There is an illness called Hypertrichosis, more commonly referred to as Werewolf syndrome.
For many years the cause was unknown and many with this affliction were shunned by their communities. While some found refuge in the sideshow and carnival circuits the fact that they had to go to the lengths of exploiting themselves for their bread and butter is a sad state.
I seek, with this article to bring awareness and education so that those who have this illness are no longer looked upon with fear and ridicule. Before I delve into this article though I will say this, the inspiration for it is my cousin, she has had numerous treatments for aplastic anemia and she has endured them well. Most times, people with hypertrichosis are born that way, it can be so mild in some as to be unnoticable or it can be extreme.
My cousin was not born with hypertrichosis, in her case it was a side affect of her aplastic anemia treatments. To put it simply hypertrichosis is just a fancy way of saying "excessive and abnormal growth of body hair." To me that is no reason to ridicule anyone, we are all flawed to some degree, and that is pure fact.
A famous case of hypertrichosis is that of two brothers Danny and Larry Gomez, featured in an article found http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=2258069&page=1
I hope this article and link helps people see those afflicted with this malady in a different light,
as talented,unique individuals, with the same goals,dreams,fears etc. that are common to us all.
While much about hypertrichosis may seem bizarre at first, let me say, knowledge and compassion are better than fear, so rather than ridicule those with this affliction, may I encourage you to
educate yourself on the matter. You will find soon enough that those with "werewolf syndrome" aren't beastly after all.
