|
Support the Worldwide charity "Hemophilia Association of the World." We would like to raise $1 million to help
families coping with hemophilia, also giving money to hemophilia treatment centers to help those living with hemophilia to
make their lives easier.
Below is a hemophilia treatment center.
http://www.uihealthcare.com/depts/hemophilia/htc-1.jpg
But what is Hemophilia?
Hemophilia is a rare blood disease where your blood lacks clotting factors, so your blood cannot clot. You will bleed continuously until you receive injections of clotting factors to stop the bleeding. You can bleed longer, and bleed internally at joints such as the knees, ankles, and
elbows. This bleeding can damage organs and tissues, and if not treated, can
be fatal. Proteins, called a clotting factor, help to clot blood as a person
bleeds. People with hemophilia do not have any of this protein. There are two main types of hemophilia: hemophilia A and hemophilia B. In hemophilia A, you lack the clotting factor VIII (8), while in hemophilia
B, you lack clotting factor IX (9). Most people have hemophilia A. Hemophilia can be mild, moderate, or severe, depending on how much of the clotting factors a person had. Hemophilia is usually just referred to as hemophilia. However, hemophilia A (most
common) can be referred to as Classic hemophilia or Factor VIII deficiency. However,
hemophilia B can be referred to as Christmas disease or Factor IX deficiency.
Hemophilia is an x-linked recessive trait.
This means that the disease is carried on the X chromosome. This means
that when hemophilia is passed on, a boy will inherit hemophilia if his mother gives him an infected chromosome. If a mother gives a daughter an infected chromosome, and the father gives the daughter a regular X chromosome,
or the father gives his daughter an infected X-chromosome and the daughter recieves a normal X-chromosome from her mother,
the girl will not have hemophilia but will rather be a carrier. To have hemophilia,
a girl must inherit an infected x-chromosome from both her father and mother. A
boy only needs an infected x-chromosome from his mother, which is common in inheriting hemophilia. Since the boy only has one x-chromosome he is very likely to get hemophilia. This is why hemophilia is so much more common in boys; because girls need two infected chromosomes, they
are much less likely to get hemophilia.
Below is a picture of an elbow with internal bleeding.
The main symptoms of hemophilia are excessive bleeding and bruising. For example, excessive bleeding may occur after dental procedures or when small or large cuts bleed long
after the time when they should have stopped. There can also be heavy internal bleeding, which
can be identified from blood in urine, from tightness, swollenness, and pain in joints.
If internal bleeding is left unknown, permanent damage can result. Bleeding in the brain can also result from bumps on the head, and can cause seizures or death.
To detect hemophilia in your family, your doctor must take a family and personal
medical history. A physical exam is also done, including blood tests. These blood tests determine the length of time it your blood takes to clot and the
amounts of clotting factors in your blood. The results will show if you have hemophilia, its severity, and what type it is. If you do not suspect hemophilia, and the case is mild, people may not be diagnosed
until adulthood. If you have severe hemophilia, you can be diagnosed in your
first year of life. However, if a woman is known to be a hemophilia carrier,
her baby can be identified with this disorder as early as 10 weeks into the pregnancy.
Hemophilia is hard to live with, but in describing this disorder, it can be said that victims of hemophilia live a
mostly normal life, but they must be very careful in their actions. They have
to be ready to treat themselves in case of bruises, cuts, or small injuries so their lives are not endangered. In order to do this, they cannot play rough sports, but can ride a bike, swim, or walk. Hemophilia can be emotionally hard, so support is good for a family with members that have hemophilia. Today, to treat hemophilia in easier ways, there are hemophilia treatment centers
that are in communities. These centers help with treatment of victims of this
disease, and help to educate people about this disorder. Camps are made for kids
with hemophilia where they can be safe and have fun. To be on top of things with
this disorder, hemophilia requires regular check-ups to the doctor to make sure your body is staying healthy for you as you
cope with this disorder. Though hemophilia can be emotional
and physically limiting, people can live easier normal lives because of treatments.
The main source of treatment for treating hemophilia is replacement therapy. This is the giving of the missing clotting factor to the victim of hemophilia. Concentrates of the clotting factors, made from human blood that has been treated,
are injected into a vein. There are also concentrates, called recombinant clotting
factors, which do not use human blood. These are for the convenience of the home,
so they can be stored, mixed, and used so people with hemophilia can treat themselves after they are hurt. To prevent further bleeding, prophylactic therapy, which is regular
replacement therapy, can be administered to a victim of hemophilia. There are
also other treatments, such as antifibrinolytic medicines and desmopressin. Antifibrinolytic
medicines are pills that keep clots from breaking down so you do not bleed as much, such as in mouth or nose bleeding. Desmopressin is a hormone (man-made) that treats mild hemophilia A that stimulates
the release of factor VIII in your blood. This protein stays in your blood stream
for only a limited amount of time. This is only used before playing sports to
reduce/prevent bleeding. Though many wonder if gene therapy is an option, it
is not. Gene therapy is not yet developed to
treat hemophilia, but researchers are testing gene therapies in hope that one day they will find some gene therapy for this
disorder. Remember, the best treatment for hemophilia is just being careful. No matter what treatment used, it is always best to just be careful as to prevent
bleeding, making life safer and free of destructive bleeding.
Please support the "Hemophilia Association of the World" charity. You can help a person living with hemophilia cope with
it by donating for treatment.
|
