‘Werewolf syndrome’ sufferer, 17, reveals how he has been bullied all his life due to rare condition
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A 17-year-old sufferer of ‘werewolf syndrome’ has revealed he has been bullied all his life because of his rare condition, but has vowed to ‘always be happy and keep others happy’.
Lalit Patidar is a student from the small village of Nandleta in Madhya Pradesh, India. His entire body is covered in hair from the age of six, when he was diagnosed with hypertrichosis – an extremely rare condition believed to have been found in only about 50 people since the Middle Ages.
His condition makes him stand out throughout his life, and as a result, he is called “monkey boy” by cruel schoolchildren, who say they are afraid he will bite them.
But despite being bullied, he has spoken about his positive outlook on life and says he now dreams of becoming a successful Youtuber.
‘I come from a normal family, my father is a farmer and I am currently in the last year of high school and studying in 12th grade. At the same time, I help my father with his work on the farm,” Lalit said.
Lalit Patidar, 17, is a student from the small village of Nandleta in Madhya Pradesh, India. His whole body has been covered in hair since he was six years old, when he was diagnosed with hypertrichosis – a rare condition
‘I’ve had this hair all my life, my parents say the doctor shaved me when I was born, but I didn’t really notice anything about me changing until I was six or seven years old. Then for the first time I noticed that hair was growing all over my body like no other I knew.
“I’ve since found out it’s because I have a condition called hypertrichosis. It is rare and as far as I know only fifty people in the world have been affected by it.
“There is no history of hair growth in my family, I am the only one who has this disease,” said the teenager.
Hypertrichosis is characterized by an abnormal amount of hair growth all over the body.
There are two different types of hypertrichosis: generalized hypertrichosis, which occurs all over the body, and localized hypertrichosis, which is limited to a specific area.
Hypertrichosis can be congenital (present at birth) or acquired later in life.
The incurable condition causes abnormal amounts of fine hair up to two inches long on a person’s face, arms, and other parts of their body.
Several circus performers in the 19th and early 20th centuries, such as Julia Pastrana, had hypertrichosis. Many of them worked as ‘freaks’ and were promoted for having animalistic features.
But Lalit leads a normal life despite his rare diagnosis. He goes to school and helps out on his family’s farm, and has started blogging and making videos.
His rare condition makes him stand out, which is why he is called “monkey boy” by cruel schoolchildren, who say they are afraid he will bite them. But despite being bullied, he has spoken about his positive outlook on life and says he now dreams of becoming a successful Youtuber. Pictured: Lalit is seen on a computer (left) and with a friend (right)
Pictured: Lalit is seen as a young boy. He says when he was born, doctors shaved him initially, but it quickly grew back. He said he didn’t know he was different until he was six years old
Lalit is “very popular in the classroom and everyone adores him,” the principal of his government-run school, Babulal Makwana, said in 2019.
“I wasn’t angry when the hair started to grow because I was very young then, but my relatives and my parents used to worry a lot about me.
“Little kids used to get scared when they saw me, and as a kid I didn’t know why. Growing up, I realized that my whole body had hair and it was not like everyone else.
“Children were afraid that I would come back and bite them like an animal.”
Currently there is no cure for Lalit’s condition but he has learned to live with it and although he struggled with bullying as a child, he now realizes that this is what makes him unique.
“There is no cure for it now. I’ll trim it if I feel it’s getting too long. It’s like scalp hair, it will keep growing, I have no other way to deal with it and I don’t believe there will ever be a cure,” he said.
“My classmates used to tease me, they yell at me “monkey monkey”, people tell me it’s very scary, and people also tease me by calling me a ghost, they think I’m some kind of mythical creature, but I’m I don’t these things.
‘When I was young I let people throw stones at me, it’s unfair to a child who has never known anything else.
Pictured: Lalit is seen as a young boy (left). “I’ve had this hair all my life, my parents say the doctor shaved me when I was born, but I didn’t really notice anything about me changing until I was six or seven years old,” he said.
Pictured: Lalit is seen with his parents at the age of 13
“Many people ask how is this child how is he doing does he really have hair all over his body is there a cure for it I see parents taking their little kids away from me it saddens me to think that they be afraid.’
It hasn’t all been bad for Lalit though, and he’s learned to embrace his hair growth and knows it won’t stop him from living a happy life.
“I slowly realized that I have hair all over my body and that I’m different from regular people in a good way, I’m unique,” he said. ‘Slowly everyone in my family started to feel normal about it and my friends also encouraged me a lot.
“I’ve had to learn many things on my journey, most importantly I’ve learned that I’m a one-in-a-million, that I should never give up and live life to the fullest.” I always want to move forward and be happy.
“I’m different, but usually our differences are our greatest strengths and I’m proud to be myself.
Pictured: Lalit Patidar, who says he has learned to embrace his hair growth and knows it won’t stop him from living a happy life
“I know only a few people have my condition, but even if you have something similar, or just something that makes you feel different from your peers, I would say that people will continue to say everything about you.
“People gossip and even make things up, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
“No matter what others say, we should never give up in life, we should always be happy and always be positive about life.
“In the end, I just want to say that you should always respect all people, no matter what a person looks like, he can have any disease.
“Always behave well to everyone, treat them kindly, you never know what someone is going through.
“It’s important to be happy, but also to keep others happy.”
What is Hypertrichosis?
Hypertrichosis is the term used for the growth of hair on any part of the body in excess of the amount usually present in persons of the same age, race, and sex.
It is a very rare condition that patients are born with or develop later in life.
It rules out excessive hair caused by abnormally high levels of male hormones.
Throughout history, those affected have been a source of great interest, performing in traveling circuses and freak shows.
A Nepalese mother and her children with hypertrichosis, also known as “werewolf syndrome” (file photo)
Excessive hair can cause cosmetic embarrassment, resulting in a significant emotional burden.
Treatment options are limited and the results of therapy are not always satisfactory.
No hair removal method is suitable for all body locations or patients, and the method chosen depends on the type, area and amount of hair growth, as well as the age of the patient and their personal preference.
Treatment methods include cosmetic procedures, bleaching, trimming, shaving, epilation, waxing, chemical depilatories, electrosurgical epilation, and hair removal using light sources and lasers.
Laser-assisted hair removal is the most efficient method of long-term hair removal currently available.