Australian Man's Strange Condition Where He Can't Feel Hot Or Cold Baffles Doctors

A 22-year-old man in Australia has been suffering from a mystery illness for the past five years, where he cannot feel heat or cold on his hands and feet, baffling the doctors. Aidan McManus was only 17 and in the final year of his high school when he began losing some of the sensation in his feet, according to a report in 9news.com.au.

His mother, Angela McManus, said that he started complaining about feeling tingly and numb in his feet. In the initial diagnosis, the doctor said it was fluid retention and gave him some medicine. However, the medicine proved ineffective as Aidan started having difficulty walking, in addition to post-viral irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

As the condition worsened, he was referred to a neurologist who ran a series of tests on him to find the underlying cause.

"They must have done 20-odd blood tests. They cut a piece of nerve out of his leg to do a biopsy on it. They did a lumbar puncture and genetic testing - none of these tests showed up any answers," said Ms McManus.

He was ultimately diagnosed with a generalised nerve disorder - axonal peripheral neuropathy - which disrupts how nerve cells transmit signals throughout the body.

As per Ms McManus, when her son picks up something hot, he feels cold, and when he holds something cold, he gets a burning sensation.

"For those obvious reasons, he can't cook. He's got to be very careful. When I do give him meals I've got to say, 'It's really hot, or it's really cold'. His ability to walk, as well as his balance and co-ordination had all been affected," she added.

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Aidan's condition is progressive and very unlikely to resolve, as per the neurologist. His family's troubles have been compounded by the NDIA (National Disabilty Insurance Agency) rejecting his application. The disability body said Aidan could not be provided funding as he had not "examined all possible treatment options".

The neurologist treating him wrote a letter to NDIA, informing them that there was no treatment available and apart from pain relief, there was nothing much that the doctors could do. 

"I would strongly support him being eligible for inclusion in the NDIS as I believe that he has an incurable disability and will continue to worsen," read the letter.