Pruthviraj Patil has suffered from hypertrichosis, a rare genetic condition also known as Werewolf Syndrome, since birth. He is believed to be one of only 50 people in the world with the condition.
Pruthviraj’s family has tried a range of treatments, including homeopathy, traditional Indian Ayurvedic remedies, and more recently, laser surgery, but none has proved successful.
Now he has appealed to doctors to help him find a permanent cure.
“I would like to get the hair removed, but even after laser treatment, it grows back,” Pruthviraj said.
“The doctors don’t have any answers,” Pruthviraj said.
When Prithviraj was born, villagers told his mother she had given birth to a God.
Others thought he was a supernatural creature and a bad omen because of his unique appearance.
But despite his abnormal hair growth, Pruthviraj, who is from the district of Sangli, near Bombay, is healthy, sporty, and popular at school.
“When I first went to school, I used to get bullied and other children would laugh at me, but now they treat me like normal,” he said.
“We all play cricket together, and the hair doesn’t stop me from running or catching the ball, so it is not a big problem,” he said.
The thick, matted hair covering Pruthviraj’s face has caused him to be stared at and bullied throughout his childhood, and he rarely leaves his home village in India because of the cruelty of strangers.
“It is difficult when I venture outside of my hometown or where people don’t know me,” he said.
