Chinese Man Afflicted With Orange Peel Hands and Feet
Yang Bing is a 51-year-old man with a terrible problem. His severely swollen hands and feet have assumed the texture of orange peel and are considered a very rare complication of the autoimmune disorder known as Grave’s Disease.
Grave’s Disease usually occurs in women over the age of twenty, but it may affect any age group and men as well. It is caused by an abnormal immune system response that causes the thyroid gland to produce too much thyroid hormone.
Doctors in China had been treating Yang with medication for the last six years since his initial diagnosis. The purpose of the medication was to block the hyperactivity of the thyroid gland, but Yang felt the drugs weren’t working and stopped taking them after two years.
Shortly after he stopped taking the prescribed medication, Yang’s hands and feet began to swell and he was forced to go the Xin Qiao Hospital in Chongqing for help.
“…Several water blisters started to appear on the back of my hands and feet, then the blisters grew bigger and bigger. They eventually formed a hard shell and now I can’t do anything with my left hand, not even make a fist. I have to wear the largest slippers I can find and cut open the ends with scissors just to get them on my feet,” said Yang.
The medication had been working after all, but poor Yang found out the hard way. Treatments for hyperthyroidism can include radioactive iodine and anti-thyroid medications.
One can only hope poor Yang will find some relief for his severe discomfort.
If there is a lesson to be learned here, it may be just to talk to a medical professional before diagnosing yourself and making the decision to stop taking a prescribed medication.
Check out this video explaining the illness and how it is treated.
(Link)
MDeeDubroff
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