This woman grows nails on her head, face

Instead of hair follicles, MsShanyna Isom has fingernails growing out of her skin. The woman has an unidentified illness which has baffled doctors and left her struggling to walk and perform daily chores.

Three years ago, Ms Isom suffered an allergic reaction which caused her illness.

The 28-year-old former University of Memphis law student has seen every possible specialist, including a doctor in the Netherlands, but still has no idea what her affliction is.

Ms Isom was in her first year at university, where she was studying criminal justice, when the mystery illness first flared up in September 2009, according to WLBT in Memphis, which first reported the story.

She had been prescribed steroids after suffering an asthma attack, and within hours, she was "itching" all over her body.

Her legs then turned black.

Doctors treated her for virtually every condition - from eczema to Staphylococcal infection - without success.