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Blood In Sweat Or Tears (Hematidrosis / Hematohidrosis / Hemolacria)

drjbrennan

drjbrennan

Ephemeral Spectre
Joined
Aug 14, 2001
Messages
313
When I was at school we were told that Christ on his journey to the Crucifixion, sweated blood and the image of his face was formed on a cloth which was used to wipe his face.

It was explained to us that people under extreme stress may sweat blood. This notion has now come full circle and I am being asked if it is a real physiological phenomenon.
Apart from Viral Haemorrhagic fevers and Stigmata, does anyone know if it is possible for someone to sweat blood and is extreme stress involved?
 
Can't help with the medical details but I doubt if the Bible tale was
entirely literal. The name of the woman who got the face-cloth was
Veronica = True Image? :confused:
 
Yup, that's exactly what Veronica means and unless I'm very much mistaken, she isn't mentioned in any of the four biblical accounts of the crucifixion.
The Veronica legend is linked with the cloth with the face of Jesus known as the Mandylion. Many say that it was what is know known as the shroud of Turin folded up so only the face is visible.

... but I can't help with any medical detail either
 
As a crossword enthusiast, I have to ask if Vera Icon = Veronica is just an anagram thought up by someone with too much time on his hands.

I know this idea is much repeated, but where is the evidence for it?

The normal sort of corruption of such a common phrase might lead to, say, Verico, or Verica.
 
The 'true image' translation seems to go back to Giraldus Cambriensis but the full legend of Veronica only seems to date back to c14th France, perhaps to validate an otherwise inexplicable relic.
Either way she's now considered apocryphal and off the official saints list, like poor old St Christopher...
 
Excerpt from a medical article by Kelly Hollowell, Ph.D.:

There is a very rare phenomenon, a medical condition, in which an individual can, indeed, sweat blood. It is called hematidrosis, and it is associated with a high degree of psychological stress. What happens is that severe anxiety causes the release of chemicals that break down the capillaries in the sweat glands. As a result, there’s a small amount of bleeding into these sweat glands, and the sweat comes out tinged with blood.
 
The Veronica = Vera Icon, translation is not the only saint with a peculier origin for their name.

St Alban, is supposed to have taken & worn the cloak of a priest & been arrested instead of the priest. The name given to the priest in legend is Amphibalus. The Latin name given to a heavy winter cloak was an 'amphibalon'.

So probably due to some lousy translating, we have a Saint Overcoat!!!!!!:D
 
Well, when I was in school, they told us the same story, but that the sweating blood was just a miracle--not a stress reaction. They got around a lot of explanations that way.
 
wasn't there a discovery recently of some feral horses in China that sweated blood when they ran? If i remember rightly it fitted in nicely with local legends of such a breed and one early written account.
 
Hippos also sweat "blood"- well, really a red-colored sweat that does contain some of the pigments of red-blood cells, but not actual blood, as it were. Some scientists speculate that this sweat contains a powerful anti-bacterial substance, as hippos so seldom contract infectionsin wounds, despite standing in filthy water for most of their lives. Last I read in "Nature", more research was being done.

I've also heard that it's possible, but very rare, to sweat blood, although perhaps it's not actual blood, but more pigmentation, like the hippos? Also, people do not truly sweat blood while suffering from a haemhorragic fever- it does not exit via the pores as in true sweating, but is the product of vast thinning and leaking of red blood cells coupled with spontaneous lesions of the skin- most such fevers produce at first a violent rash, as well. Nasty, eh?
 
Just a quickie - the Veronica image was more properly known as the Sudarium. The Mandylion was held to be 'not made by human hands' and was probably thought to be the Sudarium. There has been suggestions that the Mandylion became the Shroud of Turin, with the original Mandylion being folded so that only the disembodied face is visible.

Oh yes, sorry to be picky. Christ sweated tears of blood in the Garden of Gethsemene, Maundy Thursday. The Sudarium's image was caused by the blood from the Crown of Thorns, and sweat from exertion (and considerable pain).
 
Found some more on the subject of Veronica here. Here's an excerpt:

The name Veronica has been the subject of a good deal of speculation. It has been suggested and widely received that among several alleged authentic likenesses of our Lord (generally "not-made-with-hands") the one on the handkerchief ofthe kind woman was distinguished as vera icon, the "true image"; this became veronica and was transferred to the woman as a personal name. Certainly such images were and are called holy-veronica, corrupted in Middle English to "vernicle". But it is significant that in the East the haemorrhiossa was called by the name Berenike (victory-bringer) before ever there was any indication of an association with a miraculous image. Origen, in the first quarter of the third century, in his polemic Contra Celsum, speaks of the Valentinians regarding the haemorrhoissa as a type of Wisdom under the name of Prounike, whom Celsus had confounded into a Christian virgin.
Click to expand...
 
Girl who bleeds without being cut baffles doctors
A girl who spontaneously bleeds from her pores is baffling doctors.

Last Updated: 12:23PM BST 30 Sep 2008

Twinkle Dwivedi, 13, has a strange disorder which means she loses blood through her skin without being cut or scratched.

She has even undergone transfusions after pints of it seeped through her eyes, nose, hairline, neck and the soles of her feet.

Sometimes her condition is so bad she wakes up with her entire body covered in dried blood.

Villagers near her home in Uttar Pradesh, India, believe she must be cursed and shout cruel things in the street.

Her frantic family have sought help from numerous doctors as well as preachers from many different religions without success.

"I am desperate to help my daughter," said her mother Nandani Diwedi, 42.

"We are not superstitious people but we became so desperate.

"We've been to temples, mosques, churches and sufi saints, but nothing has cured her."

Indian medics now believe her condition is an extreme version of a rare blood platelet disorder for which they cannot find a cure.

However, a ray of hope has been offered by a British specialist, who believes Twinkle may have a different clotting disorder, for which treatment will be possible.

Last year, Twinkle was a normal 12-year-old who enjoyed school, painting and playing with her friends - but then she suddenly started bleeding between five and 20 times a day.

"I was so scared," she said.

"It didn't hurt. But it was scary and messy, and my friends thought it was disgusting.

"My school blouse went all red. No-one would come near me or play with me.

"I used to cry nearly every time it happened. But now I just keep quiet." :(

Twinkle was thrown out of one school and another refused to teach her because of her strange condition.

Now she studies at home and rarely sees other children.

Her mother said: "I am very worried about her. She is very weak and pale from the blood loss.

"She is very isolated and depressed. She wants to get better so she can go back to school.

"I now believe doctors in India are incompetent. I don't think they can help her."

The first time the bleeding happened from Twinkle's mouth in July 2007, her parents took her to a GP who suggested a common ulcer.

But then, a few weeks later, the bleeding also started from her nose, eyes, feet and hairline.

Twinkle's parents took her to see dozens of different doctors who could not find a reason for her blood loss.

Her dad Aditya Kumar Diewdi, 47, a railway worker, said: "They told us they had never seen a case like this before.

"One doctor even accused us of making it up. Why on earth would we do that?"

Finally doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi decided she has Type 2 Platelet Disorder, a rare condition where blood is dangerously low in clotting particles.

They say her blood is watery and has the colour of a light red wine - but they cannot find a treatment to make it thicker.

However, a blood specialist in Britain came up with a different diagnosis and believes there may be hope.

Consultant haematologist Dr Drew Provan, of Barts Hospital in London, said:

"She may have Type II von Willebrand disease and she should see a coagulation doctor for treatment."

He believes her condition is not related to the number of clotting particles, but something called the von Willebrand factor, which helps platelets stick to blood vessels and blood to clot.

But Twinkle's family is poor and unless an actual diagnosis can be found soon, she will continue growing weaker.

She has already undergone several blood transfusions and it is feared she may one day lose too much blood too quickly.

"When I bleed from the head, my head feels very heavy," says Twinkle.

"When my eyes bleed they go really red and sore. It also hurts when I wash it after bleeding."

Twinkle has thee older sisters who are also extremely concerned for her future.

Her eldest sister Parul, 21, who works in a Delhi call centre said: "We pray every day that the doctors will find a cure for my sister."

Her mum added: "My family will do anything we can to help her be healthy again."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... ctors.html
 
Girl who bleeds without being cut baffles doctors
A girl who spontaneously bleeds from her pores is baffling doctors.

Last Updated: 11:48AM BST 02 Oct 2008
Previous1 of 2 ImagesNext

Twinkle Dwivedi has a rare condition where she bleeds spontaneously from any part of her body Photo: BARCROFT MEDIA
Twinkle Dwivedi, 13, has a strange disorder which means she loses blood through her skin without being cut or scratched.
She has even undergone transfusions after pints of it seeped through her eyes, nose, hairline, neck and the soles of her feet.
Sometimes her condition is so bad she wakes up with her entire body covered in dried blood.
Villagers near her home in Uttar Pradesh, India, believe she must be cursed and shout cruel things in the street.
Her frantic family have sought help from numerous doctors as well as preachers from many different religions without success.
"I am desperate to help my daughter," said her mother Nandani Diwedi, 42.
"We are not superstitious people but we became so desperate.
"We've been to temples, mosques, churches and sufi saints, but nothing has cured her."
Indian medics now believe her condition is an extreme version of a rare blood platelet disorder for which they cannot find a cure.
However, a ray of hope has been offered by a British specialist, who believes Twinkle may have a different clotting disorder, for which treatment will be possible.
Last year, Twinkle was a normal 12-year-old who enjoyed school, painting and playing with her friends - but then she suddenly started bleeding between five and 20 times a day.
"I was so scared," she said.
"It didn't hurt. But it was scary and messy, and my friends thought it was disgusting.
"My school blouse went all red. No-one would come near me or play with me.
"I used to cry nearly every time it happened. But now I just keep quiet."
Twinkle was thrown out of one school and another refused to teach her because of her strange condition.
Now she studies at home and rarely sees other children.
Her mother said: "I am very worried about her. She is very weak and pale from the blood loss.
"She is very isolated and depressed. She wants to get better so she can go back to school.
"I now believe doctors in India are incompetent. I don't think they can help her."
The first time the bleeding happened from Twinkle's mouth in July 2007, her parents took her to a GP who suggested a common ulcer.
But then, a few weeks later, the bleeding also started from her nose, eyes, feet and hairline.
Twinkle's parents took her to see dozens of different doctors who could not find a reason for her blood loss.
Her dad Aditya Kumar Diewdi, 47, a railway worker, said: "They told us they had never seen a case like this before.
"One doctor even accused us of making it up. Why on earth would we do that?"
Finally doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi decided she has Type 2 Platelet Disorder, a rare condition where blood is dangerously low in clotting particles.
They say her blood is watery and has the colour of a light red wine - but they cannot find a treatment to make it thicker.
However, a blood specialist in Britain came up with a different diagnosis and believes there may be hope.
Consultant haematologist Dr Drew Provan, of Barts Hospital in London, said:
"She may have Type II von Willebrand disease and she should see a coagulation doctor for treatment."
He believes her condition is not related to the number of clotting particles, but something called the von Willebrand factor, which helps platelets stick to blood vessels and blood to clot.
But Twinkle's family is poor and unless an actual diagnosis can be found soon, she will continue growing weaker.
She has already undergone several blood transfusions and it is feared she may one day lose too much blood too quickly.
"When I bleed from the head, my head feels very heavy," says Twinkle.
"When my eyes bleed they go really red and sore. It also hurts when I wash it after bleeding."
Twinkle has thee older sisters who are also extremely concerned for her future.
Her eldest sister Parul, 21, who works in a Delhi call centre said: "We pray every day that the doctors will find a cure for my sister."
Her mum added: "My family will do anything we can to help her be healthy again."
Click to expand...

Source
 
How precisely does this differ from the fairly-well-known phenomenon of "blood sweats"? Those don't involve cuts either.
 
Bruises are essentially sub-dermal bleeding. I wouldn´t think getting blood through the skin would then be that big a step.
 
Haemolacria is the clinical term for the specific condition of exuding blood from the eyes (i.e., blood tears). The Wikipedia article on the condition provides a list of people who've exhibited this condition.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haemolacria
 
There's often a great deal of skepticism in responding to reports of blood tears, and it's not uncommon for the phenomenon to be dismissed as a hoax. However, there are documented cases and historical examples to support the case that there is such a medical condition.

This medical site webpage provides an overview of the condition and a more detailed review of historical cases.

https://www.medlife.com/blog/hematohidrosis-people-cry-bloody-tears-sweat-blood/
 
This 2004 published research report describes 4 cases of blood tears in which no specific cause could be found, all of which eventually resolved themselves without medical intervention. Additional publications' citations can be found at the link below.

Bloody Tears of Unknown Cause: Case Series and Review of the Literature
Viet H Ho, Matthew W Wilson, James S Linder, James C Fleming, Barrett G Haik
PMID: 15599244
DOI: 10.1097/01.iop.0000143713.01616.cf

Abstract

Purpose: To report 4 cases of recurrent unilateral bloody tears.

Methods: Retrospective case series.

Results: One boy and 3 girls, ranging in age from 6 to 14 years, reported spontaneous bloody tearing. Workup included probing and irrigation of the nasolacrimal system, blood and coagulation profiles, blood typing, serum hormone levels, conjunctival biopsy, and imaging. All findings were normal and failed to suggest a cause in any of the cases. In all patients, bloody tearing eventually resolved without further sequela. No recurrence has been reported over a follow-up period of 9 months to 11 years.

Conclusions: Bloody tearing is an unusual clinical entity that concerns patients and can perplex physicians. A thorough examination and proper workup are necessary to rule out serious conditions but may fail to determine a cause. These idiopathic cases typically resolve without treatment.
Click to expand...

SOURCE: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15599244/
 
Here's the most recent reported case ...
11-Year-Old Girl Cries Blood in Incredibly Rare Medical Case, Confusing Doctors

A recent case study by opthamologists from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi details the strange and incredibly rare medical phenomenon known as haemolacria in an 11-year-old girl.

According to the girl's mother, the bouts of bloody tears had been a daily occurrence over the previous week. Without pain or intense emotion, red streaks would suddenly trickle down the child's cheeks for several minutes, two to three times each day.

"I am scared about my daughter's health," the mother is reported to have told staff. "The blood coming from her eyes is horrifying. I hope there will not be any similar episodes in future."

The clinic ran a battery of tests to find the cause, coming up empty handed each time. The patient had no history of trauma or illness. Her tear glands appeared to be intact, her blood results were clear, and other than blood cells, the fluids being emitted from her tear ducts weren't unusual in any way.

Experts at the clinic could not come up with a single clue that might help them understand the case. Still, while under observation for the next few days, the child would continue to weep bloody tears.

As rare as cases like hers are, the shocking nature of haemolacria means there's no shortage of examples of the condition through medical history. ...
Click to expand...

FULL STORY: https://www.sciencealert.com/this-1...arted-to-weep-blood-and-doctors-can-t-say-why
 
This 2018 case from Italy illustrates how a variety of conditions might result in hemolacria (blood tears).

hemolacria-Italy-2018.jpeg

Man's Bloody Tears Were Caused by This Rare Condition

It sounds like a scary Halloween costume: a man with bloody tears pouring down his face. But for a man in Italy, such tears were the real thing, the result of a rare condition that causes people to cry blood.

The 52-year-old man went to an emergency room after bloody tears fell from both his eyes, something that had never happened to him before, according to a new report of the case, published today (Oct. 31) in The New England Journal of Medicine. Although the tears looked dramatic, they were not painful, and the man had not experienced any facial trauma.

He also had normal vision and was able to move both of his eyes without problems.

The bloody tears stopped spontaneously about 1 hour after they began, the report said. ...

Doctors diagnosed the man with hemolacria, a rare condition in which blood appears in a person's tears. A number of things can cause the condition, including eye infections, inflammation, or tumors of the eye or surrounding structures, the report said. Some people can even experience bloody tears if they have a backward flow of blood from a nosebleed, as was the case for a woman in the United Kingdom. She tried to stop a nosebleed by pinching her nose, only to have blood come out of her eye and ear ...
Click to expand...

FULL STORY: https://www.livescience.com/63983-bloody-tears-rare-condition.html
 
This 2017 Live Science article describes the case of a young Italian woman who exuded blood from her face and palms.

BloodSweat-2017.jpg

Woman's Rare Condition Causes Her to Sweat Blood, Doctors Report

A young woman in Italy has a rare and mysterious condition that causes her to sweat blood, according to a new report of her case.

The 21-year-old told her doctors that, over the last three years, she periodically experienced bleeding from her face and palms, without any cuts or skin lesions. These bleeding episodes typically lasted about 1 to 5 minutes, and were more intense when she was under emotional stress.

While the woman was at the hospital, her doctors observed "the discharge of blood-stained fluid from her face," according to the report ... She was diagnosed with a rare condition in which blood oozes from intact skin and membranes ...

The condition has been reported for centuries, although some doctors have been skeptical of its existence ...

However, nobody knows what causes the condition. Some researchers have hypothesized that increased pressure in blood vessels leads to the passage of blood cells through the ducts of the sweat glands ... Others speculate the condition may be the result of activation of the body's "fight or flight" response, which generally occurs when people experience sudden fear or stress. This response triggers the release of certain hormones that make a person more alert. But in rare cases, it may also cause the rupture of small blood vessels, resulting in bleeding ...

Descriptions of "blood sweat" go back as far as the writings of Aristotle in the third century B.C. ... In the late medieval and early modern periods, some references to bloody sweat were in the context of writings about the crucifixion of Christ ... But starting in the 1600s, the first "eyewitness accounts" of hematohidrosis appear in the medical literature, in what doctors would consider case reports ...
Click to expand...

FULL STORY:
https://www.livescience.com/60745-woman-sweats-blood-hematohidrosis.html

PUBLISHED REPORT:
A case of blood sweating: hematohidrosis syndrome
Roberto Maglie and Marzia Caproni
CMAJ October 23, 2017 189 (42) E1314

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.161298

https://www.cmaj.ca/content/189/42/E1314
 
This newly reported case was diagnosed as vicarious menstruation (emission of blood from diverse body parts coincident with menstruation). The patient was treated with contraceptives, and the anomalous bleeding hadn't repeated for 3 subsequent months as of the time of the report.
Woman cries blood tears during menstruation in 'rare and unusual clinical case'

A young woman's menstrual cycle brought tears to her eyes. But unlike most period-related tears, hers were bright-red tears of blood.

When the 25-year-old visited an emergency room with bloody tears oozing from both eyes, it was her second such episode in the past two months, doctors recently reported. Blood tears are a rare condition known as haemolacria, which can have different causes. In the woman's case, her eyes were otherwise normal and she wasn't ill or injured. However, both instances of bloody tears coincided with the onset of her period, the physicians wrote in a case report.

Normal menstruation can sometimes trigger cyclical bleeding outside the uterus, known as vicarious menstruation. The woman's crimson teardrops likely represented a highly unusual convergence of two conditions — vicarious menstruation and haemolacria ...

Though the woman's crimson tears looked alarming, ... her eyes were undamaged and the blood tears weren't accompanied by headaches, dizziness or other symptoms of a health problem. Nor were there any signs of abnormality in her sinuses, tear ducts or in the bloody tears themselves ...
Click to expand...

FULL STORY: https://www.livescience.com/blood-tears-menstruation.html
 
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