Hemophilia is a bleeding disorder that is inherited. It causes the blood to not clot properly, which means that spontaneous bleeding can occur. Surgery or injuries may be difficult to control because the bleeding may not stop. With hemophilia, people lack a certain protein that encourages clotting and the lower amount of proteins, then the greater the risk of serious health problems.
1. It Is Rather Rare
In the United States, hemophilia affects about 20,000 people at any given time. Hemophilia A happens in about 1 in 5000 male births and it is 4 times more likely to happen when compared to Hemophilia B incidents. The results are swelling and pain around the joints especially and when left untreated, may cause permanent damage.
2. There’s No Help
It is believed that up to 400,000 people around the world are suffering from one of the two forms of hemophilia. 3 out of every 4 people with this condition lack the resources or the access to medical care that are required for proper treatment. This means that they deal with pain every day and live with the threat of bleeding out from a simple injury.
3. AIDS
When the AIDS epidemic reached its peak in the 1980s and 1990s, 90% of Americans who were diagnosed with a severe form of hemophilia were infected with the virus. This was because plasma and blood donations were not screened for the virus at the time. These measures have been implemented today, but the damage back then was done swiftly and permanently.
4. Women Can Get It Too
Hemophilia is generally thought of as a male disease, but it can happen in women as well. It’s a recessive X-linked trait, so becoming a carrier is a more likely result, but there are instances where the mutation has caused the same disease issue.
5. You Don’t Have to Be Born
Hemophilia can also be an acquired disease that happens over time. This happens when an autoimmune disorder develops when the body uses its white blood cells to attack the blood clotting factor proteins. Treating this form of hemophilia is usually a little easier because the immune system is artificially depressed, but it can still be problematic.
6. It’s the Kids
There is one form of hemophilia that actually resolves itself after childhood. Called Hemophilia B Leyden, this extremely rare form of the disease causes excessive bleeding through infancy and into childhood, but once puberty is reached, very little bleeding occurs afterward.
7. Spontaneous Bleeding Happens
Because clotting doesn’t happen much at all in severe cases, any leak or hemorrhage can cause severe bleeding within the body that will not resolve itself. Any time there is mysterious bruising, that could very well be an incident of spontaneous bleeding – especially when no injury occurred
8. It Isn’t Known
When someone has an acquired form of hemophilia, 1 out of every 2 cases of it has an unknown cause. This means that this clotting disorder can happen to anyone at virtually any time. That’s why knowing the facts about this disease is so critical. If it can be identified early, then it can be treated and a fairly normal life can be achieved.