Viktor Yushchenko, one of the men vying for the presidency in the Ukraine, has undergone a strange transformation. He used to be quite a handsome man, but since September 2004 has undergone a radical transformation. It doesn’t even look like the same man! Hard to believe someone could change so much in so short a time.
Does anyone have any idea what might cause such a dramatic transformation? Some (including Yushchenko himself, apparently) have claimed dioxin poisoning, others rosacea, some just stress (!?!?). The lesions on Yushchenko’s face are alleged to be chloracne from exposure to dioxin, though they’ve only been “diagnosed” via photographs. How would you go about poisoning just one individual using dioxin? Are there any other poisons or contaminants that could cause this? Could rosacea really alter a person’s face so dramatically this fast? Could Yushchenko’s face ever go back the way it was?
Does anyone know how an individual could be poisoned by dioxin? Everything I know about that chemical indicates that it tends to accumulate over time, whereas Yushchenko’s transformation happened suddenly. Even Agent Orange didn’t cause those radical changes. Would it have been administered in food in a large dose, which matches up with Yushchenko’s hospitalization for stomach pains? Could blood work or something prove he was poisoned, and if so, why doesn’t he do it and blow the lid off the whole thing?
I don’t know why I find this whole issue so fascinating, but my horror at the situation really makes me wonder. If you were going to poison someone, why would you use something that left such outwardly visible signs? The whole thing is just downright weird.
I started my own thread without seeing this. His hair has gone gray, too… I’d love to hear what some Doper doctors think about this. It’d also be great if we could see when this happened, if there was anything gradual or if it was as sudden as it sounds. This is incredibly weird.
I have read (The Times or Evening Standard, last Thursday) that this could be caused by a skin allergy, brought on by stress. The article did raise the issue of dioxins, but suggested that the kind of dosage to bring about such radical effects would almost certainly have been fatal. Also, of course, you’d expect Viktor Yushchenko to have made some kind of fuss if he was suspicious - it would go a long way to furthering his cause after all!
He did make a bid fuss. And he used this as an electoral argument. I remember that soon after his illness/poisoning, he was accusing the Ukranian authorities of having poisoning him. There was already a controversy, since the hospital where he was treated issued contradictory statements, from different members of the staff (the doctor who treated him and the manager of the hospital, IIRC), one stating that they couldn’t explain his illness otherwise than by poisonning, the other stating that Yuschenko or Yuschenko’s friends had exerted strong pressures (or threats?) on the hospital managment so that they would conclude the way he wanted.
Even if the attempt wasnt to kill him, ruining his appearance (I believe he was widely considered very handsome) could cause voters to choose the candidate that didn’t look to be on his deathbed.
