Normally when in pain or any intense emotions, people usually shed tears but in rare cases some cry blood. This condition is known as "haemolacria" wherein the tears are composed of blood. People usually visualize bloody tears with a broken heart and intense pain, but is this stigma true for the said condition?
According to Mental Floss, haemolacria is an extremely rare disorder wherein tears are partially or completely made of blood. While the condition remains mysterious, of course science has made an explanation through medical studies.
In 1991, a study was conducted with 125 healthy subjects. The research suggests that menstruation contributes to occult haemolacria, or partial bloody tears. The scientists have concluded that the condition is associated with hormone changes. A Flemish doctor has once stated that instead of the uterus, in rare cases, the blood discharge can come out through the tears.
Moreover, as reported by Wise Geek, injuries to the eye can lead to haemolacria. These injuries including tumors and lesions that are present surrounding the eyes may leak blood that mixes with the tears. Inflammation and infection are also associated with bloody tears as they can cause irritation which may lead the capillaries to leak blood.
Specifically, certain systemic infections are also associated with haemolacria. Ebola virus causes blood vessels to burst leading to leaks throughout the body this is primarily caused by hemorrhagic fevers. Patients can develop bruising, bleeding mucous membranes, and bloody tears as a result of infections.
Tennessee is a place that has reported several cases of hemolacria. Dr. Barrett G. Haik, director of University of Tennessee's Hamilton Eye Institute has studied conditions of bloody tears. From the results of his study, from 1992 to 2003, there were four cases of hemolacria without a known medical cause but mostly affects young people.
Dr. Haik's co-author, James Fleming, an ophthalmologist revealed that as a person with hemolacria matures, the bleeding is decreasing, subsiding, and later stops. Severe bloody tears when crying could be alarming to some people, however; the conditions have not been linked to any severe and fatal diseases. Further evaluation and clinical diagnosis is required for people who experience the disease.
