23-year-old Woman Mysteriously Ages 50 Years in Just Days

A Vietnamese woman's medical condition has stunned and baffled doctors. Nguyen Thi Phuong, now 26, says three years ago she aged 50 years in a few days. She developed sagging skin, wrinkled skin but was too poor to seek treatment. Until now Nguyen, who's married, has apparently been forced to wear a mask in public to hide her appearance from gawkers, but now doctors -- who have decided to treat her at no cost -- are attempting to determine the cause of this mysterious medical condition.

Phuong explained she has long been allergic to seafood and that she had suffered a particularly bad reaction in 2008. She said: "I was really itchy all over my body. I had to scratch even while sleeping." Phuong said she took some medicine bought at a local pharmacy instead of going to the hospital because her and her husband Tuyen, now 33, were too poor to afford it. She said: "After one month of taking the drugs, I became less itchy but hives remained on my skin. "Then I switched to traditional medicine and all the hives disappeared, together with my itching. However, my skin began to sag and fold." Phuong then took another kind of traditional medicine to treat her rapid-aging skin problem - but to no avail. The couple do not remember what the medicine was or which pharmacy they got it from. Phuong said: "We considered that it was our destiny and I quit treatment in 2009. Now I always wear a face mask whenever I go out. "The skin on my face, chest and belly have folds like an old woman who has given birth several times although I have never had a child. But the rapid-aging syndrome hasn't affected my menstrual cycle, hair, teeth, eyes and mind."

source: The Telegraph

Some doctors have said Nguyen is suffering from lipodystrophy -- a rare syndrome that causes a layer of fatty tissue beneath the surface of the skin to disintegrate while the skin itself continues to grow at a startling pace. It has no cure. Others believe Nguyen may be suffering from Cushing Syndrome, which is one of the side effects of too much steroid medication. Meanwhile, other experts believe she has Mastocytosis, a rare disorder caused by the presence of too many mast cells. There is currently no cure to Mastocytosis but there are many medicines to help treat its symptoms. Meanwhile, others think Nguyen and her husband are punkin' the world.