"A child sheds blood instead of tears".. Mysterious case baffles doctors! 🥹

Picture for illustrative purposes only

A boy suffered from a rare condition that made him cry tears of blood, suddenly. Over the course of 6 weeks, the blood flowing from his eyes became more intense and frequent.

The "disturbing" case was detailed in a research paper published in BMJ Case Reports.

The boy first visited eye specialists in Bangalore, India, two weeks after blood began leaking from his right eye and right nostril. The doctors stated in their report that the bloody tears were "painless" but "gradually increasing".

They added: “There was no history of recent trauma, bleeding from any other mucosal surface or psychiatric illness.” and initial tests revealed no significant abnormalities.

The vision was 20/20, his tear drainage system was free-flowing and there was no evidence of bleeding, and there were no sinus problems, but the boy returned a month later with increased bleeding from his right eye. Oddly, his condition appeared to be “worsened” by urination.

Doctors said: “The patient was asked to urinate and significant bleeding from the right eye was noted.” After further examination, the teenager was found to have “malformed blood vessels consistent with a vascular malformation.”

After being referred to a neuroradiologist for further testing, the boy was diagnosed with a “conjunctival micro arteriovenous malformation.”

Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) occur when a group of blood vessels in the body form incorrectly. In these malformations, arteries and veins form an abnormal tangle, which usually occurs during development before or shortly after birth.

These tangles can form in the brain or anywhere else in the body such as the face, arms or legs, and in tissues and organs such as the heart, liver or lungs, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

In the boy's case, an arteriovenous malformation was found in the lower conjunctiva of the eye - the lower eyelid.

People with malformations of veins and arteries often do not have problems, but there is a risk of bleeding due to ruptured vessels.

The doctors noted in their report, "This is the first reported case of bloody tears due to an underlying conjunctival arteriovenous malformation."

Other cases of "bloody tears" have occurred as a result of inflammatory conditions, trauma or the use of blood-thinning medications.

The boy underwent an angioplasty, a procedure in which blood vessels are filled or sealed to prevent bleeding or rupture.

Surgeons were able to treat his condition successfully, and the boy only suffered mild pain and swelling in his eyelid after the operation and when doctors examined him two weeks after the operation, the boy had no further episodes of bloody tears. They noted in their report that he "remains asymptomatic after six months of follow-up."

Source: The Sun - https://ar.rt.com/y95a