Hematidrosis is a rare condition where a person appears to be sweating blood, often during extreme fear or anxiety. It is caused by capillaries breaking and blood entering sweat glands. Other potential causes include psychogenic purpura and vicarious menstruation. While there is no scientific evidence, cases should be reported to a doctor for evaluation.
Hematidrosis is an extremely rare condition in which a person appears to be sweating blood. While there is no clear scientific evidence regarding this condition, it has been reported to exist for several centuries. The condition has been most commonly reported during extreme attacks of fear or anxiety, as often happens when a person is facing death. A small network structure of tiny blood vessels, known as capillaries, surrounds the sweat glands. It is possible for these blood vessels to break when a person is faced with an extremely stressful situation, causing blood to leak out of the body through the sweat glands.
While there are other potential causes of hematidrosis, fear and anxiety appear to be the most commonly reported. The body’s natural fight-or-flight reflexes can lead to capillaries bursting, causing droplets of blood to enter nearby sweat glands and exit the body through perspiration. Excessive physical exertion, psychogenic purpura, and vicarious menstruation are other potential causes of hematidrosis.
Psychogenic purpura is a possible contributing factor to the development of hematidrosis. This is a rare condition in which painful lesions appear on the face and extremities. Psychogenic purpura is poorly understood and thought to be related to mental illness, sometimes resulting in what has often been referred to as hysterical bleeding. Blood tests and other types of diagnostic tests do not lead to abnormal results, contributing to the difficulty of scientifically understanding this phenomenon.
Vicarious menstruation has been listed as another possible cause of hematidrosis in some women. This condition is characterized by bleeding from parts of the body other than the uterus during the normal period of menstruation. This is thought to occur due to the increase in capillary permeability that occurs naturally during menstruation. The reasons for this occurring in some women but not in others are not clinically understood.
Although this condition is extremely rare and has no scientific evidence to support the existence of hematidrosis, sweat mixed with blood has been reported for many centuries around the world. In almost all reported cases, the affected person has faced attacks of extraordinary fear, often in anticipation of death or other types of bodily injury. Physical dehydration that occurs during times of extreme stress, anxiety, and fear is thought to be a contributing factor in the development of this condition. Any cases of blood present during sweating should be reported to a doctor for further medical evaluation.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
