The human body is an amazing thing. It heals itself, fights off sickness, and somehow manages to store a lifetime’s worth of memories. Honestly, its capabilities seem endless.
But let’s be real, it’s also kind of weird. And nowhere is that more obvious than on the r/Medical subreddit. There, doctors share unusual cases, people post their impressive recoveries, and others ask for advice that sometimes leaves everyone raising an eyebrow.
Scroll down to see a variety of the most interesting posts from the community—but be warned, some of them aren’t for the squeamish.
#1 Is That Actually True?
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#2 If My Icu Patients Forget For Just A Few Minutes That They're Stuck In Icu Over Christmas, Then It Was All Worth It
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#3 Soldiers Saluting To Doctors Returning From Wuhan
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The Medical community on Reddit reveals just how much is happening both inside and outside of us.
From the way our bodies look to how our organs work, they’re full of surprises. Some of the things shared there are ones we rarely see, like unusual illnesses or conditions that most of us wouldn’t normally come across.
But when you think about it, even the everyday stuff we experience is pretty strange once you break it down and ask yourself why it happens.
#4 Sooo Guys We Did It I'm Cancer Free
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#5 I Had A Stroke Last Week, Walking With A Cane Now. 30 Years Old. Happy To Be Alive
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#6 One Year Ago Today I Got A New Heart! Forever Grateful To My Donor & Donor Family. To My Heart Transplant Team, Doctors And Nurses., You Rock!!!
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Take brain freeze, for example. What a random thing to experience, right? One quick sip of an ice-cold drink, and suddenly it feels like your skull is under attack.
As Rush University Medical Center explains, that sharp pain happens when something freezing touches the roof of your mouth. The cold makes your blood vessels rapidly constrict and then expand again, which triggers nearby nerves to send an SOS signal to your brain. The result is instant agony, though usually short-lived.
Thankfully, you can fix it by pressing your warm tongue to the roof of your mouth or just slowing down on the milkshakes.
#7 This Came From My Girlfriends Nose And She Coughed It Up, What Is This??
It's a nasal polyp.
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#8 My Friend With Allergic Reaction Due To His Hay Fever (He Calls This Condition Fish-Face)
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#9 It Just Works
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Then there’s snoring, the nighttime soundtrack that no one asked for. According to pulmonologist Sujay Bangarulingam, MD, it’s one of the most common sleep issues around.
It happens when the airway narrows as we sleep, causing soft tissues in the throat to vibrate. And that’s how you get that unmistakable rumble. Around 90 million Americans snore, and while it might seem harmless, it can seriously mess with your rest or your partner’s patience.
Sometimes the fix is as simple as changing position or cutting back on alcohol, but for others, it’s a sign to visit a sleep specialist.
#10 17m : Was Diagnosed With Ewing’s Sarcoma. Going To Get A Port A Cath In My Arm On Monday As Well As A Bone Marrow Biopsy And Will Hopefully Start Chemo On Tuesday. Wish Me Luck!
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#11 Doctor's Handwriting, In A Nutshell
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#12 Thought You Good People Might Like To See My New C5/C6 Disc
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Speaking of involuntary sounds, let’s talk about hiccups. I’ve always wondered why they exist, and it turns out there’s a pretty simple explanation.
Gastroenterologist Frances Puello, MD, says that hiccups usually come from overeating, fizzy drinks, or sudden temperature changes in your stomach. Basically, your diaphragm gets irritated, contracts, and forces air up in a quick “hic!”
Most hiccups are harmless, but persistent ones can sometimes signal deeper issues. For the typical case, though, holding your breath or sipping cold water usually does the trick.
#13 Doctor Told Me That My Raynaud’s Should Be In A Medical Textbook
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#14 Cottonmouth Snake Bite Resulting In Medi Flight To Ou Medical Center
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#15 A Story Of Awesome Dental Photography By Dr: Carlosdecarvalho
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And what about when your fingers prune up in water? Scientists still aren’t entirely sure why it happens, but they have a few good ideas.
Family physician Sarah Ahmed, MD, says one theory is that it actually helps us grip wet objects better. A study published in Biology Letters found that people were faster at picking up wet items after soaking their hands in water for 30 minutes compared to when their hands were dry.
As for how it works, the leading idea is something called digital vasoconstriction. That’s when the blood vessels in your fingers and toes narrow after being submerged, causing the outer layer of skin to wrinkle. It’s all triggered by an involuntary nervous system reaction.
#16 My Dads New Leg, One Of Australias First, The Nut Is Screwed Into His Bone Inside His Leg,
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#17 Ever Wondered What A (Esophagus) Tumor Looks Like? 7 Rounds Of Chemo, And This Is The Progress
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#18 A Dissection Display Of The Entire Peripheral Nervous System
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Some bodily quirks are even more surprising. Ever heard someone say their joints can predict the weather? They’re not just imagining it, there’s real science behind that claim.
“When a storm front moves in, the atmospheric pressure drops. Major joints’ sensory nerve endings register a relative increase in joint fluid pressure, resulting in increased pain,” Orthopedic surgeon Robert Tait, MD, told Woman’s Day. In other words, your knees might just be a built-in weather app.
#19 Gnarly Skin Rash I Got From Taking Antibiotics For Mono
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#20 An Anatomy Pinball Machine
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#21 My First Hearing Aid That I Got 7 Years Ago!
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Your eyes, too, have their own fascinating ways of reacting to the world. They can, for example, let you know when your body’s too cold.
“When hypothermia becomes severe, blood vessels in the eyes constrict to conserve energy,” Rupe Hansra, OD, senior director of eye care at LensCrafters, told Woman’s Day.
In certain cases, this can even cause temporary vision loss, something model Kate Upton once experienced during a swimsuit shoot in Antarctica, when temperatures dropped to –20°F.
But your eyes can also sense the coming of spring—itching and watering when pollen counts rise before the weather even warms up.
#22 Update: Reddit Called My Scoliosis With My Ribs! Went And Got An Xray And The Doctor Confirmed. Ive Got Physiotherapy Tomorrow. Thanks Reddit :)
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#23 Thought You Guys Would Enjoy My Brusitis, Since Every Person That Looked At It In The Hospital Strangly Enjoyed It
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#24 Blood Collected From A 34 Yo Man Today
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When you put all this together, it’s clear: our bodies are like living laboratories, full of strange reflexes and hidden talents we don’t even realize we’re using.
From hiccups to brain freeze, from weather-predicting knees to wrinkle-prone fingertips, every odd thing we do has some story behind it, even if scientists are still figuring out exactly why.
#25 My 9 Year Old Daughter Broke Her Arm. The Doctor Said She Will Heal Fine. Should I Get A Second Opinion?
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#26 Photoshop Reconstitution Of Visual Deformation I Had Today In Both Eyes. Colors Was Pulsating And It Lasted 10mn
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#27 A Doctor From My Work Invented A Way To Test Covid-19 Patients Without Needing Much Personal Protective Equipment
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#28 Banged My Knee With Full Force Right Into This Metal Edge. I Didnt Cry, You Cried!
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#29 Tried Donating Plasma Saturday And Was Turned Away After Getting Jabbed In Both Arms, Next Day Wake Up Like This…
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#30 Fell And Woke Up Like This
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#31 GF Said Y’all Might Be Interested In Seeing What Infected Poison Ivy Looks Like
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#32 My Adorable Kidney Stone I Passed On Tuesday January 1st 2019
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#33 Moncton City Hospital Youth Psychiatric Ward
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#34 I Had Heart Surgery In December And They Put This Heart Monitor (Pictured Left) Under My Skin. I Just Think It’s Cool/Creepy Looking
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#35 92yo Grandmother With Massive Fracture: Docs Won’t Operate And Will Stop Giving Pain Meds
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#36 My Son Has Russell Silver Syndrome
When Your Child Has A Very Rare Condition Hospitals Like To Run Tests And Perform Studies To Better Improve Their Knowledge On Rare Conditions. Each Study Makes It Closer To Fully Understanding Rss. Today They Will Perform An Endoscopy Procedure.
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#37 Is This Vitiligo Or What Another Disease Turns Your Eyebrow White?
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#38 Any Idea What This Purple Red Rash Might Be From? Yes, We Have A Doctors Appointment. No Fever Came On Suddenly And Has Spread To Over 70% Of His Body
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#39 Do People With Polycoria (2 Pupils In One Eye) See Double With That Eye?
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#40 The Time My Toddler Swallowed One Of My Rings, Shaped Like A Butterfly
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#41 Struggling To Breathe For Years. Doctors Don't Help Because I'm "Too Young" To Be Having Issues
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#42 I'm Here For My Turkey Sandwich And Ginger Ale
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