A seafood-related mystery stole this young woman’s youth

Vietnamese woman Nguyen Thi Phuong became a rare medical enigma when doctors were unable to solve the mystery of her turning into an old woman after suffering an allergic reaction to seafood.     

The story began in summer 2008 where the woman, who was then 23 years old, ate a seafood meal. A few hours later, her face broke out in an itchy rash. The next day, she sought the advice of a local doctor who wrote her a prescription for what he assumed to be dermatitis.     

Then things went from bad to worse. The dermatitis medication caused her face to swell, followed by hives appearing on her skin. She eventually had to give up all of the treatments when she could no longer afford them, and in just three short years the skin from her stomach upwards aged dramatically, making her look like a woman some fifty years her senior.     

Doctors believe Phuong suffers from cutaneous mastocytosis, a condition which can be treated with medicines and laser treatments to reduce the appearance of her wrinkles. But unfortunately, the adverse effects of her condition can never be permanently reversed.