Doctors suspect Rezia has elephantiasis, a parasitic infection that causes extreme swelling in the arms and legs
A MUM-of-two is desperate for answers after her leg swelled to the size of another person.
Rezia Begum’s right leg is covered in growths and now weighs 9.4 stone.
Rezia, 40, has been struggling with her condition for 18 years.
She said the problem started after the birth of her second daughter.
Rezia, from Bangladesh, has been visiting doctors at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, but medics are baffled by her condition.
She has not been able to receive any treatment to ease her symptoms.
She said: “I was like any other normal woman but now I’m a burden on my poor family.”
Dr Shamanta Lal Sen, chief medical coordinator at the hospitals burns unit, suspects Rezia has elephantiasis.
Elephantiasis is a parasitic infection that causes extreme swelling in the arms and legs.
It is caused when a blockage occurs in the lymphatic system – the network of tissues and organs in the body that help rid itself of toxins.
The most common cause of the condition is filariasis, a parasitic disease caused by an infection with roundworms.
These parasites are spread by worms or mosquitoes.
Elephantiasis usually causes the skin to thicken, which allows the limbs to become swollen.
The condition can be treated using medication to kill the worms.
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