Hemophilia - A General Comprehension to the Troublesome Bleeding Ailment

Hemophilia disease refers to a group of diseases. Each of these diseases affects the body's ability to clot or coagulate blood. Basically, if a hemophiliac is cut or suffers from internal bleeding, the body is unable to clot and stop the bleeding.

To learn more about hemophilia, including its causes and treatments, keep reading.

Root Causes of Hemophilia

Hemophilia is genetic, meaning it is passed down by your parents. There are three types of hemophilia, each designated by the type of clotting factor that is missing from the blood of the person living with the disease. Simply put, the gene responsible for creating and managing that clotting factor is damaged.

Typically, hemophilia affects males. Women are usually just carriers. If a father has hemophilia, he won't pass it to his son, but he will almost always pass it to a daughter. If a mother is a hemophilia gene carrier, there is a 50 percent chance that she will pass the gene on to her child. It's important to note that hemophilia is relatively rare.

How Hemophilia is Treated

There is no cure for hemophilia. However, the disease can be controlled through regular injections or infusions of the missing clotting factor. In some cases though, hemophiliacs develop resistance or antibodies against the replacement factors, so the dosage has to be dramatically increased or non-human factors introduced instead.

A new drug was recently approved by the FDA as an anti-hemophiliac response. It's genetically engineered from hamster ovarian cells and is essentially a recombinant factor product.

Typically, treatments are administered on an ongoing schedule designed to prevent emergencies while continuing routine treatment that keeps the blood clotting. In contrast, on-demand treatments only administer medication when a bleeding episode occurs and a quick response is needed. On-demand treatment is not only significantly less expensive, but the patient is also less likely to develop antibodies.

In countries where health care is provided by the state, most hemophiliacs have ongoing access to preventive care alongside a team of physiotherapists, nurses, hematologists and more who are available to assist.

Alternative Care for Hemophiliacs

Some people believe that hemophilia can be controlled through hypnosis. They state it can reduce the amount of severe bleeds and help control bleeding once it starts. However, this has never been proven in a clinical setting and has not yet been subject to medical review.

Some hemophiliacs may also use certain herbs to strengthen blood vessels. Common herbs used include grape seed extract, bilberry, scotch broom, stinging nettle, witch hazel and yarrow. If you suffer from hemophilia disease, please consult your doctor before you start a herbal therapy program.

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