One in 50 people worldwide: Rare disease makes teenager look like a werewolf

Nandleta (India) - At first glance, you might think that this teenager from India is wearing an elaborate carnival costume. But 18-year-old Lalit cannot simply shed his hairy appearance - he was born with excessive hair.

Lalit Patidar is one of 50 people worldwide known to suffer from the rare condition called hypertrichosis.

The medical phenomenon, which is also known as "werewolf syndrome", causes excessive hair growth on various parts of the body, according to the New York Post. In Lalit's case, this mainly affects the face, which is 95 percent covered with hair.

The teenager has now even landed in the Guinness Book of Records for this. The experts found that Lalit has 201.72 hairs per square centimeter.

The condition was noticed when he was a child. "My parents claim that I was shaved by the doctor when I was born," says the Indian. "But I only noticed the difference when I was about 6 or 7 years old."

Unlike his classmates, hair suddenly began to sprout all over his body.

Of course, this did not go unnoticed and, in addition to ridicule and mockery, also caused fearful reactions among his fellow human beings.

"They were scared of me, but when they started to get to know me and talk to me, they understood that I wasn't that different from them and that I only looked different on the outside, but wasn't different on the inside," the 18-year-old told the record book.

It took some time before he was able to accept his appearance. He now makes the most of his illness and presents himself on the internet. The media attention has even brought him appearances on television.

So far, Lalit has rejected suggestions to shave his facial hair. "I tell them that I like myself the way I am and that I don't want to change the way I look." However, his doctors have advised him to have surgery and treatment after his 21st birthday.

It is still unclear whether the werewolf teenager will accept this offer.