the practice in the early 19th century.