Hemophilia is a genetic and inherited disease, that is, it is transmitted from parents to children, characterized by prolonged bleeding due to deficiency or decreased activity of factors VIII and IX in the blood, which are fundamental to clotting.
Thus, when there are changes related to these enzymes, there may be bleeding, which may be internal, with bleeding from the gums, nose, urine or stool, or bruising in the body, for example.
- Although there is no cure.
- Hemophilia has a treatment.
- Which is performed with periodic injections of the clotting factor that is missing in the body.
- To prevent bleeding or whenever there is bleeding.
- Which must be resolved quickly.
- Understand what hemophilia treatment should look like.
Hemophilia can occur in 2 ways that, despite similar symptoms, are caused by a lack of different blood components:
Clotting factors are proteins in the blood, which are activated each time the blood vessel ruptures, to contain bleeding. As a result, people with hemophilia experience bleeding that takes much longer to control.
There are deficiencies in other clotting factors, which also cause bleeding and can be confused with hemophilia, such as factor XI deficiency, commonly known as type C hemophilia, but differs in the type of genetic alteration and the form of transmission.
Symptoms of hemophilia may be logos identified in the baby’s early life, but they can also be identified in puberty, adolescence or adulthood, especially in cases where hemophilia is related to a decrease in coagulation factor activity. Therefore, the main signs and symptoms that may indicate hemophilia are:
The more severe the type of hemophilia, the higher the symptoms and the earlier they appear, therefore severe hemophilia is usually discovered in the baby during the first months of life, while moderate hemophilia is usually suspected around age 5, or when the child starts walking and playing.
Mild hemophilia can only be discovered in adulthood, when the person is severely affected or after procedures such as tooth extraction, in which above-normal bleeding is observed.
Diagnosis of hemophilia is made after evaluation by the hematologist, who requires tests that evaluate the ability of blood clotting, such as clotting time, which checks the time it takes for the blood to form a clot, and the measurement of the presence of clotting factors and their blood levels.
Clotting factors are essential blood proteins that come into play when there is bleeding to allow it to stop. The absence of any of these factors causes diseases, such as type A hemophilia, which is caused by the absence or decrease of factor VIII, or type B hemophilia, where factor IX is deficient. Understand how clotting works.
Here are some common questions about hemophilia
Coagulation factors deficient for hemophilia are present on the X chromosome, which is unique in men and doubles in women. Thus, to have the disease, the man only needs to receive 1 affected X chromosome, from the mother, while a woman to develop the disease needs to receive the 2 affected chromosomes, and therefore the disease is more common in men. .
If the woman has only one affected X chromosome, inherited from any of the parents, she will be carrier, but will not develop the disease, because the other X chromosome compensates for disability; however, you have a 25% chance of having a child. with this disease.
In about 30% of cases of hemophilia, there is no family history of the disease, which may be the result of a spontaneous genetic mutation in the person’s DNA. In this case, the person is considered to have hemophilia, but he can still pass the disease on to his children, just like anyone else with hemophilia.
Hemophilia is not contagious, even if there is direct contact with a carrier’s blood or even a transfusion, as this does not interfere with the formation of each person’s blood through the bone marrow.
During preventive treatment, with the replacement of clotting factors, the person with hemophilia may lead a normal life, including sports.
In addition to treatment to prevent accidents, treatment can be performed in case of bleeding, by injecting clotting factors, which facilitates blood clotting and prevents severe bleeding, according to the advice of the hematologist.
In addition, whenever the person attends a certain type of surgical procedure, including extractions and dental fillings, for example, it is necessary to take doses for prevention.
People with hemophilia should not take medications such as ibuprofen or that contain acetylsalicylic acid in their composition, as these medications may interfere with the blood clotting process and promote the development of bleeding, even if the clotting factor has been applied.
The person diagnosed with hemophilia, regardless of type and severity, may have a tattoo or surgery, but it is recommended that you report your condition to the professional and administer the clotting factor before the procedure, for example, avoiding significant bleeding.
In addition, in the case of tattoos, some people with hemophilia reported that the healing process and pain after the procedure were minor when they applied the postman before getting a tattoo. It is also essential to look for an establishment regulated by an ANVISA, clean and with sterile and clean equipment, avoiding any risk of complications.