The Woman With The Bleeding

[anvilhauler]

In the news over the week I read about a person of very questionable character claiming they have a form of hidrosis pathology that prevents them from sweating and the news item prompted me to write about one and perhaps two more cases of hidrosis that we are familiar with from the Bible.

Hidrosis
https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/hidrosis
The action of sweating.


There is also another hidrosis known as hematohidrosis in which a person sweats blood.  Hemato = blood and hidrosis = sweat.

Hematohidrosis
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2810702/
Hematohidrosis also known as Hematidrosis, hemidrosis and hematidrosis, is a condition in which capillary blood vessels that feed the sweat glands rupture, causing them to exude blood, occurring under conditions of extreme physical or emotional stress.

Before Jesus was crucified He exhibited the signs of hematohidrosis due to the extreme stress He was experiencing in knowing the cup that He was about to drink.

Luke 22 Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV)
41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, 42 saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. 43 And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Also in Luke we read of what may also be a case of hematohidrosis due to a medical ailment.  The woman with the bleeding who touched the border of Jesus garment and was immediately healed.

What Is Hematidrosis?
https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/hematidrosis-hematohidrosis#1
... Hematidrosis, or hematohidrosis, is a very rare medical condition that causes you to ooze or sweat blood from your skin when you're not cut or injured. ...

... People who have hematidrosis may sweat blood from their skin. It usually happens on or around the face, but the skin might be lining the inside of your body, too, like in your nose, mouth, or stomach. ...


Luke 8 Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV)
But as he went the people thronged him. 43 And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, 44 came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched. 45 And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? 46 And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me. 47 And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately. 48 And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.

Over the years I have heard numerous people claiming that the woman would have had a "woman's bleeding problem" associated with a woman's reproductive system but I totally doubt that would have been the case and here is my reasoning why.

The blood loss must have been of quite a small volume but enough to be annoying on the regular basis it was occurring because the woman was still standing and if the blood loss had have been greater she would have had a degree of anaemia that would have made her weak and likely too feeble to stand or to be of clear thought.  Obviously the food she was eating provided enough iron for her to keep functioning even though she was continually losing blood.

When the woman was healed she knew straight away.  To know that she must have been in a situation that she could check the bleeding part immediately.  I totally doubt that after touching the border of Jesus' garment and Him turning around immediately that she had the chance to lift up her skirts or whatever in public to check her "privates" to see if there was still bleeding.  Even if the bleeding was from the reproductive system it would likely take quite a time to know if bleeding had stopped or not.

So it seems possible that what is quite an uncommon medical phenomenon may have occurred twice in the Bible and both are even recorded in the book of Luke. 

I also wonder if the woman had just got to Jesus in the "nick of time" because it states that she had spent all of her living on physicians and I don't know if buying meat was expensive back then but she must have been eating food with enough available iron in it to keep her functioning for the twelve years she had been afflicted.  She was there at the time when her finances had come to an end.

Anyway, I hope anyone found this interesting to read and I'm of course fully open to being found totally wrong. 

[Kenneth Winslow]

There were many people that were weak and feeble that came to Jesus for healing.

This woman didn't have an oozing of blood
 In fact, it is described as a fountain.

Mark 5:29 KJV  And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.

She felt that she'd been healed. She's not described as seeing it.

An "issue of blood" in scripture seems to be strictly a woman thing.
Leviticus 15:19-24 KJV  And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even. And every thing that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean: every thing also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean. And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. And whosoever toucheth any thing that she sat upon shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. And if it be on her bed, or on any thing whereon she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the even. And if any man lie with her at all, and her flowers be upon him, he shall be unclean seven days; and all the bed whereon he lieth shall be unclean.
 

This 'issue of blood' I've only found in Leviticus and the gospels regarding the healing of this woman.

[anvilhauler]

There were many people that were weak and feeble that came to Jesus for healing.

This woman didn't have an oozing of blood
 In fact, it is described as a fountain.

Mark 5:29 KJV  And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.

She felt that she'd been healed. She's not described as seeing it.

An "issue of blood" in scripture seems to be strictly a woman thing.
Leviticus 15:19-24 KJV  And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even. And every thing that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean: every thing also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean. And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. And whosoever toucheth any thing that she sat upon shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. And if it be on her bed, or on any thing whereon she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the even. And if any man lie with her at all, and her flowers be upon him, he shall be unclean seven days; and all the bed whereon he lieth shall be unclean.
 

This 'issue of blood' I've only found in Leviticus and the gospels regarding the healing of this woman.

What we call a fountain today is obviously different than what a fountain refers to in the Bible.  The word fountain in today's context would mean that a woman's normal menstrual period would be over in about 3 seconds or less and if it were any longer she would bleed to death like a major blood vessel had been ruptured.

I was also going to use the same piece of scripture from Leviticus in my explanantion but I chose not to.  If the situation was the woman's menstruation the she would have made all around her unclean until evening nor did she inform them beforehand that she was menstuating.  Not only that, but she came and touched Jesus' garment and that would have made Him unclean until evening.  At the time they were still living under the Law of Moses and Jesus would likely have corrected the woman as to her obligations under the Law for what a menstruating woman must do rather than telling her;
Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.

To have felt in her body that the bleeding area was healed immediately could have also been due to the immediate relief of irritation of the area where the blood had been seeping out of her skin.

[Kenneth Winslow]

she came and touched Jesus' garment and that would have made Him unclean until evening.

Jesus sometimes touched unclean people before he healed them. Even lepers and dead bodies. But we never read anything about him being 'unclean until even'.

Mark 1:40-42 KJV  And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.

Mark 5:35 KJV  While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further?
Mark 5:40-42 KJV  ... But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying. And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment.
 
Kevin, if you want to reason that the woman was suffering from hematohidrosis that it is up to you. I do appreciate and understand your reasoning. I found it interesting. Nonetheless, scripture, as near as I can tell, doesn't support you conclusion.

[Jeanne]

I can testify as to what severe anaemia feels like. When I had Hep C, one of the medications they tried on me was Ribavirin. Apparently, this drug shut down my spleen so that it stopped producing red blood cells. I started feeling very weak and sleepy all the time. There was one morning that I had both an appointment with my GP and then later with the liver clinic at the local hospital. I barely made it to the doctor's office and back because I was so sleepy, I had trouble driving. The hospital trip was much easier because I lived only about a block away from the bus stop and the hospital bus stop was just across the street from where I needed to go. I must have been visibly unwell, though, because they initially wanted me to go to a different floor for an ECG but when they saw how weak I was, they brought the equipment down to where I was, instead. (They were so horrified that I had taken public transport there in my condition that I didn't tell them that I had driven to the GP's office earlier.) I was admitted immediately and they ended up giving me 2 units of whole blood (not just plasma) and I was there for 3 days, during which time all I wanted to do was sleep. It was a huge effort just to get out of bed to use the bathroom. It took a good six months for me to recover completely, though, during which time I had very little appetite and was still very weak.

So yes, if this woman had been bleeding profusely in any manner for twelve years, it is highly unlikely she would have even been alive, let alone been able to fight her way through a crowd to get to Jesus. It's also quite possible that she WAS somewhat weakened by the continual loss of blood, and that, though her condition up to that point had not been life threatening, she immediately felt her strength return after she touched Him.

[anvilhauler]

You've been through quite a lot Jeanne.  I hope you're well and truly over it all now and there are no lingering infirmities from it.  Thanks for giving a further insight in to your life and the first hand experience of what it was like to be suffering from severe anaemia like that.

[Jeanne]

Yes, Kevin, it's all taken care of now. They put me on Harvoni three years ago when it first became approved for PBS here (Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme). Apparently, the strain I had was the hardest to treat. After six months on the Harvoni, however, the virus was gone, and no side effects that I noticed. I still get liver ultrasounds and blood tests every six months (in fact, I just got back from one today) and so far everything is still good.

I never would have even known that I had Hep C in the first place until a routine blood test showed some abnormal liver function before I moved here and my GP at the time sent me to a specialist. I actually got the diagnosis only two weeks before I left Texas. (I thought it funny that the specialist was an Aussie and he thought I was nuts for wanting to move here. LOL)

I got sicker on the Ribavirin than I ever did with the Hep itself. I never even noticed that at all.