Scientists in Italy Report Medical Patient That Sweats Blood

Just one more thing to worry about.

Patient in Italy has rare condition that makes her sweat blood.
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Patient in Italy has rare condition that makes her sweat blood.

Patient in Italy has rare condition that makes her sweat blood.

In what sounds a lot like a case fit for Mulder and Scully, a 21-year-old Italian patient was admitted to a medical ward after she experienced bleeding from her palms and face over an undoubtedly horrifying three-year span. The unnamed woman's extremely bizarre condition was not caused by any sort of obvious trigger and could occur without warning while she slept and engaged in physical activities. (Though the bleeding would be at its worst, lasting one to five minutes, when she was stressed the f out.)

As a result of this extraordinary malady, the patient socially isolated herself, which lead to depression. After ruling out that she was faking it (like most of us would do before calling it a day) doctors diagnosed her with "hematohidrosis," a very rare condition where a person sweats blood through unbroken skin/pores. As if that wasn't enough of a pain in the ass, patients with hematohidrosis can also bleed in areas of their bodies where they don't have sweat glands.

Sounds horrible.

Dr. Roberto Maglie, a dermatologist at the University of Florence who co-authored a report on the case that is linked below, stated that doctors still have yet to determine the cause of the condition.

While this sounds like an ailment that's so rare it's not worth worrying over, references to sweating blood date all the way back to 300 B.C., with occasional mentions popping up from the Middle Ages through (obviously) the 21st century. Nevertheless, according to Gizmodo, a 2012 dermatology textbook stated that the condition "has not been confirmed scientifically" (though that same textbook said it hasn't been discounted either).

In spite of the fact that details of this most recent case can't be discussed (you know, due to doctor-patient confidentiality or whatever) it was revealed that the woman was prescribed the heart/blood pressure medication propranolol. That reportedly reduced her bleeding, though it hasn't prevented it completely.

Head over to the Canadian Medical Association Journal's article to read more about the rare case.

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