Woman's rare condition means she actually sweats blood

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A 21-year-old Italian woman has been diagnosed with an extremely rare condition that causes her to sweat blood from her face and the palms of her hands.

Doctors were left perplexed after the unnamed woman was admitted to their general ward with a three-year history of “sweat bleeding” without showing any sign of skin cuts, according to a newly released report.

After an array of tests, doctors diagnosed her with hematohidrosis – a rare condition in which a person is capable of sweating blood, according to Medicine Net.

According to the report released by the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) on Monday, doctors said there was no specific reason for the woman’s bleeding, which unusually happened while she was asleep or performing physical activities.

The young woman’s bleeding intensifies when she is stressed. 

Although she had no previous history of mental illness, doctors say the woman has isolated herself from society because she’s simply too embarrassed to step outside.

“Our patient had become socially isolated owing to embarrassment over the bleeding and she reported symptoms consistent with major depressive disorder and panic disorder,” the report stated.

Specialists still don’t know the cause of the mysterious condition, but some researchers at the Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Centre think that an increasing amount of pressure in blood vessels causes blood cells to flow through the ducts of sweat glands instead.

The rare disease only affects one in 10 million people worldwide.

Sources: cmaj.ca, livescience.com, dailymail.co.uk, globalnews.ca