Sweating blood: Doctors mystified by bizarre disorder.

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Meeshika Sharma
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In a an article published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, doctors in Florence, Italy, describe the case of a young woman with a history of spontaneous bleeding from her palms and face.It was probably one of the most bizarre medical cases a team of Italian doctors had ever seen.A Toronto hematologist says the case is "most unusual."

A 21-year-old woman was admitted to hospital with a condition that caused her to sweat blood from her face and from the palms of her hands. This despite any sign of skin lesions.

Doctors say the patient had 3 year old history of bleeding with no obvious trigger. The spontaneous bleeding could happen while she slept and during physical activity. More intense bleeding happened when the patient was under stress, with episodes lasting anywhere between one and five minutes.

It is mentioned in the article that  the unidentified patient had become socially isolated because of the bleeding and that she had developed depression. After tests revealed her blood count and blood-clotting functions were normal, doctors ruled out "factitious disorder"— she wasn't faking it.

She has been diagnose with hematohidrosis, a rare disease that causes a patient to excrete or sweat blood through unbroken skin or pores. Bleeding has also reportedly occurred in areas of the body without sweat glands.Doctors have treated her with propranolol, a heart and blood pressure medication. It led to a marked reduction but not a complete remission of her bleeding.

Canadian medical historian Jacalyn Duffin says at first she was doubtful whether people could sweat blood. She thought the Italian doctors were being duped. But after an exhaustive review of historical literature and more recent reports on cases of hematohidrosis, or sweating blood, she's a believer.

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