this sleepwalker dreams that he is cutting meat and mutilating his genitals

A 47-year-old farmer from Ghana takes a nap after lunch. He quickly falls asleep in his chair and dreams of cutting meat and sharing it with his family in a grand scene. A pleasant moment that will turn into a nightmare when you wake up! When the dream ends, he realizes that he is covered in blood and feels severe pain in his perineum. He cut off his genitals while he was dreaming!

He screams to attract neighbors while trying to get up. He was taken to hospital in Assim Akomfod, the central region of Ghana where he lives. Doctors quickly treated him with painkillers, but he required reconstructive surgery on his mutilated genitals. After hearing the story of this unusual patient, doctors realized that this was a particularly severe case of parasomnia.

Parasomnia, a disorder that disturbs you at night.

Parasomnia is a sleep disorder characterized by abnormal, sometimes aggressive behavior or automatic actions during sleep. In general, these disorders fall into two categories: non-REM sleep disorders, which occur during the so-called non-REM sleep phase (REM for quick eyes movementmovement) and REM sleep disorders that occur during paradoxical (or rapid eye movement) sleep.

Non-rapid parasomnias are quite common, especially in childhood, and are estimated to affect 1 to 4% of the adult population; They materialize in different ways: sleepwalking, sleep-related eating disorders, horror. nightnight in children or a state of confusion (tense attitude, disorientation, poor memories after awakening). REM sleep parasomnias are less common and may be associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease or dementiadementia It has Levi’s bodyLevi’s body. Two characteristic manifestations of this disorder are sleep paralysis and abnormal behavior that can be aggressive towards other people and the affected person. In general, parasomnias are aggravated or aggravated by the presence accompanying illnessesaccompanying illnesseswith the most important being obstructive sleep apnea.

Rare edge cases

This Ghanaian’s case appears to represent a particularly severe parasomnia without REM sleep. Most patients do not have such spectacular seizures. The medical literature also reports a case of a 55-year-old man suffering from parasomnia andSleep apneaSleep apnea obstructive for many years, and who had a fit that forced him to bite his finger down to the tendon.

Parasomnias that do not affect the health of the patient and others are not treated. On the other hand, when the parasomniac’s behavior is dangerous, we may prescribe a mixture of benzodiazepine and melatoninmelatonin to calm his nights.