Year: 2024 | Month: January-March | Volume: 9 | Issue: 1 | Pages: 181-187
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/gijhsr.20240120
Hematohidrosis: Blood, Sweat and Stress
Sachdev Meenakshi1, Viveka M2, Lavanya, K3
1Dietician, Dietary Department, Tamil Nadu Government Multi-Super Speciality Hospital, Omandurar, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
2Intern, Dietary Department, Tamil Nadu Government Multi-Super Speciality Hospital, Omandurar, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
3Intern, Dietary Department, Tamil Nadu Government Multi-Super Speciality Hospital, Omandurar, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Corresponding Author: Sachdev Meenakshi
ABSTRACT
Hematohidrosis or hematidrosis, a rare disorder, involves spontaneous episodes of blood-stained sweat/secretion from intact skin or mucous membranes, particularly from eccrine glands. Though its etiology is unclear, it is often believed to manifest under extreme stress. The condition predominantly affects young individuals, especially from Asian countries like India. This case report focuses on a 10-year-old boy from Tiruppur district, Tamilnadu in India with blood-stained sweat/secretion oozing from various sites of the body. Diagnostic evaluations ruled out bleeding disorders, auto-immune diseases, renal artery stenosis, and other systemic diseases. Hematohidrosis was confirmed based on blood investigations and clinical presentation. Underlying stress associated with past experiences in school was identified as a trigger factor. This study explores the efficacy of a multidisciplinary approach, including pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, and medical nutrition therapy in managing this unusual condition. De-stressing counselling given to the child in addition to nutrition counselling reportedly had a positive impact in mitigating the stress of the child and subsequent improvement in hypertension. A follow-up observation of the patient for nearly one and a half months revealed no episodes until three weeks after discharge followed by negligible frequency of episodes. The patient is being followed up regularly for further management of this clinical condition. This report contributes to the understanding of hematohidrosis and its intervention, emphasizing the importance of multi-disciplinary team approach and reassurance to the patients and their families about the transient nature of this condition.
Keywords: hematohidrosis, hematidrosis, blood-stained sweat, eccrine gland, stress, nutrition counselling