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Blood, sweat and fear. "A classification of hematidrosis"
1Louisiana State University School of Medicine, Shreveport, USA.
Insights
Hematidrosis, or sweating blood, is an extremely rare condition. The study found that acute fear and intense mental contemplation are the most frequent causes of this rare phenomenon.
Area of Science:
- Medical Science
- Clinical Medicine
- Rare Diseases
Background:
- The phrase "sweating blood" is a common idiom.
- Hematidrosis is a rare medical condition involving the excretion of blood through the sweat glands.
- Understanding the causes and prevalence of hematidrosis is important for medical diagnosis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To verify the accuracy of the common statement "I sweat blood."
- To investigate the phenomenon of hematidrosis through a literature survey.
- To classify cases of hematidrosis based on causative factors.
Main Methods:
- A comprehensive literature survey was conducted.
- Seventy-six reported cases of hematidrosis were studied.
- Cases were categorized by causative factors: systemic disease, vicarious menstruation, excessive exertion, psychogenic, and unknown.
Main Results:
- Hematidrosis is an extremely rare clinical phenomenon.
- The twentieth century has seen very few reported instances.
- Psychogenic factors, particularly acute fear and intense mental contemplation, were the most frequent inciting causes.
- Psychogenic cases were further classified into single occurrences, recurrences, and stigmatics.
Conclusions:
- Hematidrosis is an exceedingly rare condition with limited reported cases, especially in the 20th century.
- Psychogenic factors are the most common triggers for hematidrosis.
- The study provides a classification of causative factors for this rare phenomenon.
Abstract:
In order to verify the accuracy of the commonly used statement, "I sweat blood," a survey of the literature in the subject of hematidrosis was made. Seventy-six cases were studied and classified into categories according to the causative factor. These were, component of systemic disease, vicarious menstruation, excessive exertion, psychogenic, and unknown. The psychogenic were further subdivided into those that occurred only one time, those that recurred and the stigmatics. Acute fear and intense mental contemplation were found to be the most frequent inciting causes. Hematidrosis is an extremely rare clinical phenomenon with only few instances reported to have occurred within the twentieth century.