Cold winter air may be one of the most uncomfortable weather conditions for a lot of people, but for a woman who lives in New York, the frigid weather has triggered an autoimmune disorder, according to the report released about the case.
She's a 70-year old woman, a resident of upstate New York, which is known for its snowy winters. The woman went to see her doctor when she first began to experience dizziness and her body started showing spiderweb-like purple rash all over her body. The report of this rare care of blood disease was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. During the preliminary interview, she mentioned that prior to the incident, she already experienced symptoms of a respiratory infection two weeks earlier.
Livedo Reticularsis -- the doctors agreed that the rashes that covered her body were due to this skin disease. This rare skin disease is caused by the abnormal circulation of the blood just beneath the skin covering, according to the information from the Mayo Clinic.
However, when blood samples were taken from the patient, it was revealed that there is so much more to this than being just a case of skin rashes. The doctors from the Bassett Medical Center in New York explained their findings in a report. When her blood was drawn for more laboratory exams, instead of appearing as a solid red color, the woman's blood came out with crimson clumps floating in a light red fluid. The red blood cells are the carriers of oxygen all over the body and it gives blood its unique shade of cardinal red. This time, they came out in clumps that got stuck together.
Laboratory tests revealed the woman's diagnosis. She has what doctors call as the agglutinin disease, an autoimmune disease where the body's immune system is targeting and killing red blood cells. This is the definition provided by the National Institute of Health -- Genetic and Rare Disease Information Center.
Normally, the body has antibodies within the blood that seeks out to destroy pathogens like viruses and bacteria that make a person sick. However, people with the agglutinin disease, the cold triggers the antibodies to bond with red blood cells. They create chunky clumps that eventually deprives the body with its much needed oxygen, because all the red blood cells come in clumps that could not flow throughout the body.
The cold weather conditions may have triggered her condition, which resulted in the rashes all over her body. The dizziness may be a manifestation that her brain isn't getting enough oxygen. The team of researchers looking into the woman's condition warned her to seek proper treatment for the disease. It is a rare disease that doctors still need to look into to draw out possible solutions and conclusions.
