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Porphyria
Definition
Porphyria is a group of inherited disorders involving abnormalities in the production of heme pigments (the base material responsible for hemoglobin (red blood cell pigment), myoglobin (reddish muscle cell pigment) and another group of materials called cytochromes. Porphyrias are characterized by three major findings: photodermatitis (light sensitivity causing rashes), neuropsychiatric complaints, and visceral complaints (e.g., abdominal pain, cramping).
Symptoms
Red urine
Sensitivity to sunlight
Blister (bulla) formation on exposure to sunlight
Skin swelling (edema) on exposure to sunlight
Photodermatitis
Crampy abdominal pain (may be extremely severe)
Constipation
Vomiting
Pain in the limbs
Pain in the back
Personality change
Numbness or tingling
Muscle pain
Muscle weakness or paralysis
More: health.yahoo.com...
Originally posted by Pisky
I know that there are stories of vampires from Ancient Greece, plus I believe some were mentioned in Sumerian writings.
Judas Iscariot was used as a plot device for Dracula 2000.
If you use biblical mythology you can easily disprove this theory. First and for most Jesus was the son of got and free from all sin including original sin. As vampires are almost always considered to be”evil” this completely contradicts the bible, also, vampires drink the blood of others and are thought to be undead, things not usually associated with holy persons. You mentioned that some believe Jesus “created” Judas, this is completely dismissible as God sent Jesus as a man not one who would be capable of summoning or creating a supernatural being such as a vampire.
There are quite a few people who belief Jesus himself was a vampire, thus it is easily believed that Jesus himself created Judas knowing he would betray him, and perhaps created Judas as a grand experiment.
Originally posted by ID
Here are a few diseases that are thought to have brought about the myth of the Vampire that exists to this day. After reading over these myself I can honestly see why this myth arose, people are often scared of the unknown and these symptoms are almost mirror images of the overall vampire myth.
Tuberculosis, which was formerly referred to as Consumption was a common false indicator of vampirism as it would usually effect an entire family and the person who died first of it would be though to be responsible and thus a vampire (strange I know).
Xeroderma pigmentosum causes the skin to become sensitive UV radiation especially sunlight and can result in blistering or freckling even from minimal exposure.
Catalepsy may be at part responsible for the myth of vampires as it slowly shuts down the nervous system slowing the individual’s heart rate until it becomes virtually non-existent. A person suffering from this condition may fall into a state where they are able to see and hear but cannot move. To the untrained eye it would look as though the person had passed on. Embalming dead bodies is a recent idea and so people may have buried someone suffering from Catalepsy only to find out later that they had awoken from this state and dug their way out.
Porphyria causes individuals gums to tighten severally around teeth which would make the canine teeth appear to be much more prominent. It also causes the body to be unable to produce heme (a component of red blood). This lack of heme is today treated with regular injections however long ago victims may have attempted to treat it by consuming blood, this however does not aid the victim as the heme is unable to survive digestion. Garlic worsens the symptoms of Porphyria making the effects much more painful thus someone suffering from this disease would attempt to avoid it.
Anemia is a blood disease which causes the number of red blood cells to drop drastically. Symptoms include a pale complexion and inability to consume food. Both of these symptoms were also thought to be signs that a person had been bitten by a vampire and thus was beginning their own transformation.
-id
The oldest known document with a reference to a vampirelike being is a 2400 BCE tablet known as "The Sumerian King List", a very boring list
of all the kings of Sumer, their paternal lineage, and the years of
their rule. One entry is for the famous King Gilgamesh. It says that
Gilgamesh's father was a Lillu. In Sumerian myth, there were a number
of beings who, like the incubi and succubi [q.v. 2.04], come to sleeping
individuals to mate with them. Lillu is an incubus (male). One of the
succubi was Lilake/Lilitu whom some claim to be a forerunner of Lilith.