But recently, a medical mystery more mind-boggling than an episode of house has left Italian doctors scratching their heads, and although many wild and weird theories have been advanced, none have managed to explain the phenomenon. In a case that was recently highlighted in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, a 21-year-old woman from Florence in Italy was admitted to hospital with a condition that resembled demonic possession more than illness or injury. Staff on the ward were baffled when the girl admitted that, for the last three years, she'd routinely sweated blood.
Yes, you read that right: she would literally bleed through the pores of her skin without having sustained a prior injury. Even more odd was that there appeared to be no external trigger for the bleeding whatsoever. The girl, (who has not been named for reasons of doctor-patient confidentiality) confessed that the bleeding was spontaneous, and could occur while she was sitting or standing, during exercise, even while she was sleeping. Each episode would occur for only two-five minutes, and she would not be in pain during the incidents, although her unprovoked bleeding would often disturb and alarm other people.
Dr. Roberto Maglie, co-author of the article and dermatologist at the University of Florence, revealed that the sudden bleeding was so unusual that the patient had become socially isolated due to her anxiety regarding her unusual condition, and had become clinically depressed due to her loneliness and fear of ostracisation. Dr Maglie took a blood test and cell count, and determined that the girl in question wasn't faking it.
It was unlike anything Dr Maglie had ever witnessed before. The only help that the patient could provide herself was to state that she seemed to bleed more profusely when stressed out. Maglie offered a tentative diagnosis of hematohidrosis, a rare disease that causes patients to literally sweat blood through the skin, although as for the cause, he could only speculate.
The case itself has provoked widespread speculation from medial experts specialising in blood disorders around the globe, who have all advanced opinions on the mystery. Dr. Michelle Sholzberg, the co-director of the Haemophilia Comprehensive Care program at St Michael's Hospital in Toronto, stated "I can say with clarity that I've never seen a case like this ever, and I can say that I've seen some of the worst bleeding disorders, and I've never seen them sweat blood. I think this person has a very bizarre anatomical defect on a microscopic level that is resulting in this very unusual symptom."
Jacalyn Duffin, a Canadian medical historian, stated that she was initially skeptical about the case study, believing it to be a ruse designed to con well-meaning doctors. Yet when she looked into the pathology of hematohidrosis, and learned about the other, rare examples of the condition, her opinion was swayed. "After all the research that I've done, I am convinced of the plausibility and the possibility that it exists," the haematologist stated, "There are mentions of the phenomenon as far back as Aristotle ... prior to the time of Jesus ... A significant proportion of all the actual cases I could find have emerged in recent decades."
Aside from the nameless Italian patient, there have been 18 supposedly legitimate cases of hematohidrosis recorded worldwide since the year 2000, and the cause of the bleeding was not discovered in any of those instances, some of which were even more severe. Hematohidrosis has also been known to exacerbate the bleeding of cuts, to make menstrual flow and nosebleeds heavier, and even cause some sufferers cry bloody tears. Although sufferers would only ever lose small quantities of blood, the skin would be noticeably taut and sensitive afterwards, and would often be preceded by a throbbing headache.
What on earth caused the girl to be afflicted in this way? The predominant hypothesis is that the capillaries which supply the sweat glands with rupture under extreme stress, which therefore causes them to excrete blood. The bleeding while asleep could be due to the sweat gland blood vessels haemorrhaging, thanks to the heightened adrenaline levels in the bloodstream during nightmares. But why would stress cause the capillaries to break down, even if that is the cause? So far, no-one knows. None of the 18 patients recorded since 2000 have shown any sign of vasculitis (blood vessel disorders) or skin inflammation.
The girl was treated for depression and anxiety, and given a course of propranolol to try to stem the bleeding, but we're no closer to knowing what has caused the problem. At least we know for sure that it's a medical issue, and not a supernatural occurrence. Although her condition was not life-threatening, there are many people around the world who do suffer from serious blood disorders, and who require blood donations. Please consider visiting the following site to register as a donor to help save lives.