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Haemophilia

Introduction

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Haemophilia is an inherited condition that affects the blood's ability to clot.

Normally, when you cut yourself, substances in the blood known as clotting factors combine with blood cells called platelets to make the blood sticky. This makes the bleeding stop eventually.

However, in haemophilia, there aren't as many clotting factors as there should bein the blood. This means that someone with the condition bleeds for longer than usual.

The condition is passed to a child by one or both of their parents.

Most cases are mild, but people with severe haemophilia experience symptoms, which require ongoing care.

People with severe haemophiliaoften experience internal bleeding. This usually occurs around the joints and muscles, causing pain and stiffness. It can also lead to joint damage over time.

This isn't an inherited condition, but is caused by the immune system (the body's natural defence against infection and illness) attacking the clotting factors in the blood.

This article is about haemophilia A and B.

Who is affected?

Because of the way the condition is inherited most affected are man.

Worldwide, it's estimated that one boy in every 5,000 will be born with haemophilia A and one boy in every 30,000 will be born with haemophilia B.

However, some females who carry the haemophilia gene may also experience some bleeding problems, such as heavy periods. There's also the chance that a girl could be born with haemophilia if both parents have the haemophilia gene.

If you have a family history of haemophilia, you can have tests before, during and after pregnancy to determine if your child has the condition. If there's no family history, haemophilia tends to be diagnosed when symptoms appear in childhood.

Injections are usually only given in milder casesin response to prolonged bleeding, whereas more severe cases are treated with regular injections to prevent bleeding.

 

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Content supplied by the NHS Website

Medically Reviewed by a doctor on 4 Jan 2017

Articles for haemophilia
Introduction

Haemophilia is an inherited condition that affects the blood's ability to clot. Normally, when you cut yourself, substances in the blood known as clotting factors combine with blood cells called platelets to make the blood sticky

Symptoms

The symptoms of haemophilia vary, depending on how severe the condition is, but the main sign is prolonged bleeding. The symptoms of an intracranial haemorrhage include: severe headache, stiff neck, vomiting, a change in mental state such as confusion, etc.

Causes

Haemophilia is caused by an inherited genetic mutation that mainly affects males, due to the way it's passed from a parent to their child. A genetic mutation is a permanent alteration in the DNA sequence that makes up a gene.

Diagnosis

Haemophilia can be diagnosed before, during or after birth if there's a family history of the condition. Several options are available to parents. If there's no family history of haemophilia, it's usually only diagnosed when a child begins to walk or crawl.

Treating

If your child is diagnosed with haemophilia, their recommended treatment plan will depend on how severe their haemophilia is. There are two main approaches to treatment: preventative treatment and on-demand treatment.

Complications

Some people who take blood clotting factor medication may develop certain antibodies in their immune system, known as inhibitors.This happens if the immune system starts to treat clotting factors as foreign objects (like germs) and tries to block their effects.

Living with

With treatment, most people with haemophilia can live a normal life. However, there are some things you'll need to be careful of. You should avoid contact sports such as rugby. You also need to be careful taking other medications, because some can interfere with your blood's ability to clot.

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