Hematidrosis After Head Injury – A Case Report

Introduction

Hematidrosis is a rare skin condition with a dysfunction of the sweat glands secreting a bloody sweat- like fluid. The exact nature and mechanism of this phenomenon is unknown, but it is proposed that dermal defects lead to blood-filled cavities which distribute capillary blood into follicular canals (Mora E et al., J. Blood 2013; 121 (9): 1493). The hypothesis that blood passes through eccrine ducts, induced by abnormal constrictions of periglandular vessels, could not yet been proven (Roberto M et al., CMAJ 2017; 189 (42): E1314). Dermal cavity defects within the skin might disappear after a bleeding episode and therefore most skin biopsies showed no pathology (Manonukul J et al., Am J Dermatopathol 2008; 30 (2): 135–139). The condition affects mostly young women/girls (median age 13 years), the majority of the published cases being from Asia. The number of reported cases has increased over the last two decades. This might be because of an increasing incidence in the last few years, or just because of a greater attention towards this syndrome. The face, in particular the forehead, is most often affected (in around 40 % of published cases).