Hemophilia, which is a genetic and hereditary disease, causes changes in blood clotting and, therefore, causes symptoms such as:
- Purple spots on the skin; Swelling and pain in the joints; Spontaneous bleeding, for no apparent reason, as in the gum or nose, for example; Hemorrhages difficult to stop after a simple cut or surgery; Excessive and prolonged menstruation.
The more severe the type of hemophilia, the greater the number of symptoms and the sooner they appear, therefore, severe hemophilia is usually discovered in the baby, during the first months of life, while moderate hemophilia is usually suspected around the 5 years old, or when the child starts to walk and play.
Mild hemophilia, on the other hand, can only be discovered in adulthood, when the person suffers a strong blow or after procedures such as tooth extraction, in which bleeding is noted above normal. To better understand what causes and the main types of this disease, check out the myths and truths about hemophilia.
How to confirm the diagnosis
The diagnosis of hemophilia is made after evaluation by the hematologist, who requests tests that assess the blood's clotting ability, such as the clotting time, which checks the time it takes for the blood to form a clot, and the measurement of the presence of factors clotting and their blood levels.
Clotting factors are essential blood proteins, which come into play when there is some bleeding, to allow it to stop. The absence of any of these factors causes disease, as in type A hemophilia, which is caused by the absence or decrease of factor VIII, or type B hemophilia, in which factor IX is deficient.
There are deficiencies in other clotting factors that can also be detected through these tests, which also cause bleeding and can be confused with hemophilia, such as factor XI deficiency, for example, popularly known as type C hemophilia.
When you suspect hemophilia
You should be suspicious of hemophilia, and take the exam, when:
- The father or mother has hemophilia; The mother has the hemophilia gene; The child has symptoms suggestive of hemophilia.
In some cases, the test can be done even in the mother's womb, through chorionic villus biopsy or material collection using amniocentesis or cordocentesis.
Symptoms that suggest the presence of a change in coagulation are:
| On baby or child | In the adult |
| Presence of purple or dark spots on the skin; | Wounds that bleed for a long time or take time to heal; |
| Bleeding when the first teeth are born; | Swelling in muscles or joints, very painful, which prevents movement; |
| Increased amount of purple spots when the baby starts to crawl or walk; | Loss of blood through the nose or mouth; |
| Cuts that bleed beyond expectations. | Surgical procedures that bleed excessively, such as removing a tooth or filling. |
The health risks of this disease can be avoided with hemophilia treatment, which consists of making periodic injections to replace the deficient clotting factor, to prevent bleeding, or to stop any bleeding that has started. Find out more details about how hemophilia is treated.
