I'm really asking this seriously. my friend is really freaking out because he has found all these website about vampires. he almost bit his girlfriend and he was going to do it hard enough to get blood. Now he is worried about it. I was just wondering if there were any medical conditions that could cause such an odd symptom. Please help. I don't need any "he is a vampire" answers. I just want possible medical conditions. Thanks

sounds like a low platlet count or some kind of anemia get a cbc

There is none. you can't possibly have a thirst for blood especially if you've not ever drank any. your friend is caught up in a lame fantasy, that's all. I doubt he will bite anyone and it's hard to bite anyone hard enough to draw blood and if you do there's a good chance their wound will get infected, or they will be infected themselves from drinking someone's body fluid. even the phrase 'thirst for blood' is just stupid. It sounds like someone thinks they're in a movie.

I have read many people write about how they or people they know have Stage 4 colon cancer and never had any symptoms. how is this possible? how could someone be completely healthy, have a perfect CBC,etc and yet have something that could potentially kill them in a short span?

In most cases, there are symptoms, especially with men, who don't want to whine or appear wimpy about it. And women can sometimes assume it's related to aging or some sort of female issue. And even if there was not much pain, they didn't notice other possible indicators, like a change in stool size or stool habits, etc.

This cancer isn't like ovarian or pancreatic, that produce vague symptoms that aren't fully identified until too late. I just think people ignore the signs or don't know what they mean. Also, a CBC would generally not catch colon cancer.

NOVA.SCOTIA (CBC) – Deer ticks may be spreading to a larger area of Bedford, N.S., than was previously thought, says MLA Kelly Regan.

ADVERTISEMENT

The tick carries a parasite that can cause Lyme disease, a condition that has affected several residents who live near Admiral’s Cove Park.

Last week, a case of a deer tick, also known as a blacklegged tick, with Lyme disease was confirmed several kilometres away on Doyle Street and Regan is warning residents to take precautions.

“On the street affected, I went door to door with a note from me and with the brochure that the province had put out on Lyme disease, just letting people know that yes, a tick was found on your street and these are the precautions you should take,” she said.

“The people who were home were really appreciative of the fact that somebody was letting them know.”

The child on whom the tick was found appears to have no symptoms of the disease.

Regan said concerned people should check for ticks on their children or dogs.

Lyme disease is a condition that shows up between three and 30 days after the victim is bitten by an infected tick. it gives sufferers a rash followed by symptoms such as fatigue, chills, fever, headache, muscle and joint pain and swollen lymph nodes.

If left untreated, the disease can progress to a second phase, which can last several months. Symptoms in the second phase include migraines, weakness, multiple skin rashes, painful or stiff joints, abnormal heartbeat and extreme fatigue.

It is highly unlikely affected people will die, but they may suffer symptoms such as chronic arthritis and neurological symptoms, including headaches, dizziness, numbness and paralysis.

Efforts to kill the parasite by setting up bait stations for deer have been discussed by the Halifax Regional Council since spring but are not in place.

The deer, which can spread the ticks, would be sprayed with a chemical that would act like a flea collar on a dog.

The chemical used to kill the ticks needs federal approval.

There have been at least 48 confirmed cases of Lyme disease in Nova Scotia since 2002, with 25 per cent of them reported just last year.

People usually pick up ticks when they brush against them while walking in the woods. Experts recommend staying on clear trails and avoiding deep bush.

Wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants tucked into socks can also keep ticks out.

Nurse Anne-Marie Magny Dusablon, left, and Dr. Lanice Jones are trying to improve understanding and treatment of hepatitis B among clients at the Calgary Refugee Health Clinic. (Jennifer Lee/CBC)

A Calgary health clinic for new Canadians is trying a new tactic in the fight against hepatitis B, a disease that is often misunderstood and untreated among its clientele.

More than 80 clients at the Calgary Refugee Health Clinic — which provides medical care to newcomers for two years after they arrive in the city — have been diagnosed with hepatitis B.

But most of those people are not getting all the care they need because they don’t understand how serious an illness it is, said Dr. Lanice Jones, a physician at the clinic.

So instead of referring its patients to a separate clinic at Foothills Hospital, the refugee clinic has established an in-house program to provide intensive followup and education tailored for the new Canadians.

“Sixty-six per cent have been lost to followup. they are not getting the blood work and the ultrasound that are recommended. they have fallen through the gaps,” she said.

Hepatitis B is a contagious liver disease that can be spread through sexual contact or needle sharing.

“It’s not unusual, after we’ve explained everything two or three times, when we see them down the road — maybe on a fourth or a fifth visit — to ask them what they understand about hepatitis. And it’s absolutely not clear to them at all,” said Jones.

Part of the challenge is convincing patients that they can be infected with the disease despite having no symptoms. for many new Canadians, the idea of visiting a doctor when they feel healthy is strange, Jones said.

“They only used to access physicians or health care in their countries of origin when they were very, very sick,” Jones said.

Other challenges include language barriers and, for some newcomers, a lack of transportation.

But it is important that patients be made to understand the seriousness of hepatitis B, said Anne-Marie Magny Dusablon, a nurse at the clinic.

“If you do not provide that education to those patients, well, they can transmit that disease to somebody else,” she said.