Hemophilia is inherited bleeding disorder. In this disorder, blood does not clot properly. This can lead to spontaneous bleeding as well as bleeding following injuries or surgery.
Special protein which exists in blood called clotting factors that helps to stop bleeding. Who have hemophilia, they have low level of either factor VIII (8) or factor IX (9).
The severity of hemophilia what a person has is determined by the amount of factor in the blood. The lower the amount of factor, the more likely it is that bleeding will occur which can lead to serious health problems.
In rare cases, a person can develop hemophilia later in life. The majority of cases identified in middle-aged, elderly people, or young women who have recently given birth or are in the later stages of pregnancy.
Common signs of hemophilia include:
There are several different types of hemophilia. The following two are the most common:
1. Hemophilia A (Classic Hemophilia) - This type is caused by a lack or decrease of clotting factor VIII.
2. Hemophilia B (Christmas Disease) - This type is caused by a lack or decrease of clotting factor IX.
Hemophilia is caused by a mutation or change, in one of the genes, that provides instructions for making the clotting factor proteins needed to form a blood clot. This change or mutation can prevent the clotting protein from working properly or to be missing altogether. These genes are located on the X chromosome. Males have one X and one Y chromosome (XY) and females have two X chromosomes (XX). Males inherit the X chromosome from their mothers and the Y chromosome from their fathers. Females inherit one X chromosome from each parent.
Males have one X and one Y chromosome (XY) and females have two X chromosomes (XX). Males inherit the X chromosome from their mothers and the Y chromosome from their fathers. Females inherit one X chromosome from each parent. The X chromosome contains many genes that are not present on the Y chromosome. This means that males only have one copy of most of the genes on the X chromosome, whereas females have 2 copies. Thus, males can have a disease like hemophilia if they inherit an affected X chromosome that has a mutation in either the factor VIII or factor IX gene. Females can also have hemophilia, but this is much rarer. In such cases both X chromosomes are affected or one is affected and the other is missing or inactive. In these females, bleeding symptoms may be similar to males with hemophilia.
A female with one affected X chromosome is a “carrier” of hemophilia. Sometimes a female who is a carrier can have symptoms of hemophilia. In addition, she can pass the affected X chromosome with the clotting factor gene mutation on to her children. Learn more about the inheritance pattern for hemophilia.
Even though hemophilia runs in families, some families have no prior history of family members with hemophilia. Sometimes, there are carrier females in the family, but no affected boys, just by chance. However, about one-third of the time, the baby with hemophilia is the first one in the family to be affected with a mutation in the gene for the clotting factor.
Hemophilia can result in:
Bleeding within joints that can lead to chronic joint disease and pain
Bleeding in the head and sometimes in the brain which can cause long term problems, such as seizures and paralysis
Death can occur if the bleeding cannot be stopped or if it occurs in a vital organ such as the brain.
Get an annual comprehensive checkup at a hemophilia treatment center.
Get vaccinated—Hepatitis A and B are preventable.
Treat bleeds early and adequately.
Exercise and maintain a healthy weight to protect your joints.
Get tested regularly for blood-borne infections.
D Dimer test is used to find out if you have a blood clotting disorder. These disorders include: Deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a blood clot that's deep inside a vein. These clots usually affect the lower legs, but they can also happen in other parts of the body. A prothrombin time (PT) test measures the amount of time it takes for your blood plasma to clot. Prothrombin, also known as factor II, is just one of many plasma proteins involved in the clotting.