Saturday, December 14, 2013

Tears Of Blood...?

I had some doubts about this information when I first read this article, but a little research proved it was for real!

I just can't imagine how strange it would be to have this condition. The biggest thing I wonder about is why it happens mainly to folks from Tennessee!

The People Who Cry Blood
By Shawn W. Larson on Friday, December 13, 2013

A rare portion of the population cries much likes the rest of us, with the exception that it isn’t tears falling from their eyes—it’s blood. Even creepier, it’s mostly found in people from Tennessee.

It’s considered a medical mystery—a rare condition that causes a person to bleed from the eyes without explanation. Medical professionals have given it the name “haemolacria”—and it seems to be happening the most to people who live in one state: Tennessee.

A 22-year-old man says it feels like being “hit in the head with a sledgehammer,” adding that he used to get daily headaches that accompanied bleeding from his eyes, but says they only happen around once or twice a week now. His name is Michael Spann, a resident of Antioch, Tennessee.

Doctors are perplexed as to the cause of the condition, as well as to why it happens mostly to Tennessee residents. Calvino Inman, also afflicted with haemolacria, says, “Sometimes, I can feel it coming up, like a tear. I feel my eyes watering . . . Sometimes, it will burn as it comes out.” He says that it’s also embarrassing, because classmates call him “possessed” when it happens.

In a 2004 medical review co-authored by Dr. Barrett G. Haik of the University of Tennessee’s Hamilton Eye Institute, it was described as “bloody tearing,” a condition that often confounds most doctors. Haik went on to conclude that “cases typically resolve without treatment.”

But others point to hormone changes as the source, especially as it applies to women. A 1995 study of 125 healthy subjects determined that “Menstruation contributes to occult haemolacria, or traces of blood in tears.” It went on to report its finding that “18 percent of fertile women have some blood in their tears, while only 7 percent of pregnant women, 8 percent of men, and no post-menopausal women show signs of bloody tears.”

Nothing, at least so far, has been offered in the way of explanation as to why most cases appear to originate from Tennessee.

However, one case that doesn’t come out of Tennessee involves a 20-year-old Chilean woman named Yaritza Oliva, who in June 2013 was reported to have begun bleeding from the eyes. She was prescribed special eye drops to soothe the pain that accompanies the bleeding, since her family couldn’t afford to hire a specialist to diagnose the condition. The rise of these rare cases have prompted a renewed interest from medical professionals, who hope to find a cause and cure.

My heart goes out to the poor folks that suffer from this condition and I hope that an answer from medical science is forthcoming very soon! In the meantime, I hope the tears of blood will be few and far between!

Coffee out on the patio again. It has been threatening to sprinkle, but I'm game if you are!

10 comments:

Gorges Smythe said...

Strange!

Mamahen said...

Hmm. I wonder why Tennessee? That is VERY odd! Patio sounds fine. I went on a. cookie baking frenzy yesterday. I have M&M, peanut butter & chocolate chip...I'll bring some of each..

Chickenmom said...

Every once in a while a story pops up in the news about that. I feel sorry for those people. Snowing lightly here - more later on. I'll bring a box of good, old fashioned powdered donuts!

Linda said...

I lived near a town in TN where the people had some other eye issues. It turned out that a doctor studied this and found that the fact that the people were cut off from the rest of the world by flooding. Incest was the problem during their forced isolation.

JO said...

I read about this in India so I kind of didn't believe it. I'm sure some government experiment caused this but they won't ever admit to it.

Coffee on the patio sounds delightful. we can always make a mad dash for the kitchen if it rains.

linda m said...

I am certainly game for sting outside as it is snowing here. Just shoveled about 2 1/2 inches of the s"stuff". Hope fully one day scientist will find out what causes this symptom and be able to cure it. Sure do feel sorry for these people.

Dizzy-Dick said...

That is really weird, H.J., and the fact that they are mostly all from Tennessee. You suppose that run off from all the strip mining has contaminated the water supply and caused this strange problem? Heck, if you can't blame it on the Government, then let's blame it on big business.

HermitJim said...

Hey Gorges...
It certainly is!

Thanks for the visit today!



Hey Mamahen...
Does seem a bit strange to be Tennessee, doesn't it?

Thanks for coming over today!



Hey Linda...
Never can tell what causes things like this. It is interesting, though.

Thanks for dropping by today!



Hey Jo...
Stories like this should always be researched.

Wouldn't surprised if the government had something to do with it.

Thanks for coming over, sweetie!



Hey Linda M...
I would hate having to shovel snow!

Right now it's in the 60s here, so that's a good thing!

Thanks for the visit today!



Hey Dizzy...
Gotta find those unusual stories, ya know?

Gotta be one or the other involved, that's for sure!

Thanks for the visit, buddy!

Sixbears said...

I used to sneeze and blood would shoot out of the corner of my eyes. Had sinus damage from smoke inhalation. That freaked people out. I'm happy to say I'm better now.

HermitJim said...

Hey Sixbears...
I can see where folks might get a little freaked out about that! Good to know things are good to go now!

Thanks for coming over today!