Hemophilia is a clotting condition that causes the blood to clot slowly. Following an injury, surgery, or having a tooth extracted, people with this syndrome experience persistent bleeding or dribbling. Continuous bleeding occurs in severe cases of hemophilia after minimal trauma or even in the absence of injury (spontaneous bleeding). Bleeding into the joints, muscles, brain, or other internal organs can have serious consequences. Milder varieties of hemophilia do not always cause spontaneous bleeding, and symptoms may not appear until abnormal bleeding occurs after surgery or a catastrophic accident. What Is Hemophilia? It is natural for humans to get sick…
Hemophilia is a clotting condition that causes the blood to clot slowly. Following an injury, surgery, or having a tooth extracted, people with this syndrome experience persistent bleeding or dribbling. Continuous bleeding occurs in severe cases of hemophilia after minimal trauma or even in the absence of injury (spontaneous bleeding). Bleeding into the joints, muscles, brain, or other internal organs can have serious consequences. Milder varieties of hemophilia do not always cause spontaneous bleeding, and symptoms may not appear until abnormal bleeding occurs after surgery or a catastrophic accident.
What Is Hemophilia?
It is natural for humans to get sick or injured over the course of their lives. When we are harmed, our body’s clotting mechanism fights to stop the bleeding. However, in certain cases, blood does not clot and bleeding cannot be regulated by the body naturally due to a gene malfunction. Hemophilia is a bleeding disorder that is extremely rare. This gene is then handed down through the generations and reason to that Hemophilia is considered as an inherited condition.
Hemophiliacs, or people who have hemophilia, are born without the clotting factor, which is handed down in families. This clotting factor is a protein found in the blood that helps to keep bleeding under control. Both males and females are affected by hemophilia. Hemophiliac men pass the mutated gene to their daughters but not to their sons. Sons with the gene, on the other hand, will be born with hemophilia. Some women who carry the gene can have significant bleeding difficulties and pass the mutation on to their sons and daughters.
While hemophilia is more commonly found in families with a history of the disorder, it has also been reported in families without a history of the blood disorder. This unusual kind of hemophilia is known as acquired hemophilia, and it occurs when the body’s immune system targets clotting components within the body. Treatment for Haemophilia will be different for acquired kind.
Types of Hemophilia
Hemophilia generally always affects men, although in rare cases, a female can be affected as well.
Inherited hemophilia is divided into two types:
Type A: It is the most frequent variety and is caused by a lack of factor VIII, a protein that aids in the formation of clots in the blood. Classic hemophilia is the name given to this kind.
Type B: A lack of factor IX causes type B hemophilia. Christmas sickness is another name for this variety.
Hemophilia is most commonly diagnosed at birth, although it can also be acquired later in life if the body produces antibodies that attack and destroy clotting components. This kind of hemophilia is, however, extremely uncommon. Acquired hemophilia, commonly known as autoimmune hemophilia or acquired hemophilia A, is a type of acquired hemophilia (AHA).
Treatment for Hemophilia is determined by the type of Haemophilia individual consisting.
What Are The Sign and Symptoms of Hemophilia?
Bleeding, either persistent external bleeding or bruising after little trauma or for no apparent reason is the most common symptom. The severity of the symptoms varies depending on whether the patient has a mild, moderate, or severe case of the disorder.
Hemophilia signs and symptoms differ based on the number of clotting factors. You may only bleed after surgery or trauma if your clotting factor level is mildly lowered. If you have a significant deficiency, you can bleed easily and for no apparent cause.
The following are signs and symptoms of spontaneous bleeding:
Excessive bleeding from cuts or wounds, especially after surgery or dental work, for no apparent reason
- There are numerous huge or deep bruises
- Unexpected Vaccination-related bleeding
- Your joints may be inflamed, swollen, or tight
- You will have blood in your urine or feces
- Nosebleeding without reason
- Unexplainable irritability in babies
For people with severe hemophilia, brain bleeding is a serious condition. It is possible that it will put your life in danger. If you see any of the following indicators of bleeding, seek medical attention right away:
- Behavioral changes
- Excessive snoozing
- A headache that refuses to go away
- Neck ache
- Double sight vision
- Vomiting
- Seizures or convulsions
What Are The Causes of Hemophilia?
When a person bleeds, the body usually aggregates blood cells into a clot to stop the bleeding. Clotting factors are proteins in the blood that help platelets form clots by interacting with them. When a clotting factor is lacking or the levels of the clotting factor are low, hemophilia development takes place.
Only the X chromosome contains the genes that control the synthesis of factors 8 and 9. Mutations in the factor VIII or factor 9 genes on the X chromosome causes hemophilia.
Congenital Hemophilia
Hemophilia is frequently inherited, which means that a person is born with it (congenital). Low clotting factor type is used to classify congenital hemophilia and that is a major cause of hemophilia.
Hemophilia A is the most frequent kind, which is linked to a low level of factor 8. Hemophilia B, which is associated with a low level of factor 9, is the next most frequent form.
Acquired Hemophilia
Hemophilia can develop in people who have no family history of the disease. Acquired hemophilia is the medical term for this condition.
Acquired hemophilia is a type of hemophilia that occurs when the immune system targets the blood’s clotting factor 8 or 9. It has a connection to:
- Pregnancy
- Pregnancy Autoimmune conditions
- Cancer
- Drug Reactions
- Multiple Sclerosis
The presence of hemophilia in one’s family is the most significant risk factor. Hemophilia is far more common in men than it is in women.
How Diagnosis of Hemophilia is Done?
A blood test is used to diagnose hemophilia. A little sample of blood will be taken from your vein and the level of clotting factor present will be measured by your doctor.
After that, the sample is assessed to determine the degree of the factor deficiency and the condition.
The following are the several levels of Hemophilia A severity:
Mild: occurs when the level of a component is between 6% and 30%. (about 25 percent of all cases)
Moderate: When factor levels are between 1% and 5% (about 15 percent of all cases)
Severe: When factor levels are fewer than 1%, it is considered severe (about 60 percent of all cases)
The following are the several levels of Hemophilia B severity:
Mild: occurs when the level of a factor is between 6% and 49%.
Moderate: When factor levels are between 1% and 5%, it is considered moderate.
Severe: When factor levels are fewer than 1%, it is considered severe.
