Instead of tears, she cries blood.

Twinkle Dwivedi is the subject of much intrigue and confusion – as well as speculation and disbelief.  A now-14-year-old Indian girl, Twinkle experiences frequent bleeding – out of her eyes, through her scalp, the soles of her feet, and through her nose.   Twinkle and her mother have sought help from medical as well as spiritual leaders, and have yet to solve Twinkle’s mysterious problem.



National Geographic did a piece on Twinkle, and Dr. George Buchanan believes that Twinkle and/or her mother are responsible for Twinkle’s bleeding.  He feels that in order to be sure that Twinkle would need to be observed by medical professionals for several 24-hour periods, something that would be very costly.  Twinkle’s family is very poor, so unless a very generous or very curious individual wants to pay for it, there is no telling if we’ll ever know for sure what Twinkle’s real problem is.


What else could it be?  Buchanan believes that it’s Munchhausen or Munchhausen-By-Proxy Syndrome – meaning that Twinkle (in the first case) or Twinkle’s mother (in the second case) is somehow causing the bleeding for attention or some other reason.

A London doctor who had no previous contact with Twinkle, suggested that she might have Type II von Willebrand disease – a coagulation disorder.  von Willedbrand is usually characterized with easy bruising, etc, but spontaneous bleeding from the pores is practically unheard of.  So, again, Twinkle would need a great deal of testing to determine if von Willebrand is really what is wrong.

Others believe that Twinkle is possessed by demons.  Her school dismissed her after her symptoms started, and her friends stopped playing with her.  Sometimes her neighbors and fellow townfolk throw rocks at her or spit on the ground as she walks by.  Still others believe that Twinkle might be experiencing symptoms of stigmata – a condition strongly associated with the Catholic faith.

Either way, Twinkle could use some help.


It’s hard for Twinkle to have “twinkle toes” when she bleeds spontaneously from her feet.



You will notice, however, the calm and cool expression on Twinkle’s face as she is examined by the doctor in the video that National Geographic posted.  Can this be a publicity stunt, or is this girl a medical mystery?