Although it seems like something from science fiction, there are thousands of people who consider themselves to be true vampires and who even organize themselves in communities to carry out the blood intake . There are, in addition, those who donate their own blood to satisfy the wishes of the former.
In 2011, for example, the case of a 19-year-old man named Lyle Bensley who broke into a woman’s apartment to bite her neck was heard in the United States, claiming that he was a centuries-old vampire and that he needed to his blood to survive.
But, for example, Louisiana State University researcher John Edgar Browning carried out an ethnographic study of the “true vampire community” of New Orleans, giving his own blood to its members in order to know in depth how these groups functioned. Against all odds, he found that they did not suffer from any mental health illnesses and that they did not associate the consumption of blood with mystical or spiritual ideas. The reason they used to claim was that they suffered from a medical condition characterized by fatigue, headaches and stomach pain that, they believed, can only be treated by drinking human blood.
And, although Browing assured according to the BBC that none of the vampires he had interviewed had declared to have suffered any medical complications derived from the consumption of blood, the truth is that this can be highly dangerous.
The risks of drinking blood
And it is that the human body is prepared to contain blood through the circulatory system, but ingested orally it can cause highly toxic reactions. In small doses, drinking blood can be safe, but by increasing the amount, it is a substance so rich in iron that it can lead to an overdose .
Unlike other animals specifically prepared to digest this element, such as bats, the human body does not have the physical characteristics necessary to eliminate excess iron ingested orally. And, despite the fact that every living being needs iron to survive, in high doses it can cause the so-called hemochromatosis , which causes a wide variety of diseases. It can lead to liver damage, fluid build-up in the lungs, dehydration, low blood pressure, and nerve disorders.
So, if it occurred to you to join one of these vampire communities, it is best to be careful.
