
People who drink human blood - d_a_robson
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20151021-the-people-who-drink-human-blood
======
philh
Have the med sangs run blinded tests? I can think of two that seem worth
running. One with capsules containing either blood or not-blood, and one with
blood that belongs to either themselves or someone else. If you have some kind
of nutritional deficiency, then drinking your own blood shouldn't cure it.

~~~
jerf
Yes, this would provide a huge signal, very quickly, and is easy enough to do
that even the journalist in question could easily have run it.

If any of the interested community ends up reading this HN discussion, this is
by far the obvious next step. It can even be done on yourself, with just a bit
of help from a friend to do the packing, randomization, and storage of "the
answer key".

And if you haven't done it yet, do a full nutrient screening, too. Some of the
described symptoms sound like normal nutrient deficiencies. Just because
you're eating enough of something doesn't mean you're getting enough of it in
you. I've got celiac, and prior to my knowing that, my father and I both
suffered from massive iron deficiency, and lately we've noticed we've got
potassium deficiencies if we don't supplement. (Alas, even after giving up
wheat for years, there's both some scientific evidence and our own experiences
that suggest celiacs still suffer from nutrient absorption issues.)

(Emphasis on "if". I do not and can not know. If you've done it, great. If you
haven't, you really should.)

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bigtunacan
I could see that certain real nutritional deficiencies could be helped by
drinking blood. Iron deficiency jumps to mind. It seems that there would be
better alternatives to drinking blood which I would think presents a high risk
of becoming infected with something far worse.

~~~
dualogy
> I could see that certain real nutritional deficiencies could be helped by
> drinking blood. Iron deficiency jumps to mind.

 _Any_ come to mind, given that blood transports nutrients all the time. And
that might explain why these "vampires" feel so gratified upon ingestion, they
seem to suffer some slight chronic deficiency. Now IIRC we don't really know
"all micronutrients in existence" yet so it might not even show up on a blood
panel. Wonder whether any of them ever tried pig or snake blood on a trip to
China/Taiwan/Hongkong (or cattle blood while visiting a Maasai tribe) and felt
similarly "energized"..

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chengiz
Why is the title editorialized? There is no serious medical condition here,
well unless you count delusion.

~~~
philh
These sound like potentially pretty serious problems:

> felt weak all the time, lacking all the energy to run and play sports like
> his friends

> Besides relentless fatigue, other common symptoms appear to include severe
> headaches and stomach cramps.

> plagued with an irritable bowel

> “I would go more than a week without a bowel movement while ‘hungry’, and
> feel nausea if I ate anything other than my ‘cure food’,”

I don't know what's going on, but dismissing it as delusion seems unhelpful,
unkind, and untrue.

~~~
NikolaeVarius
People who suffer from 'electromagnetic sensitivity' also feel symptoms when
they're around known wifi hotspots.

Doesn't make it any more true.

~~~
swsieber
Just because some symptoms could be psychosomatic doesn't make them any less
debilitating. Writing off peoples symptoms because you think they're
psychosomatic seems a little cruel.

------
geographomics
How peculiar. For the "med sangs", I wonder if the blood of other mammals
would provide relief for their symptoms.

~~~
anon4
No, because they're crazy.

~~~
medymed
they have symptoms and have found a way to improve their symptoms. they are
reaosnable about it. there don't appear to be stories of assault for blood
drinking (at least in the article). it doesn't really fit with craziness as in
strange beliefs, delusions of grandeur, psychosis, etc.

except for the ones who sleep in coffins. stay away from the ones who sleep in
coffins...

~~~
michael_h
> they have symptoms and have found a way to improve their symptoms

To be fair, this is what homeopaths would also say. Without a double blind
test of some sort, their conclusion is spurious.

------
ZanyProgrammer
I sometimes wonder if there's a fetish for bizarre, horrible and rare medical
conditions on Hackernews.

------
galilyou498
Bollocks.

~~~
ccallebs
Don't be so quick to dismiss. It sounds odd and offensive to western
sensibilities but there are reasons why it could be genuine. As mentioned
earlier in the thread, there are so many micronutrients in the blood stream
that some deficiencies might not show up on a panel.

~~~
retrogradeorbit
What amuses me about Hacker News: someone being sceptical about 'vampires' is
met with responses like you see in this thread. Don't be so dismissive! Don't
call them crazy! They may have a condition that doesn't show up on tests!

But just question the long term safety of nuclear reactors built on fault
lines, or suggest anyone may have got cancer from radiation exposure, ever,
and its just a wall of incredulity. Rubbish! Where's your proof! All the pro-
nuclear science is beyond reproach!

Call me old fashioned, but these people are probably crazy, and radiation is
probably dangerous. There's no bias quite like Hacker News bias...

~~~
ccallebs
I'm just now seeing this. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that you
weren't trying to put words in my mouth with the nuclear reactor comment. I've
made no such assertions in the past and don't really have an opinion on the
matter.

However, I think it's pretty easy to see how someone's
prejudices/preconceptions could skew someone's opinion of the article. If the
article was about cockroaches rather than human blood, I would have the same
opinion.

------
maffydub
Obligatory xkcd: [https://what-if.xkcd.com/98/](https://what-if.xkcd.com/98/)

The squirrel pictures bring a smile to my face every time I see this.

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jamespo
They might as well eat some black pudding

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jazzyk
It must be getting close to Halloween! Oh, wait...

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snsr
Pretty sure this classifies as cannibalism.

~~~
philh
For what purpose does it classify as cannibalism?

~~~
bigtunacan
It doesn't. Cannibalism is specifically eating the flesh or organs.

------
dschiptsov
As little as I know about the anatomy of the digestive system, this must be
the placebo effect.

