Hemophilia can be described as a hereditary disorder which causes a person to bleed uncontrollably. This happens due to low levels of proteins in the body called “clotting factors”, which leads to improper clotting of blood. Research estimates that approximately one out of 10,000 people inherit this disorder. Even though hemophilia is rare, it is a dangerous situation, which can cause internal bleeding and swollen joints, among many other complications.

Types of Hemophilia
There primarily three forms of hemophilia namely A, B, and C.

• Hemophilia A
  Caused by a shortage in ‘factor VIIl’, hemophilia A is found more amongst people than any other type. Patients suffering from hemophilia A experience bleeding for a longer time, while also having the possibility of bleeding internally, all depending on the amount of factor VIII in their system.

• Hemophilia B
  It is commonly referred to as Christmas disease because the first person diagnosed with Hemophilia B was a patient named Stephen Christmas in the year 1952. Hemophilia B is caused by the lack of ‘factor IX’ in the blood and includes symptoms like deep tissue bleeding, and bleeding into a joint in extreme cases. This is known as hemarthrosis.

• Hemophilia C
  Caused due to the deficiency of ‘factor XI’ in the blood, the risk of bleeding in hemophilia C is not always high. In some cases, patients with less ‘factor XI’ do not have a tendency to bleed, while patients with mild deficiency experience higher bleeding. This makes hemophilia C trickier to deal with.

General symptoms of hemophilia include blood in the urine, stool, frequent nosebleeds, and unexplained bruises, among many other things. A person is advised to visit a doctor if he/she experiences head and neck pains, chronic vomiting, blurred vision, and extreme sleepiness.

Treatment for Hemophilia
Hemophilia A is usually treated with a chemically produced hormone called desmopressin. It can be administered through a syringe into the bloodstream. Desmopressin facilitates blood clotting by activating the respective factors for the process.

The treatment for hemophilia B is commonly done through blood transfusion. This includes introducing blood into the system which is rich in the factors that facilitate clotting. Another way to treat hemophilia B is introducing synthetic or recombinant clotting factors.

The treatment for hemophilia C includes infusing the bloodstream with plasma, which helps stop the bleeding.

Hemophilia in some cases causes damage to the joints due to internal bleeding within them. It is usually recommended to opt for physical therapy to repair them and return them to proper functioning.

Commonly used before dental work, an antifibrinolytic called Tranexamic acid can be used as a pill or as an injection to stop the breaking of blood clots through factor replacement therapy.

Even though it is still in research, gene therapy can possibly correct the genes that cause and pass on hemophilia.