What is Haemolacria?
Rare Medical Condition Causes Bloody Tears
Recently, I learned about haemolacria while watching a segment of the Early Show. I was drawn to an interview that was about to begin. Fifteen year old, Calvino Inman, spoke about shedding tears of blood. This began happening to him in May and occurs up to three times a day. He is not crying when this happens, his eyes just begin to tear up and the tears are made of blood. The tears last from 15 minutes to an hour and are uncontrollable. Calvino said that his eyes sometimes burn when he sheds the bloody tears.
Calvino's mother also appeared on the Early Show. She said it broke her heart when her son asked her if he was going to die.
Besides, dealing with such a frightening experience, Calvino had to deal with the reactions from other kids. They would call him names and say he was possessed. Things have changed now that they know he has a medical condition. They tell him how sorry they are and say that they are praying for him.
Calvino has been to numerous doctors and undergone many tests including ultrasounds, an MRI and a CAT scan. Doctors believe he could be suffering from a condition called haemolacria which literally means bloody tears. Haemolacria could indicate a tumor in the lacrimal system which is responsible for the secretion and drainage of tears into the nasal cavity. This condition could also be aggravated by environmental damage, injuries, or bacterial conjunctivitis.
According to the reporter on the Early Show, Calvino will be seeing a specialist at the University of Tennessee in Memphis. The reporter recently spoke to the doctor and told viewers about her conversation with him. They spoke about the teen's history of nosebleeds and how there could be a connection to his current condition. Calvino underwent some procedures to control his nosebleeds. Since the nasal cavity is close to the tear ducts, there could be some abnormal connection between the nosebleeds and the bloody tears.
Near the end of the interview, the reporter mentioned there are only a few reports on haemolacria in medical literature. She stated that in most cases this condition goes away on its own. Let's hope for Calvino's sake that his haemolacria does go away on its own and it never comes back.
Published by Karen Zakavec
Karen began freelance writing in 2007 and has had some articles published in the local newspaper. She won a contest for writing the verse for the 2009 Loveland, Colorado valentine card. She is very knowledge... View profile
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23 Comments
Post a CommentHmm...very interesting. I had never heard of this before. I love learning new things :)
Yeah, poor kid to have ignorant pricks around him. I'm sure praying will help his condition
Very educational, teammate!
Here is another thing I have never heard of.
You know - it's incredible how many conditions, syndromes, and even phobias - there are out there to get you!
Such a strange condition, if a poetic one.
How terrible for this child. I just positively flagged this article. I think this article definitely deserves to be featured.
That poor kid-- I can't imagine how hard this has been for him. I know how much it would freak me out, though!
thank you for sharing this unusual medical condition and for posting the link on the Health & Wellness Category Forum ;-)
Fascinating--I had never heard of this condition.