Although on habits and tastes there is nothing written, common sense dictates that the limit should be put when they are a risk to health, their own and others.That said, among the multiplicity of paraphilias - or pleasant alternative gratifications - that exist is to enjoy the smell of used underwear.A practice that not everyone understands but, theoretically, does not involve risks.

The case of Peng, a 37 -year -old Chinese man, is nevertheless an exception, according to the specialized medium Science Alert.The strange custom he had adopted was to sniff his own worn and dirty socks every day at the end of his workday.One day he began to suffer serious chest pains, a feeling of oppression when breathing and coughing.

Peng then went to his reference hospital in Zhangzhou, in the Chinese province of Fujian.Initially, pneumonia was suspected, but the symptoms continued without any improvement despite the treatment, so medical tests and exams were continued looking for an alternative diagnosis.

Finally, it was concluded that it was a severe chemical infection in the lungs: fungi on their airways.It is a type of infection that although it is not impossible in a healthy patient, it is more typical to find it in individuals with "weakening" previous diseases such as patients with AIDS or with chronic pathologies such as diabetes mellitus.

When the doctors asked Peng again, he ended up confessing his strange ritual of smelling his socks daily, so they suspected that the fungi of their lungs could have arrived there thanks to the spores embedded in the wet fibers of the dirty socksof the patient.

According to the same patient, this custom had become "addictive".And, although it is difficult to demonstrate that the infectious route really were the patient's dirty socks, that was the final conclusion of the case.Another hypothesis is that the lack of sleep that suffered would have weakened its immune system, making this type of infections more susceptible.

After the diagnosis, Peng was admitted to the hospital and treated more specifically, with a good prognosis.In addition, he was also advised to cease his habit of smelling used socks, just in case.

[More information: to desire mutilated to get excited with the hirsute hair: the rarest sexual practices]

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