Definition of Fear of blood
Fear of blood: An abnormal and persistent fear of blood.
Sufferers of this very common phobia dread the sight of their own
blood, the sight of the blood of another person or an animal, and
sometimes printed or filmed images of blood or even thoughts of
blood. Blood may remind them of their own vulnerability to injury and
of the eventuality of death.
Some sufferers of hemophobia experience an increase in blood
pressure and heart rate. Other sufferers experience an atypical
phobic reaction characterized by a
decrease in blood pressure and heart rate, causing paleness and
weakness. They may even faint. Those with the latter reaction may
develop a new fear: the fear of fainting.
Through the ages, writers have done little to calm the fear of
blood. In Homer's Iliad, waterways run red with blood as a
wrathful Achilles harvests his crop of Trojans. In Shakespeare's
Macbeth, blood becomes a terrifying symbol of guilt to Lady
Macbeth, and she washes her hands raw to rid them of blood, real or
imagined. In Bram Stoker's Dracula blood becomes the nurture
of a vampire.
This fear of blood is termed "hemophobia," a word derived from the
Greek "haima" (blood) and "phobos" (fear). Other English words
derived from "haima" include "hemodialysis" (a procedure that removes
impurities from the blood), "hemoglobin" (a blood component that
transports oxygen from the lungs to other parts of the body)
and "hemorrhage" (rapid blood loss). Alternate name for hemophobia:
hematophobia.
Last Editorial Review: 1/22/2000Common Misspellings: fear of blod
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