Bizarre medical condition causes woman to sweat blood, and doctors can’t explain it

DOCTORS are struggling to explain a bizarre medical condition that causes woman to sweat blood from her face and hands. Warning: Graphic images.

A young woman has a disorder that causes her to sweat blood from her face and hands Picture: Canadian Medical Association Journal

THE CASE of a young woman with a disorder that causes her to sweat blood from her face and hands has left experts perplexed.

Doctors were initially at a loss when it came to the 21-year-old Italian patient who spontaneously bleeds despite not having any lesions, CBC News reported.

The University of Florence study, which was published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, said the patient has experienced random bleeding episodes for three years.

“I can say with clarity that I’ve never seen a case like this — ever,” Dr. Michelle Sholzberg, co-director of the Hemophilia Comprehensive Care program at St. Michael’s Hospital, told CBC News. “And I can say that I’ve seen some of the worst bleeding disorders, and I’ve never seen them sweat blood.”

The study said there has been no clear trigger for the woman’s bleeding.

The patient has experienced bloody episodes while exercising, as well as when she’s asleep. But she reported more severe bleeding when she was stressed.

Experts said the blood loss lasts from one to five minutes.

Ultimately, doctors diagnosed her with hematohidrosis, a disorder where a patient will excrete or sweat blood through unbroken skin or pores, according to CBC.

“I think this person has a very bizarre anatomical defect on a microscopic level that is resulting in this very unusual symptom,” Sholzerbg said.

According to the study, the woman is embarrassed by the disorder and has become reclusive.

“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 study said.

Medical professionals have not been able to cure her, but prescribed a beta blocker medication called proletarian which helped alleviate the symptoms.

This story first appeared on the NY Post .