A teenager has baffled doctors with a mysterious condition that causes him to cry tears of BLOOD.
Akhilesh Raghuvanshi, 13, started bleeding from his nose three years ago and his parents initially dismissed it as “dehydration”.
But soon he was bleeding from his eyes, ears and mouth almost every day – even seemingly losing blood through his skin without being cut or scratched.
He is currently under the observation of top doctors in India in a bid to diagnose his unusual condition, which leaves him exhausted with crippling headaches.
Medics suspect he might have an ultra-rare condition similar to haemolacria – which gives sufferers half blood tears – but have been unable to officially diagnose him.
Meanwhile the lad has missed out on countless days at school and is desperate for a cure.
Akhilesh Raghuvanshi, 13 from Ashoknagar in Madhya Pradesh
“I bleed from my eyes, my hands, my head – from everywhere.
“I bleed from my ears, nose and eyes as well.
“When I bleed from ears It feels warm.
“It may happen once or may be 10 times in a day.
“Sometimes, the bleeding will stop and won’t happen for months.
“But in the past 15 days I have bled almost everyday.
“It doesn’t hurt when the bleeding starts but it makes me tired and sometimes I have headaches.”
Akhilesh from Ashoknagar in Madhya Pradesh bleeds – mostly from his legs, eyes, hairline and mouth – without any cause, and usually in the mornings.
The family contacted a local doctor about his bizarre condition last July, and was referred to experts at All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
He spent a month under observation, but medics at the top university couldn’t find a cause.
His dad, Arun, a farmer, appealed for help to understand his son’s condition.
He said: “I have seen the best of the best doctors in India.
“None of them seem to understand what this disease is and how it can be cured.
“So far my son was bleeding from his eyes, nose, hairline, neck and legs.
“But now the things are getting bad to worse as he has started passing blood through while urinating.
“I fear for my child’s life now.
“The medical science must have an answer to it.
“I appeal to the doctors of the world, please intervene and help save my son.”
The schoolboy is currently being observed at home by doctors from the state health department – but they are still baffled.
Dr Ajay Kumar Gahlot of Ashoknagar District hospital who has been observing Akhilesh’s condition, said: “I have kept the boy under observation for 15 days.
“I have attended the boy whenever he complained of bleeding.
“The boy comes to me whenever he bleeds from his eyes or nose or any other part of the body.
“Though I see the blood smeared on his body, I am unable to find a source of bleeding.
“There is no scratch or injury at the body part from blood starts oozing out spontaneously.
“I have kept him under observation for hours to witness him bleed live, but I haven’t able to see him bleed in front of my eyes.
“It may be so when the boy gets conscious that he is being observed, he is unable to bleed.
“According to me, he might be suffering from haemolacria, a condition that causes a person to shed tears that are partially composed of blood.
“As of now, we haven’t been able to diagnose his condition.”
The schoolboy’s case is similar to Dimple Dwivedi, 14, from Lucknow, who also cried tears without any obvious cause.
Mr Raghuvanshi added: “I hope my son’s condition offers the medical fraternity an opportunity to investigate the case once again and come up with some solution to the problem.
“I appeal to international medical fraternity to come forward to help save my child and rid us of the endless pain and agony.”