After undergoing a life-saving drug treatment, a 16-year-old girl from China woke up one day to find herself growing thick unsightly hair all over her body, making her look like a man.

According to a report by Xinhua, the girl’s name is Nana, and she is from Jinhua, Zhejiang province.

She was diagnosed with a life-threatening form of aplastic anaemia in 2010 – a condition where the bone marrow is not able produce sufficient new cells to replenish blood cells.

According to the National Bone Marrow Donor Programme, people with very severe aplastic anaemia are at risk for life-threatening infections or bleeding.

“The doctor said that the condition was very serious and without treatment, she would die,” the girl’s mother told Xinhua. Nana could not eat and kept vomiting, worrying her family.

Her doctor quickly put her on a potent course of drug therapy, and two years later, her blood indicators have returned to normal. However, one shocking side-effect from the therapy is that Nana developed a rare condition called hirsutism.

Hirsutism – which is when women grow excessive hair on parts of their body where hair does not normally occur or is minimal – has caused Nana to grow a heavy beard and moustache.

“The doctor said that the medication would have very major side-effects. Within a month of taking the drugs, the hair on her arms and face started to thicken, and she even grew a beard,” her mother said.