Top 10 Terrifying Diseases

If you’re looking for information on scary ailments, you’ve come to the right place! We’ve compiled a list of the top 10 terrifying diseases you hope never to catch.

Although medicine has made incredible strides in treating illnesses, many terrifying conditions still exist. Some of the more serious ones have no cure or designated treatment plan.

While these diseases can devastate, the upside is that they’re quite rare. So if you’re coming down with something, don’t worry. You probably don’t have anything on this list.

If you’ve ever been curious about some of the most deadly diseases out there, read on.

Top 10 Terrifying Diseases You Hope Never to Catch

Human history is filled with records of serious diseases, plagues, and pandemics that have severely impacted populations.

Some are well-documented, such as Ebola, Dengue hemorrhagic fever, or Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).

Others are more obscure, and you may not have heard of them, depending on where you are in the world. The list could be endless, but we’ve narrowed it down!

1. Flesh-Eating Bacteria (Necrotizing Fasciitis)

Necrotizing Fasciitis is the first on our list of top 10 terrifying diseases. While it isn’t widespread, it is incredibly scary.

Imagine for a moment that you’ve accidentally fallen and scraped your knee. It’s a minor cut, so you think little of it. That is until the cut starts leaking puss, and you get violently ill.

Necrotizing Fasciitis affects skin and tissue. The disease, caused by flesh-eating bacteria, causes blisters to form around the cut and the surrounding skin to change color. As the blisters form, the toxic bacteria eat away at your muscles and tissue.

This bacterial infection then spreads up the limbs, slowly devouring the skin and muscle. If you haven’t gotten any medical attention by the time the bacteria reaches your torso, your chances of survival are only 30%.

The flesh-eating bacteria eat you alive!

Medical treatment for the disease is limited. Treatment includes amputating the affected body part and using antibiotics to flush the bacteria from your system.

Depending on the extent to which the bacteria has spread, doctors might also decide to treat the infection with blood transfusions. They may also use hyperbaric oxygen therapy to preserve the healthy tissue.

More commonly, surgery removes the infected skin and tissue to stop the spread of the bacteria.

Unfortunately, this disease moves fast. If you can catch it in time and receive medical attention, survival rates are about 75%, with the mortality rate around 25%. Survivors are usually permanently scarred and commonly left without a limb.

2. Fatal Familial Insomnia

We’ve all had weeks of feeling overworked and exhausted. Perhaps you’ve had a string of late nights? Whatever the reason, going without some good rest (or pulling an all-nighter) is a universal experience.

But what if that sleepless night turned into weeks without sleep, and those weeks turned into months? Just how long could a person survive without sleeping, and what would the consequences of that be?

Well, fatal familial insomnia has given medical professionals a glimpse into a life without sleep. Hint: it isn’t pretty.

Fatal familial insomnia is a disease that causes insomnia and brain damage. It can be described as a gradual slip into dementia. It’s characterized by panic attacks, hallucinations, phobias, and paranoia.

These symptoms are caused by the complete inability to fall asleep. It can also lead to issues with bodily functions, such as being able to regulate one's body temperature.

Popping a sleeping pill and simply moving past it won’t work either. In fact, taking sleeping pills can actually worsen your symptoms and hasten the progress of the disease.

If the disease is allowed to progress without medical intervention, you’ll most likely slip into dementia. A coma will follow this, and you could pass away after around 7 to 18 months.

A mutated protein causes the disease. However, only around 40 families worldwide have this gene. The next time you’re battling to fall asleep, don’t worry - it’s unlikely you’ll fall prey to it.

Unfortunately, there isn’t currently a cure or proper treatment. Thus, doctors treat the symptoms as best they can. In the image above, you can see the cranial imaging of a patient with this condition.

3. Brainerd Diarrhea

Having a bout of food poisoning is commonplace. After all, we’ve all eaten some suspect seafood that has sent us sprinting to the bathroom in a cold sweat. But can you imagine living like that for months on end? That’s what Brainerd Diarrhea is like.

Brainerd Diarrhea is the sudden onset of watery, explosive diarrhea that doesn’t respond to antibiotics. Typically, people are forced to run to the bathroom around 10 to 20 times a day. Other symptoms include fatigue, nausea, vomiting, fevers, and cramping.

If you think this is like any other food poisoning or stomach flu bout, think again. Brainerd diarrhea can last for well over a month.

The most likely cause of the disease is drinking contaminated water or milk. However, doctors still haven’t nailed down the actual source of the illness.

One possible theory revolves around a chemical toxin, but there isn’t any concrete evidence supporting this.

In addition, there currently isn’t a cure for the illness. This makes it nearly impossible to treat!

A wide variety of antimicrobial medications have been used to treat it with little success. The disease also doesn’t respond well to steroids or anti-inflammatory drugs.

However, Brainerd Diarrhea isn't fatal despite the lack of treatment or cure. Most patients report that symptoms last for around a year before clearing up. Typically, they have completely recovered after about three years.

4. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA)

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, commonly known as MRSA, dates back to the 1960s. It’s the modern-day equivalent of Cholera or Typhoid. The disease stems from a mutated staphylococcus aureus bacterium. It’s immune to most antibiotics - including methicillin, cephalosporins, and penicillin.

The resistance to antibiotics is due to a staph infection becoming resistant. This happens because multiple types of antibiotics are used to treat a regular infection.

For this reason, it is likely that once you have it, you’re stuck with it for the rest of your life.

The disease emerged in the United Kingdom and has become a problem for medical professionals worldwide. The United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has found that MRSA is responsible for more annual deaths in the US than AIDS.

Most MRSA infections occur in hospitals or health care centers. It is spread via direct contact, so hygiene is important if you want to avoid it.

MRSA commonly affects the nose. Most people can go for years without knowing that they have an MRSA colony in their nostrils.

You can get tested for MRSA easily. A doctor will simply swab the inside of your nose. This swab can be sent to a pathology lab for testing.

As with most diseases on this list, it is best to find these infections before they spread. An advanced MRSA infection can show up as rashes and pus-filled boils that spread rapidly. This infection can also lead to flesh-eating pneumonia.

The most common treatment for MRSA is to lance the boils and drain them. You’ll then be forced to isolate and treated with a ton of advanced antibiotics to flush the virus from your system.

However, as we mentioned, this virus is immune to most antibiotics. So, this doesn’t have a high chance of success.

5. The Spanish Flu

Much like birthdays, or public holidays, flu season comes around once a year. Globally, almost everyone is affected by it. While having a stuffy nose and sore throat isn’t ideal, most strains of the flu virus are fairly harmless.

These days, catching the flu means spending some time in bed with hot soup and a good movie. However, this wasn’t the case with the Spanish flu, the next on our list of top 10 terrifying diseases.

The Spanish flu (influenza strain H1N1) made its mark on medical history when it first broke out in March 1920. Despite its name, the strain originated in France and the USA.

Strangely - the strain affected healthy, young people more than older, unhealthy people. As a result, healthier and younger people were more likely to die from the Spanish flu than older people. This was because the virus attacked the immune system first.

Simply put - if you had a stronger immune system, you offered the virus more ammunition.

During its reign from March to June 1920, the Spanish flu killed over 500 million people globally. It is one of the scariest pandemics of the 20th century.

Despite emerging in the 1920s, the virus still exists today. Since the flu virus easily mutates, finding a cure for every strain is hard.

Usually, the flu virus mutates gradually and allows our bodies to adapt. But, if the virus mutates too quickly, it could cause another Spanish flu-type epidemic!

While the Spanish Flu looks and acts like a common cold, it has a very high global mortality rate. It’s definitely not something to mess around with.

6. The Black Death (Yersinia Pestis)

We couldn’t write this list of top 10 terrifying diseases without mentioning this one. The plague, known as the Black Death (or Yersinia Pestis), first emerged around 541 AD.

The first wave tore through Europe and took the lives of 25 million people. During that time, the disease was called the Plague of Justinian. It was one of the first significant epidemics in history.

The plague first infected rats and later spread to humans via fleas. In fact, the first sign of the plague was the large amounts of dead rats and rodents littering the streets.

A key symptom of the black death was blackened bumpy nodes that showed up on patients’ lymph nodes. Once these black spots showed up, the patient was already quite close to death.

Many plagues throughout history emerged, wreaked havoc, and then passed. They’re marked in history and then forgotten - but not the black death.

The illness reemerged in 14th century Europe and stayed until the 1700s. When the plague broke out, around 50% of the population in major urban areas was killed, leaving Europe filled with ghost towns.

According to estimates, the plague wiped out around 137 million lives during its 400-year run. These statistics alone have made the black death one of the deadliest illnesses in human history.

7. Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP)

Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressive (FOP) is a rare genetic disease caused by the ACVR1 gene. Since it is genetic, it is passed down through familial lines. FOP affects skeletal muscle and connective tissue. For example, ligaments and tendons can be impacted.

This disorder causes ligaments and tendons to slowly turn into bone in a process known as ossification. This is because the body’s tissue repair function stops working. Instead, it begins to ‘heal’ the ‘damaged’ tissue and muscles by turning them to bone.

FOP also causes bones to grow outside of the skeleton. This is known as extra-skeletal or heterotopic bone. Eventually, as the disease progresses, it restricts movement.

The first sign of FOP generally occurs around the neck and shoulders, then gradually moves down the body and toward the limbs.

Since this disease immobilizes the body, the life expectancy of people with the disease is relatively low. Due to the disease's progression toward the torso and chest, the most common cause of death is cardiorespiratory failure due to the calcification of the cardiac muscles.

Unfortunately, there aren’t many treatment options for people with this disease. Biopsies aren’t possible as they could result in rapid bone formation. Injections should also be avoided since they would harm underlying tissue.

People with this disease should avoid dental procedures since this could stretch and damage tissue. This may cause uncontrolled bone growth. People affected should also avoid falling or getting hurt since this could accelerate the progression of the disease.

Despite the lack of effective treatments, clinical trials are underway to find a cure. Certain medications help alleviate the symptoms, such as pain and swelling. Affected people could also benefit from regular occupational therapy.

8. Clarkson’s Disease

Clarkson’s disease, also known as systemic capillary leak syndrome, is next on our list of top 10 terrifying diseases.

This rare disorder causes blood vessels to leak plasma into muscles and body cavities. The plasma can also be absorbed into the skin, which causes the affected person to bloat.

The bloat caused by Clarkson’s disease can last for up to three days. While it isn’t deadly, it can cause damage to vital internal organs and tissue.

The disease was discovered in 1960 by Dr. Bayard Clarkson when a patient of his spontaneously started bloating. Since then, around 150 people have been diagnosed with the disease.

As Dr. Bayard Clarkson discovered the disease, it was named after him.

Unfortunately, the cause of Clarkson’s disease remains unknown. This is despite years of research.

Since the cause is unknown, the disease is quite difficult to treat.

So far, only one form of treatment has proven effective. The treatment involves injecting fluids into the body to counteract bloating. This prevents damage to internal organs.

9. Naegleria Fowleri

Naegleria Fowleri, also known as the ‘brain-eating amoeba,’ is a no-brainer for our list of top 10 terrifying diseases. The name itself is enough to send shivers down your spine.

Naegleria fowleri amoeba are found in warm lakes, rivers, and hot springs. While there are numerous species of naegleria, only the naegleria fowleri has proven deadly to humans.

Coming into direct contact with contaminated fresh water won’t necessarily cause an infection. The only way that the amoeba can enter the human body is via the nose!

It’s a bit strange, we know. Drinking contaminated water or even showering in contaminated water doesn’t mean you’ll be infected. Unless the water goes up your nose - you’ll be fine.

We recommend you avoid dunking your head while swimming or diving in contaminated water. Also, try not to clean your nose with contaminated water as it can cause an infection.

The amoebas immediately attack the brain and feed on brain tissue until the infected person dies. After contracting the amoebas, symptoms generally start after five days. These symptoms can include nausea, headaches, fevers, and vomiting.

Infected persons might experience stiffness in the neck, lack of attention to people and their surroundings, confusion, hallucinations, seizures, and a loss of balance.

After these symptoms show up, the disease progresses quite rapidly. In fact, infections can lead to death within 5 to 12 days.

Much like other diseases on this list, the survival rate of naegleria fowleri is incredibly low, even with treatment. This is because of how quickly the disease tends to progress.

There are a few treatment options. Amphotericin B is an antifungal drug. This can be injected into the spinal cord to kill the amoebas.

Miltefosine is an investigational drug. It’s actually generally used to treat breast cancer, but it’s shown some potential when dealing with the deadly amoebas.

Antibiotics and antifungal drugs can also be used.

Depending on how quickly you get treated and how far the amoeba has progressed, your doctor might also prescribe treatment to reduce brain inflammation.

10. African Trypanosomiasis

African Trypanosomiasis is the last on our list of top 10 terrifying diseases. It’s also known as sleeping sickness and is a parasitic disease caused by the tsetse fly.

Generally, an infected person bitten by a tsetse fly experiences confusion and intense fatigue. Some infected people might fall asleep while standing.

This sleep progresses in intensity until the infected person falls into a coma, which is followed by death. Additional symptoms include muscle aches, fevers, and headaches.

The disease is generally found in sub-Saharan Africa. However, the disease will only come from certain species of tsetse flies. Therefore, sleeping sickness isn’t that common.

There are two kinds of trypanosomiasis, which present slightly differently. The type of trypanosomiasis you contract depends on the parasite you were bitten by.

Trypanosoma brucei gambiense is the most prevalent form of the disease and currently accounts for 97% of reported cases.

With this strain, an infected person could go for months or even years without showing any symptoms.

However, once symptoms emerge, the disease is already in quite an advanced state. The central nervous system, at this point, will have been affected.

Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense is a rarer form and accounts for 3% of eastern and southern African infections.

Unlike its sibling strain, symptoms appear a few weeks or months after infection. This strain progresses much faster and rapidly attacks the central nervous system. It is often fatal.

Depending on how far the disease has progressed, there are several drugs your doctor could prescribe. These include Pentamidine and Suramin, which are used to treat the infection.

Conclusion

We hope you’re not too scared by this list of top 10 terrifying diseases! Luckily, most of the diseases and infections we’ve listed are rare. The likelihood that you’ll contract any of them is quite low.

Although many of the diseases on this list have no solid treatment plan, medical innovations are occurring all the time! Hopefully, modern medicine will develop to the point of cures for all of these. In the meantime, take your vitamins, and try not to self-diagnose!

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