Its bleeding.. Oh My God its Hemophilia

                                                                 

           HEMOPHILIA

It is an inherited bleeding disorder in which blood does not clot properly. This can be due to deficiency of clotting factors (Factors 8 and 9) and certain proteins which helps in clotting.

This can result in spontaneous bleeding during surgery or after the surgery and even causes heavy bleeding in females during their menstrual cycle.

Causes:-

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.

Inheritance:-

The genes encoding for clotting factors are present on X- chromosome.

Males have ( XY) and females have (XX) chromosome. Males inherit the X chromosome from their mothers and the Y chromosome from their fathers. Females inherit one X chromosome from each parent.

Effect of Hemophilia on individuals:-

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.

Types of Hemophilia:-

Type A:-  Lack or decrease of clotting factor VIII

Type B:-  Lack or decrease of clotting factor IX

Signs and Symptoms:-

Common signs of hemophilia include:

• Bleeding into the joints. This can cause swelling and pain or tightness in the joints; it often affects the knees, elbows, and ankles.
• Bleeding into the skin (which is bruising) or muscle and soft tissue causing a build-up of blood in the area (called a hematoma).
• Bleeding of the mouth and gums, and bleeding that is hard to stop after losing a tooth.
• Bleeding after circumcision (surgery performed on male babies to remove the hood of skin, called the foreskin, covering the head of the penis).
• Bleeding after having shots, such as vaccinations.
• Bleeding in the head of an infant after a difficult delivery.
• Blood in the urine or stool.
• Frequent and hard-to-stop nosebleeds.
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Diagnosis:-

• Blood tests
• Clotting factor assays
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Treatment:-

The best way to treat hemophilia is to replace the missing blood clotting factor so that the blood can clot properly. This is done by infusing (administering through a vein) commercially prepared factor concentrates. 

People with hemophilia can learn how to perform these infusions themselves so that they can stop bleeding episodes and, by performing the infusions on a regular basis (called prophylaxis), can even prevent most bleeding episodes.

Important tit- bits:-

*Undiagnosed hemophilia causes heavy menstrual bleeding- It is a sign of underlying health condition. 

Extreme blood loss leads to serious health problems like anemia, breathlessness and sometimes uncontrolled bleeding which becomes even difficult to manage.

Disclaimer:- This article is just for informational purposes.

Advice:- Kindly consult your physician in case you find any such symptoms