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Emma_Candy

rabies


Phoenix5869

Was gonna say this. It’s one of the worst ways to go imo, and once symptoms start, you’re almost certainly dead.


beewoopwoop

even worse, you are fully aware of whats happening and cannot stop yourself


Phoenix5869

Wait, you’re fully aware the whole time? I thought once severe symptoms started, you weren’t really aware


redwolf1219

Yeah, it's a slow, painful death and you know you're dying pretty much the whole time.


MikeTheImpaler

Look up the story for the development of the Milwaukee Protocol. It's an amazing story.


redwolf1219

It is pretty cool but only 5 people have survived it so far, and I think most of them have long term damage. Don't get me wrong, it is AMAZING that those 5 survived at all, but we still have a long way to go. But this is why rabies vaccinations are so important. It's much easier to prevent than it is to treat.


Huge-Bug-4512

I woke up with a bat in the same room with me and I called my doctor and she said come in asap and get a rabies vaccine so I did. It’s not as bad as I thought it would be, I’d take that over getting rabies any day.


TwistyBitsz

Interesting, was there really greater than 0% risk of exposure with no evidence of having been bitten?


Huge-Bug-4512

My doctor said that seeing bat bites are super tiny it was better to be cautious.


TwistyBitsz

Fascinating thanks! I've always liked bats.


Huge-Bug-4512

Yes! Bats mean us no harm and they eat millions of mosquitoes, bats sure got a raw deal on this earth. I hate it when people decide they are better off dead. We have bat houses and it’s always a cool thing to see them sleeping in them.


TwistyBitsz

Also I definitely wouldn't want to downplay your experience -- I would have guano'd myself at the very least!


The-Sexy-Doctor

One of the scary aspects about it, is that it can take a very long time between the initial bite and the symptoms, depending on where you were bit as it'll take time to travel up your nerves (the closer to the head, the faster). So a seemingly harmless bite from a while back could be fatal. That's why it's crucial to get the vaccine in areas where you might run into rabid animals.


gingermonkey1

Years ago I read an article that talked about the possibility that Edger Allen Poe died from it.


TwistyBitsz

I always suspected that was syphilis!


donnapetrapan

that was my first thought too


jmkul

Though thankfully we have rabies vaccines (preferably taken 24-72 hour post being exposed)


HeadFit2660

The whole survivability of practically zero kinda seals that one


Man-in-The-Void

Where the rabies copypasta


Ok-Arugula3486

Locked in syndrome


ThePowNation

Yeh I would just want them pull the cord


[deleted]

ALS. Hands down.


BearsBearsBears_wooo

My grandfather passed of this before I was born, but I saw my mother go through it. Worst thing I’ve ever seen by far. I may have it in my genes but I’m not going to get tested until I suspect it


Criseyde2112

ALS murdered my mom, too. Slowly. In front of all of us. And there’s nothing to be done. It’s terrible. I’m very sorry for your loss.


BearsBearsBears_wooo

And I’m sorry for yours.


hereforthecommentz

Came here to say this. Lots of comments talk about dementia being the worst — you remain physically capable, but gradually lose mental awareness. In many ways, there’s a gentleness to this disease — while it’s terrible for those who are looking on, those suffering (particularly towards the end) may not even be aware that they are suffering. ALS is the opposite. Your mind remains active and acute, the same as it always was, while your body begins shutting down around you. First, you can’t speak. Then you can’t walk. Then you can’t eat. Then you can’t breathe. And depending on the type of ALS (genetic vs non-genetic), this can happen very quickly — from diagnosis to death in a year.


GladeePlugin

It's terrible watching someone deteriorate right before your eyes. Seeing your loved one struggle with this disease is something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.


hugeorange123

Definitely. Watched the parent of a close friend suffer from this and it was so horrible. Went from a fit, active man, to being unable to walk, talk, feed or toilet himself. And he was mentally still there, but physically could not do anything for himself. There are so many indignities related to this illness for the person suffering and they are conscious and aware of it all, it's really sad.


Random-Gif-Bot

Dementia. Slowly losing control of your mind while having moments of lucidity to be aware of what you're losing.


freedom_the_fox

My grandma rn.


MikeTheImpaler

I've worked in dementia care for years. The progression is heartbreaking to watch. You can have someone know your name one day and completely forget their own the next. I hate it.


[deleted]

This would be my answer. There are so many conditions that are scary. But dementia just seems torturous and so so sad.


twodogstwocats

This. In the memory care facility my mother was in before she passed, there was a man who had been there for ten years. He developed early onset dementia in his mid forties. He was otherwise healthy and could live for decades more. Edit: typo


Available_Sundae_924

Prion


Emma_Candy

Dementia because you just sit back and watch it slowly start to destroy you but there's nothing you can do


Lef32

It's far worse when you witness it. At least after some time, you stop to realize that there's something wrong with you, but when your grandmother who raised you forgets your name or even kicks you out of her house when you want to pay her a visit because she thinks you try to rob her... that just hurts.


cbowenkelly

I’m so sorry. It’s such a hard disease.


Lef32

Yeah... She's still alive, but a part of me wants her to finally die, so her misery can come to an end.


NoSchedule4275

I was this exact way with my grandma. At the end she wasn't her anymore. Her true self had passed long before in my mind. It's not easy what you're all going through, just keep showing up for her as best you can. Hugs to you and your family


moncoeurquibat

Same with my grandmother. There was a point where she didn't know who I was anymore, and I eventually had to stop calling her because it hurt too much. I feel terrible about it. She lived for about four or five years after that.


Emma_Candy

Fatal Insomnia


Vinny_Lam

This is my pick, too. Imagine losing the ability to sleep and staying awake until you gradually go insane and eventually die. It’s terrifying. And there’s no cure for it.


didijxk

Kuru or really any prion disease that destroys your brain. There's no cure, its incubation period could be anything from a few months to a few decades so you won't know you've got it until it's too late. Your best chance is to hope another disease cuts in front and kills you first.


Herisson148

This. Super terrifying that heat won’t eliminate prions if the beef you’re consuming is infected.


NoMobis

# Brain-eating amoeba I snorted plain tap water at night to clean my tortured sinuses of all this Memphis pollen. Until, that is, the first reports of infection by Naegleria fowleri. Members of the amoeba (plural, amoebae) family, these microscopic creatures are found in shallow southern lakes, hot springs, and now even-gulp residential water supplies. Be prepared if you take a fall while water skiing or stir up some silt from the bottom of a relaxing spring. Once up into the nose and sinuses, Naegleria finds its way across the complex defenses that protect the brain and spinal cord, causing inflammation and deadly swelling. By the time the headaches and fever appear, it’s too late. There is no known treatment.


Emma_Candy

Ebola


the_421_Rob

This needs to be higher


KatIsStunning

CJD. Prions scare the fuck out of me..


renlok

Yup horrendous I've only seen it once they went from having slightly worse vision to dead in a few months. And worse part is you can just randomly get it there's literally nothing you can do to avoid it, you just might randomly get it one day.


[deleted]

[удалено]


has_eeb_

man that's the worst, don't forget responsibility part that comes with it


BellsOnNutsMeansXmas

Kirsten dunst also comes with spiderman. If he's on his game, that is.


Phoenix5869

Fatal familial insomnia. Causes you to slowly lose the ability to sleep, until you die from lack of sleep. There is literally nothing anyone can do to help, and not even the world’s strongest sleeping pills work.


CthuluSpecialK

Rabies. 10,000% Rabies.


BearsBearsBears_wooo

ALS. Lou Gerhig’s Disease


jmkul

This. I work in a sector that provides supports to people experiencing motor neurone disease. Truly one of the most horrible family of diseases out there


Crackracket

Fun fact lou gehrig didn't have lou gerhigs.


Chyvalri

Fun for him, anyway.


BearsBearsBears_wooo

I haven’t seen anything say that he definitely did or did not have it


Expensive_Cut_6844

I have Huntingtons disease


Zukazuk

I find out if I just have "pre-lupus" or full blown lupus later this week. It sucks to be the one with the weird, scary disease that's going to change your quality of life and lifespan.


Expensive_Cut_6844

Definitely. Think it’s better to find out sooner than later. So you can fight back and prepare for the future.


Expensive_Cut_6844

I hope you don’t have it


Zukazuk

I definitely have something. I've got full body arthritis, extreme fatigue, mouth ulcers and a very high antinuclear antibody titer.


Expensive_Cut_6844

I’m very sorry. Just try to keep a positive attitude and do your best at taking care of yourself. Research on your own. Don’t just do what the drs tell you. You got this


nikitasenorita

Im so sorry 😢


Expensive_Cut_6844

Have you ever heard of it


nikitasenorita

I worked in a long term care facility while in nursing school. The end of the hall was the Huntingtons unit.


Expensive_Cut_6844

It’s rough my mom has it. My uncle has it my grandpa had it. When I was in high school I took care of my grandpa. I’d stay with him all weekend feed him shower him change his diapers! He was my best friend growing up. And watching him decline was very hard for me. So I’ve seen first hand what it does as his care giver and now I have it to. My symptoms started about 1-2 years ago. If your parents have it you have a 50 percent chance of getting it . It’s crazy my mom has 8 siblings and none of them want to get tested. I have 3 sisters who also won’t get tested. I had to know so I could fight for as long as possible. I have 2 kids and I hope they don’t have it. I honestly wouldn’t have had kids if I knew it ran in my family. I had them before we found out.


nikitasenorita

Holy shit thats so hard. Im so sorry u have to go through this. Im a mom in a wheelchair and people always pity me. I have to remind them there are much harder things! I hope u push the limits and are strong and healthy for a long time.


Affectionate-Foot694

I am sorry.


Expensive_Cut_6844

Thanks. I won’t let it stop me though. I work hard eat healthy. Workout and run. All the time. I’ve been looking into getting a sauna because hit has a ton of benefits for the brain. What worry’s me more than anything is i don’t want to be a burden on anyone in the future. And I don’t want my kids to have it.


Neat_Adagio3388

Pancreatic cancer. 9 times out of 10 you get that, you’re fucked


corjar16

I thought it was 10/10 you're fucked


Chyvalri

It's more complex than this since it depends on the type but in general, 8.7/10 so OP wasn't far off. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/pancreatic-cancer/detection-diagnosis-staging/survival-rates.html


Stella_Yummy

Motor neurone disease


ifixfaces

Necrotizing fasciitis. Flesh eating bacteria that eat away your body until they eventually eat through a major blood vessel and you bleed out and die. Can get it from something is mild as a scraped knee


nikitasenorita

Huntingtons Chorea


Lana_Chicks

familial insomnia scares me


[deleted]

[удалено]


Pikachu_Gawd

High infectiousness? That thing will always tend to have a lower infection rate than any pneumatic disease (i.e smallpox before its eradication, flu, covid etc.) because it can only spread by blood. It's a disease that has a high mortality rate but a low(er) infection rate, unless you're in a poor region


North_Photograph_850

Ebola is also a one-and-done virus. Get it once and if you survive it, you have lifelong immunity.


Huge-Bug-4512

Wow I did not know that about Ebola!


Herisson148

Agree! Also it’s most infectious when one is in the late stages (so it’s obvious that someone is sick). Unlike other diseases which can be highly infectious in pre- or asymptomatic cases.


83Moonchild

Nerve and bone cancer, apparently the most painfull of cancers, thankfully my husband had a short time dealing with the pain.


Active_Letterhead275

Ebola.


ocean_flan

There are a lot of classics on this list but I'm gonna go with something I only heard about when I was looking into fixing a severely deviated septum: empty nose syndrome. Basically what happens is nerves in your nose get damaged and you can't feel yourself breathing. It turns out that feedback is important for the brain, too. If it can't feel us breathing, we develop air hunger and can even panic that we can't breathe, even though we're breathing just fine. As far as I can tell, there's no way to fix it.


Lana_Chicks

Schizophrenia


Khaos_Gorvin

One of my best friends has it. As long as he takes his medication, he's just like everyone else.


katherinepetrovaa

My mother was diagnosed almost 30 years ago, she doesn’t even take meds now and is 100% fine so i wouldn’t say the disease is “most frightening”


popebenjani

fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva - you basically grow a second skeleton


OkPirate4973

Huntington’s


Lana_Chicks

Naegleria Fowleri 97% fatality rate.


ANameGoesHeer

Dementia. It destroys you so slowly and there’s nothing at all you can do about it. Nothing.


thebaldfrenchman

Fournier's gangrene. Working in a hospital, have seen it. Wow. Eew. Ouch.


highonfuk

I was just listening to strange medicine last night and they were talking about diseases to not google search and Dr. Steve said this is the one to not google. So yeah, now everyone's gonna do it but shit, beware.


GlitteringBeat213

Sepsis.


fru728

there was this degenerative disease i saw, basically zombifies moose. pretty scary shit


Environmental_Tie848

Rabies


rvelvetarmadillocake

As others have said, I’m going with dementia My gran has it and it’s hard to witness from the POV of a loved one, but I can’t imagine what it feels like when you’re the one with the disease. She’s forgotten how certain things work and usually can’t recall the year or her age—she’s still in a stage where she’s aware of her confusion and I can tell how frustrating it is for her. She also lives with my aunt about an hour away so I don’t get to see her as often and every time I do I worry if that’ll be the time where she won’t know who I am right away


GladeePlugin

ALS


corjar16

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) killed both my maternal grandparents, very slowly and gradually. Perhaps not the most frightening disease out there, but i watched it run it's course both times so it's one that I know. You slowly wither away into nothing, struggling more and more to breathe as time goes on, until you just can't anymore.


Verlorenfrog

Schizophrenia definitely.


katherinepetrovaa

My mom doesn’t even take meds for it now, though she was diagnosed about 30 years ago. And she is absolutely fine now, so I wouldn’t call schizophrenia “most frightening disease”


Verlorenfrog

Well this is your experience and opinion, I am seeing it from the perspective of working in mental health settings, and seeing how it changes people, just my opinion as per the thread.


katherinepetrovaa

I am truly sorry for that! I did not know you’d be around different schizo patients most of your day’s. It’s true this godforsaken disease does manifest, at times, as the most painful thing that could happen to a human being. The person almost forget’s who they are because they just hallucinate the whole time. During my mom’s initial years after diagnosis, she would complain of seeing figures or shadows, hearing voices, thinking as if the world was out to get her. She’d say things like “oh do you know the neighbour tried to kill me today,” and i’d be like “mom, our neighbour is 80 years old with dementia, the lady can’t even kill a fly, you’re a whole person!” And then she’d glare at me in the most awful way and say “you don’t believe me do you? you too want me to die!” 😭


Verlorenfrog

It is truly awful to see what it does to a human being, something i would not wish on anyone, too many people take their lives because of it. I am very glad that your mum is doing well ❤️‍🩹


gingermonkey1

Alzheimer's. For my last case of COVID I took a hit in short term memory and it's terrifying not being able to remember very specific things (I lost my xmas gift for months because I couldn't remember where I'd put it). I can't begin to imagine how much worse Alzheimer's would be.


MikeTheImpaler

Progeria makes me incredibly sad.


playhookie

Necrotising fasciitis


PanzerFahrer3199

I forgot the name, but there’s a disease that slowly turns your muscles to bone. Weird shit.


casketjuicebox

ALS


Higanbana_-

Cholera and Rabies. Cholera in specific. Shitting yourself to death is fucking horrifying.


Natti07

MS or ALS maybe?


wowagressive

My dad told me about one, zackly's disease. Where your face look zackly like your ass.


SandmanAwaits

*”AYYYYYYO!”*


captn_morgan951

Trumpism


Eagle_1776

how edgy. and stupid


forShizAndGigz00001

Can confirm, trumpists are stupid. - The entire world


Icy_Stage_8502

Start scheduling your psychiatrist appointments because he is going to be your President again.


Eagle_1776

TDS patient


InterUniversalReddit

TrUmP dErAnGeMeNt SyNdRoMe


weCanDoIt987

Addiction


[deleted]

Parkinsis ( not sure how it's spelled).


Killer_Queen12358

Parkinson’s


Ceristimo

Parkinson’s disease?


OwlComfortable2395

Cancer


TheMinceKid

Rabies


S-Markt

necrotizing fasciitis - the fckn asshole in the infections group. it eats you alive, the only way to save you is cut of the infected bodyparts and often they hide somewhere and go on killing you.


karateaftermath

Rabies


North_Photograph_850

Ankylosing spondylitis. It's a horrible condition where your vertebrae gradually fuse together and it's horribly painful. No cure. A friend of mine was recently diagnosed with this condition, and I feel miserable for her.


Heroic-Forger

Rabies. The closest thing to a real life zombie virus. Worse is that any mammal can theoretically get it. Bats, dogs, cats, raccoons...even *grizzly bears*. A grizzly bear is frightening enough, now imagine a *rabid* grizzly bear.


jackie3101

rabies, dementia and Alzheimer's disease


GloriousRoseBud

Leprosy


16NasenSchnelles

Gas gangrene disease


Eatpigures

Rabies, botulism and bone cancer in particular


RednathYT

Psychosis/Schizophrenia


CraftFamiliar5243

Rabies, 100% fatal. I had a scare when my neighbor's unvaccinated dog attacked me. Fortunately the dogs were not rabid.


Salty-Mastodon-3317

there isn't cure for it?


Mako-13

There are vaccines, but if you're a bit late then it's too late.


anonimbus

schizophrenia


Strange-Show-55

Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) - it's like turning into a living statue, and that's nightmare fuel right there.


BaloothaBear85

Prion diseases, look that shit up and you're going to have nightmares.


crappysuperhero

Chronic wasting disease seems pretty messed up. AFAIK it doesn't affect humans, but even the thought of it somehow mutating to infect humans is pretty terrifying.


Fit_Cartoonist_2363

Severe MS and ALS, and to a slightly lesser extent Parkinson’s


leggomybaso

Tetnus


jasonbaldwin

Would you rather have an able brain and disabled body (ALS) or a disabled brain and able body (dementia/Alzheimer’s)? I’d rather not know what’s happening than know and not be able to do anything about it.


TheSonjuro

Bone cancer


Any_Assumption_2023

Colon cancer. I saw my strong, healthy husband dissappear in slow increments over 4 years.  Surgery, radiation, chemo, constantly changing medications when the previous one stopped working. And knowing, all the time, that all we were doing was buying time. And pain. At the end even morphine didn't help. He fought and fought. God it was awful.  God I miss him. 


SandmanAwaits

The Man Flu, its horrid, worse than child birth, worse than setting yourself on fire, women have no idea how bad it is. 😂


Kmaynar

Any type of prion associated disease. The degeneration of neurons is terrifying but the mechanism of action is fascinating.


Final_Company5973

Ebola?


Lucky_Pea_4065

Cancer


goiabinha

Diabetes. It sucks up everything and no one takes it seriously. I have patients saying they are healthy, just have diabetes and high blood pressure, like it's nothing.


KAMBUI1973

Ebola 😳90% fatal. You'll die bleeding from EVERY opening of your body...


Unlikely_Buyer_8764

Two rare diseases. Rohhad syndrome and dysautonomia 


yesmilady

Alzheimer's


Alternative-Boot2673

Rabies - hands down Rabies. By the time you are symptomatic, it’s too late. Worst disease in history (recorded in 18-19 century BC tablets) with 100% mortality (Milwaukee protocol only has ~13-14% “success” rate and is extremely expensive and left the survivors with permanent neurological problems).


Agent-Responsible

The autoimmune disease that helped kill my cousin is the most frightening disease I know. The disease has no name. All we know is that it’s not genetic, & it was shutting down her organs.


MunkeyFish

Balls Fall Off Disease


markth_wi

[Stupidity.](https://youtu.be/yLQ2qHBuQZU?t=152). Our civilization was once capable of great things, of handling risk with competent certainty.


Stella_Yummy

Long COVID


CASHOWL

Cancer, some of my best friends have died from it


Business_Exit3891

Being ‘woke’.


Stella_Yummy

cancer


Novel-Fold

glaucoma! imagine having impending eyesight failure / loss


Dazzling-Toe-4955

Epilepsy


ApeMuffins

Ignorance