My World Earth: Pictured: The schoolgirl who 'cries' blood and bleeds through her pores

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Pictured: The schoolgirl who 'cries' blood and bleeds through her pores

American expert Dr George Buchanan observes Twinkle bleeding from her eyes at the Jaslok Hospital in Mumbai.Unique case: Twinkle Dwivedi has an undiagnosed disorder which means she loses blood through her skin without being cut or scratched

A schoolgirl who spontaneously bleeds from her pores has left doctors baffled.

Indian Twinkle Dwivedi, 14, has an undiagnosed disorder which means she loses blood through her skin without being cut or scratched.

The teenager, from Lucknar, Uttar Pradesh, has even undergone blood transfusions after bleeding from her eyes, nose, hairline, neck and soles of her feet about 50 times each day.
She said: 'I bleed from my eyes, my hands, my head, from everywhere. From my ears, nose and eyes as well.

'It doesn't hurt when the bleeding starts. But it makes me tired and sometimes I have headaches.'

Dr George Buchanan, a leading American paediatric blood specialist who has worked in Britain, travelled to India to look into Twinkle's case.

He visited her family at the Jaslok Hospital in Mumbai where he observed her bleeding.

He said: 'I've never seen a case of someone who bleeds spontaneously from their scalp or their palms, or read about it in medical history.

'I was interested to see if I could help Twinkle.'

The doctor was called to the family's hotel room to witness bleeding which began from her hair parting. He was shocked to find no signs of cuts, bruising or redness.

Dr Buchanan said: 'It doesn't seem physically possible for blood to seep through intact skin.

'But I saw no signs of cuts or bruising anywhere on her body.'

Twinkle's mother Nandani Diwedi, 43, who runs a beauty salon as well as caring for her four daughters, said: 'We have tried praying and seeking medical help to cure Twinkle. Sometimes you need to do both.

'It hurts me to see her like this. I share her pain.'
Dr Buchanan and his team carried out a series of tests including cutting Twinkle's skin to time how quickly the bleeding stops.

Tests show she may have a mild form of a clotting disorder, which means her platelets do not stick together properly. But this is not enough to explain the spontaneous bleeding.

Dr Buchanan is also investigating whether Twinkle or her mum cause the bleeding themselves.

Twinkle, a Hindu, said: 'I am not causing this. Why would I want to make myself bleed?

'I don't want to be like this. I want to go to school and have a normal life.'

She has missed at least two years of education after two schools banned her from classes because of the bleeding.

Her father Aditya Kumar Diewdi, 48, a railway worker, said: 'This is very frightening for my family. We just want to help Twinkle get better.'

Specialists are now planning 24hour monitoring of Twinkle so close-up surveillance cameras can record exactly how the bleeding begins.

Dr Buchanan said: 'There is a healthy relationship between Twinkle and her mother.

'My heart tells me this may be is a condition we have never seen before.'

The mysterious case of Twinkle's bleeding is fully examined in a new BodyShock documentary, The Girl Who Cries Blood, due to air on Channel 4 at 10pm tomorrow.

It also shows Twinkle's family visiting a local mystic, being examined by a Christian bishop for stigmata, and bathing in the River Ganges.

Last year an American boy, Calvino Inman, 16, from Rockwood, Tennessee, also began bleeding from his eyes, and his case is now under investigation by doctors in the US.

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