Haemophilia: symptoms and when to get medical advice

Photo credit: istock photos

Haemophilia is a rare condition that affects the blood’s ability to clot. It’s usually inherited. Most people who have it are male.

Normally, when you cut yourself, substances in your blood known as clotting factors mix with blood cells called platelets to make your blood sticky and form a clot. This makes the bleeding stop eventually.

According to NHS, people with haemophilia do not have as many clotting factors as they should have in their blood. This means they bleed for longer than usual.

Symptoms of haemophilia

The symptoms of haemophilia can be mild to severe, depending on the level of clotting factors you have.

The main symptom is bleeding that does not stop.

People with haemophilia may have:

1. nosebleeds that take a long time to stop

2. bleeding from wounds that lasts a long time

3. bleeding gums

4. skin that bruises easily

5. pain and stiffness around joints, such as elbows, because of bleeding inside the body (internal bleeding).

When to get medical advice

See a doctor if:

1. you or your child bruises easily and has bleeding that does not stop

2. your or your child has symptoms of joint bleeds, for example, tingling, pain, or stiffness in a joint, and the joint becoming hot, swollen, and tender

3. you have a family history of haemophilia and you’re pregnant or planning to have a baby.

There’s a small risk that people with haemophilia may have a bleed inside their skull (a brain or subarachnoid haemorrhage).

Symptoms of a brain haemorrhage include:

1. a severe headache

2. a stiff neck

3. being sick (vomiting)

4. a change in mental state, such as confusion

5. difficulty speaking, such as slurred speech

6. changes in vision, such as double vision

7. loss of co-ordination and balance

8. paralysis of some or all the facial muscles.

Call emergency number and ask for an ambulance if you think someone’s bleeding inside their skull.

Tests and diagnosis

Blood tests can diagnose haemophilia and find out how severe it is. 

If there’s no family history of haemophilia, it’s usually diagnosed when a child begins to walk or crawl. 

Mild haemophilia may only be discovered later, usually after an injury or a dental or surgical procedure.

Content created and supplied by: Kwajaffa (via Opera
News )