Sleeping Sickness: The Terrifying Disease that Everyone Forgot

When you don't have a scary name like Spanish Flu, it can be hard to stay in the history books.

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[katiekane]

As a student nurse in the late 70s, I helped care for an encephalitis patient. He was completely comatose yet knew our names when he woke up. I never forgot that & always talked to comatose patients, not over them. He got lucky & recovered.

[bjornodin]

This is literally my worst nightmare. The conscious coma or paralysis part I mean. I can sympathize with those who became violent and angry upon regaining the ability to move. I would be livid!

[draochvar]

I was initially so confused when he said that we don't really know the cause of sleeping sickness and was like "but we do, it's a parasite spread via the Tsetse fly". Then he explained further and I realized: "Ah shit, there's more than one sleeping sickness ... well fuck that."

[jidduv]

Found this a few months after The Sandman came out. I had not thought the sleeping sickness was grounded in reality.

[doclewis]

My sister had this when she was younger (in the 1970s). Even now, as an adult, she still has days where she sleeps 16 hours. It hasn't gone away. It's just not as common.

[racheljensen]

My grandma had "sleeping sickness" as a girl in the late 1930s/early 1940s. It was so bad my great grandma, who thankfully was a nurse, had to reteach her how to swallow, sit, walk, talk, etc. She also had to spoon feed her to keep her alive. Thankfully, she recovered; but it's a horrible, scary disease.

[andiward]

The diseases that leave the patient cognizant but unable to interact are the most frightening, imo.

[Edgeworthscravat]

Can you imagine just how terrifying it must have been to have this AND Spanish flu around at the same time??

[ohhhpossum]

Post viral (and bacterial) illnesses are SO common these days, but so underfunded and under researched. I've had Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (aka chronic fatigue syndrome) for nearly 13 years now. And I know of people who are going on 20, 30+ years with it. A lot of people with long covid are now ending up with it, so much so that we could be nearing 35 million cases worldwide, or more. So while "sleepy sickness" doesn't seem to be around much any more, there's still post viral illnesses just as deadly and life shattering. Living with ME is like a living death, honestly. And there's no cure or treatment, STILL. It's devastating seeing so many people join us in long-term disability because of covid, and we can't do anything for them, because no one did anything for us, 5, 10, 15, 20+ years ago. In some ways, I can't believe it took a pandemic for ME/CFS to even be mentioned in the media, and for harmful treatments for ME/CFS to be FINALLY shut down. It feels like this has been an over a century long battle for recognition and a cure/treatment.

[thisbushnell]

Our youngest brother was diagnosed with 'sleeping sickness'. He made it through with no apparent physical debilitation, but his general demeanor changed radically. From a cheerful, witty child, over the next 10 years he became cynical, mean, socially dysfunctional though still excelling in studies.

[spencerheatherly]

I like to imagine that simon got up and walked away at the end of the video and sat down at a different chair and starts immediately shooting a video for one of his other 100 channels lol


I love this community your all awesome 👌❤

[nickstevens]

I have Myalgic Encephalitis or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and it's really interesting and shocking to me that people have a sore throat before experiencing the rest of their symptoms because sore throat is a common indicator in ME/CFS that you're about to crash or have a flare. It may just be correlation but it's fascinating to me

[ohsaintends]

Let me just say this... As someone who has first-hand experience with oculogyric crisis (albeit from a medicine issue), that shit is no joke. It was infuriating being unable to look down, so much that I often lost sleep because I could feel my eyes straining upward even when closed. Thankfully it's since gone away and I really hope that it never comes back.

[DerptyDerptyDUM]

Unbelievably heartbreaking story. This is one that has haunted me ever since I saw "Awakenings" as a kid.

[benmcreynolds]

This reminds me a lot like PANDAS disease. Another rare reaction of the body towards strep bacteria that creates symptoms that mirror certain behavior that used to land people in sanitariums or asylums. It's scary that common bacteria could cause rare unknown reactions and people won't understand what you're going through and you won't know so a lot of worry of going crazy occurs between all people.. makes me wonder how many mental illnesses might have been untreated illnesses like the reactions to bacteria that cause rare symptoms and behavior?

[speccogecko]

Just mentioned this disease to my mum because I found the “excessive puns and silliness” as a psychiatric side effect to be funny and then my mum hit me with the fact that my great aunt (my mums aunt) had sleeping sickness when she was younger and it turned her into a sociopath who was cruel, evil, mean and uncaring and slobbish when before being ill she was clean, tidy, sweet and kind to people. She abused my mum and her own children ruthlessly and was overall an awful person, I had no idea it was due to such a disease. I’m glad I watched this video and mentioned the disease to my mum because it allowed me to understand my ancestry and biology better *
( I was previously worried sociopathy ran in the family or something)

[mickm]

Simon's varying levels of seriousness across channels is like the stages of a works night out. This is the first pint being very well behaved with your boss, casual Criminalist is 6 pints in considering shots, Brain Blaze is a 4am phone call to collect some marching powder on the way to the second casino of the night

[derekschommer]

Pretty soon we're gonna need a top tenz video on Simon whistler channels

[JohnSmith-pmzb]

Excellent video. As a consultant physician with a large component of neurology In my everyday practice, I thought your explanations of the complex scientific and clinical information on this disease were excellent! A fair few of many fellow doctors have nowhere near such a gift for clarity when explaining things to their patients…

[ancientmaverick]

Watching this as I lay in bed with a sore throat. Awesome.