An Italian woman suffers from a condition where she sweats blood from her face and palms. This has left doctors and researchers baffled as to what the condition is and how it can be curbed. Take a look at its possible causes and treatments.
Italian woman suffers blood sweating, know the causes and treatments
HIGHLIGHTS
- 21-year-old Italian woman suffers from blood sweating
- The condition has no cure and is not life-threatening
- The condition is the result of excess fear or stress
Ever heard about 'blood sweating'? A 21-year-old Italian woman reportedly suffers from this condition where she sweats blood from her face and palms. Her case has left researchers surprised and as to what the condition is all about. Over the past three years, she periodically suffered from bleeding without any cuts or injuries on her skin. Doctors have diagnosed this condition as 'hematohidrosis' commonly referred as blood sweating. The bleeding lasts from one to five minutes and occurs when she is either asleep or engaging in any physical activity. Excess bleeding is experience when she is under any sort of emotional stress.
There is no obvious trigger for this sort of bleeding reports the Canadian Medical Association Journal. It further reports that the woman is undergoing social isolation due to the same and has developed depression. Her tests, however, did not show any irregularity or disturbance in blood count or any trace of blood clotting whatsoever. So, the factitious disorder' quotient was ruled out by the doctors, they believed that she was not faking it. She did not have a history of psychosis as well.
Tests revealed that it was actually blood and not coloured sweat. Moreover, some people who suffer from this condition even cry blood tears.
She was treated with a heart and blood medication known as propranolol. It did help in controlling the bleeding but failed to stop the bleeding completely, the Guardian reported.
Hematohidrosis in no way is common and occurs very rarely but, the condition is not new. The cases of this condition date back during the 3rd century BC. The Bible, too, mention Jesus blood sweating.
The victim's identity has been kept confidential for privacy issues.
Here are the three key points you need to know about Hematohidrosis:
1. Blood sweating is uncommon but real.
2. It is not life-threatening according to doctors.
3. The condition is the result of excess fear or stress.
What causes blood sweating?
A very rare condition, the actual cause of this condition is not clear. However, it is believed that a person undergoes blood sweating when he or she is under great stress or fear, usually the fear or death. The Bible reveals how Jesus was sweating blood before his crucifixion.
The condition is stated as body's temporary reaction to fear and stress and does not lead to health damage of any sort. The capillaries are tiny blood vessels in our body which carry essential nutrients to all parts of the body. They are located close to the sweat glands and in case the mind experiences fear, the capillaries burst and lead to an outbreak of blood through the sweat glands.
In women, it can also be termed as vicarious menstruation when the body secretes blood from a site other than the uterus.
Treatment
Though the condition is not life-threatening, doctors are not able to figure out a proper treatment for this condition. Treatment, however, would be figuring out the stressor which is triggering this reaction.
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