Is it fangerous for a man if he drinks his own blood?
Executive summary
Drinking one’s own blood is not medically beneficial and carries real risks: small accidental licks may be benign, but deliberate ingestion—especially repeated or in quantity—can cause iron overload, gastrointestinal upset, and introduce pathogens if the blood or oral wound is contaminated [1] [2] [3]. Medical experts and reviews of the practice advise strongly against consuming human blood except in culturally established, controlled food contexts, and case reports link the behavior to psychiatric conditions and self-harm [4] [5] [6].
1. Immediate physiological effects: nausea, vomiting and digestive upset
Even modest amounts of swallowed blood commonly provoke nausea and vomiting because blood tastes metallic and irritates the stomach; medical reporting describes that ingesting more than a few drops can make people nauseated and vomit [7] [1]. Live Science and other outlets note that toxins have doses and that a tiny amount may not harm while larger amounts increase danger, meaning acute gastrointestinal symptoms are a predictable immediate risk [2].
2. Infection risk is real but context-dependent
Consuming one’s own blood lowers but does not eliminate infection concerns: medical commentators stress that drinking someone else’s unscreened blood risks blood-borne pathogens such as hepatitis and HIV, and clinicians extend caution to blood consumption generally because bacterial contamination is possible even with autologous blood if there are oral wounds or breaks in sterility [8] [1] [4]. Popular Science warns that blood carries risky viruses and that mixing blood with an open gastrointestinal wound can provoke immune reactions, underscoring that the safety picture depends on wounds and contamination [1].
3. Iron overload—an underappreciated long-term hazard
Blood is iron-dense, and regular ingestion can raise the risk of iron accumulation because the body has limited means to excrete excess iron; science reporting explicitly flags iron overdose as a danger for regular blood consumers [2] [9]. Healthline and Labmate explain there are no known health benefits from drinking raw blood and that repeated consumption could lead to toxic iron buildup and downstream organ problems, so periodic or habitual self-ingestion is medically inadvisable [3] [9].
4. Psychiatric and behavioral dimensions change the risk calculus
When drinking one’s own blood is part of a fetish, ritual, or compulsive behavior—labeled autovampirism or autohemophagia in clinical literature—there is frequently accompanying self-harm and mental-health pathology, which increases medical risk because people may injure themselves to obtain blood or fail to seek care [5] [6]. Case reports link these practices to conditions such as borderline personality disorder and schizophrenia in which blood-drinking is part of broader self-injurious or psychotic behavior, and clinicians treat those cases as signals for psychiatric evaluation [6] [5].
5. Cultural and culinary exceptions do not equal safety
Some traditional cuisines use small amounts of animal blood (e.g., blood pudding or duck-blood soup), and anthropologists document historical medicinal uses of human blood; these practices are not equivalent to drinking one’s own fresh blood regularly and professionals caution that such cultural uses still carry foodborne and iron-related risks [10] [9] [3]. Journalistic surveys of contemporary blood-drinking subcultures report many participants who claim no ill effects, but medical experts caution that absence of reported complications in informal interviews does not establish safety and that risks accumulate with frequency [2] [1].
6. Practical conclusion and guidance
A single accidental lick of one’s own uncontaminated blood is unlikely to be harmful, but deliberate consumption—especially repeated or sizable amounts—carries predictable risks: gastrointestinal upset, potential infection if wounds exist, and iron overload over time, and when the behavior is part of self-harm it signals need for psychiatric care [1] [2] [6]. Medical authorities quoted in mainstream outlets advise against drinking human blood and recommend consulting healthcare professionals for wounds, psychiatric symptoms, or if there is concern about infections or iron-related complications [4] [3].