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Some Medical Cases Are So Bizarre That They Beggar Belief

Sometimes, the global medical community is confronted with some of the oddest cases it has ever seen, and this year was no exception. From a woman that sweats blood to a bladder stone the size of an ostrich egg, here are the 10 weirdest medical cases from around the world in 2017: 
 
1. More than 100 pieces of metal in a man's stomach 
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A 52-year-old Frenchman showed up at an emergency room this year with no less than 100 pieces of metal in his stomach, including nails, knives, screws, and coins. It wasn't the first time he'd done so, having shown up on previous occasions complaining of stomach pain, nausea and vomiting blood. He was later diagnosed with psychosis and referred to mental and behavioral health providers for further treatment. 
2. Woman sweats blood 
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A 21-year-old Italian woman became only the 42nd person ever to report a case of hematohidrosis, which is an extremely rare condition that causes the person who has it to sweat blood. What causes the condition is a mystery, however, researchers hypothesize that it's due to increased pressure in blood vessels. This causes blood cells to pass out of the blood vessels and into sweat gland ducts.
3. Eye tattoo goes horribly wrong 
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Yes, eyeball tattoos are a thing now, and there are some people that are crazy enough to get them. It didn't go well at all for 24-year-old Catt Gallinger, a Canadian model. She had purple ink injected into the white part of her eye, which is known as "sclera tattooing". It wasn't long before she began to have serious symptoms, including blurred vision, eye pain, swelling and oozing of purple ink out of her eye. Catt actually had to have eye surgery to remove the excess ink, and nearly lost eyesight in the affected eye in the process. 
4. A bladder stone the size of an ostrich egg
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Imagine having an ostrich egg stuck inside your bladder. That's what one Californian man experienced this year after doctors X-rayed him and discovered a 4.7x3.7x3-inch bladder stone. What's even more shocking is that it weighed 1.7 lbs. He had previously had surgery a decade earlier to remove his bladder, and doctors used segments of his intestine to create a "neobladder". This particular procedure increases the risk of developing bladder stones. Luckily, doctors were able to remove the huge stone and the man suffered no further complications. 
5. Magnets up a boy's nose 
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This case shows why parents should always be wary of letting their children play with magnets. An 11-year-old Cypriot boy was playing with button magnets when he managed to get two stuck together - one in each nostril. Inevitably, this led to the magnets pinching his nasal septum, which caused bleeding and severe pain. The boy had to have surgery for them to be removed, but he made a full recovery and suffered no lasting effects. 
6. Intrauterine device ends up in woman's bladder 
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Intrauterine devices are a pregnancy prevention method that are generally very safe and effective to use, but there can be exceptions. A 26-year-old Chinese woman showed up at a hospital with bladder problems, and doctors found that an IUD she had implanted six years earlier had broken through the wall of her bladder and ended up in her pelvic cavity. The surgery to remove it was successful. Perforation of the uterus by an IUD occurs in approximately 1 in 1,000 women. 
 
7. Bullet lands in man's eye socket
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A 45-year-old man was shot at with a 0.22-caliber pistol, which went through a wooden door before coming to rest in his eye socket. Amazingly, it didn't fracture his skull, but he was in severe pain when he arrived in the emergency room. Doctors soon identified an entry wound in the corner of his eye, as well as damage to the tear ducts. After surgery to remove the bullet and repair the damage it caused, the man's pain lessened and his vision wasn't affected. 
8. Woman's scalp is torn off then reattached 
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A gruesome accident led to this woman getting her hair caught in a spinning machine. This led to her scalp being torn off from the top of her nose to the back of her head. Luckily, someone thought to salvage her scalp by placing it in a plastic bag with ice, and surgeons were able to reattach it to her head. She made a full recovery, which doctors described as "amazing". 
9. One eye... and 27 contact lenses
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You'd think that those who wear contact lenses would know when they're wearing a pair, but a 67-year-old English woman didn't seem to notice that she was putting pair after pair into her eyes and not removing them. She was having cataract surgery when doctors noticed that she had a foreign object under her upper eyelid. It turned out to be a mass of 17 contact lenses but that wasn't all - doctors went to find another 10 in the same eye. 
10. The tattoo that sparked a medical debate
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When a man was brought to a hospital in Florida in an unconscious state, a tattoo on his chest led the doctors treating him to debate whether they should adhere to the his apparent wishes. When a medical ethics expert got involved, he instructed the doctor to honor the man's wishes, because the tattoo "expressed an authentic preference". He passed away without undergoing CPR or other life-support methods. 
 
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