Patients suffering from the disease were called vampires in the inquisition era because of the symptoms they displayed, many of which are now the fundamental characteristics of the fictional modern day vampire.

People suffering from the vampire disease are incredibly sensitive to the sun. So much so that once exposed to the rays of the sun, their skin would blacken, rupture, swell and eventually become disfigured.

The shrinking of the gums is another common symptom as well as the tautness of the skin, resulting in the exposure of ‘fangs’. If you are wondering if sufferers used to drink blood, then you wouldn’t be entirely wrong. Some were believed to ingest animal blood, but only because they thought it would relieve their anemia. Their urine is also purple-colored, causing many to believe that they did indeed drink blood.

Another common symptom of porphyria is being allergic to garlic. Not because they’ll be repelled and run a thousand miles at a supersonic speed, but because the chemicals contained in the herb aggravate their symptoms, causing them to experience agonizing pain.

Porphyria is an extremely rare disease and has since mutated into different sets of disorders, but is said to affect one person in every 10 000. However a series of tests have to be done in order to successfully diagnose the disease because the condition is so rare.
Porphyria symptoms and their likeliness to vampire characteristics continue even more as during the inquisition period, porphyria sufferers were feared, abhorred and even burned at the stake by the church instead of receiving medical treatment. It is no wonder then that vampire syndrome sufferers are afraid of the church and anything that symbolizes it.The vampire disease is said to have originated from the intermarriages of the European nobility. Today vampires have become the biggest fantasy of many people across the world, yet for the people suffering from the disease it is a very realistic nightmare they have to endure each day. While it is not contagious, it is unfortunately incurable, but it can be managed by undergoing regular blood transfusions and living a healthy lifestyle.

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