KATHMANDU (AFP) - A family suffering from a rare genetic condition in which hair grows all over the face arrived in the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu on Sunday for treatment of their “werewolf-like” appearance.
Devi Budhathoki, 37, her daughters, aged 13 and five, and 12-year-old son say they have endured constant humiliation because of hypertrichosis, which causes hair to sprout between their eyes and across their brows.
“My children have talked about a new life ever since we received word that the hospital was going to treat us,” said Budhathoki, a farmer from the remote northwestern village of Khare, near the border with the Tibetan border.
Sufferers from hypertrichosis, also known as “werewolf syndrome”, have in previous centuries been used as freakshow performers at circuses. “My son is fed up with the mockery he is subjected to and he has told his friends that he will be back with a new face so they can no longer tease him. More than myself, I’m worried about my children,” Budhathoki told AFP.
This family's mistreatment is just another example of how cruel and upsetting sufferers from Hypertrichosis lives can be. Treatment for their condition will hopefully ease their torment.
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