Hemophilia Treatments and Diagnosis

Hemophilia Treatments and Diagnosis

Hemophilia is a disorder of the blood in which the blood is not able to clot normally. It could either be because of the deficiency or the absence of the requisite blood-clotting factors. In this article, we’ll talk about the diagnosis and treatment options for hemophilia.

Diagnosis
Pregnant women: If hemophilia runs in the family, the disease can be diagnosed when a woman is pregnant, and the fetus could be affected by it. However, performing any tests during this time could bring about serious risks and health disorders for the fetus. Thus, before one opts for a diagnosis, they should discuss the possible merits or demerits of the same with a health care professional.

Adults and children: Adults might showcase a clotting-protein deficiency. Thereafter, based on how serious this deficiency is, hemophilia symptoms might appear at different ages.

Usually, if the person has an advanced form of hemophilia, he might showcase signs right from the 1st year of his life. However, if the person has only a mild form of hemophilia, it might not appear until the person grows up. People usually find out about the presence of the disease when they bleed heavily during a surgery.

Treatment
There are a bunch of different clotting factors, the absence or the deficiency of which might lead to the different types of hemophilia. So, some of the treatment measures used include:

Replacement therapy: The primary treatment for serious cases of hemophilia is the replacement of a particular clotting factor that a person is deficient in. This can be injected via a tube placed into the vein. It can be used as a primary treatment measure to overcome an ongoing bleeding episode. There are a few patients who continually need to receive replacement therapy. What’s important to know is that replacement clotting protein can be acquired from the donated blood. There are also a few similar recombinant clotting proteins that aren’t made in the blood but are rather manufactured in the laboratory that can be used.

Clot-preservation Medicines: These are a few medications that can prevent the break-down of the clots.

Desmopressin: In case hemophilia is still in the mild stages, a hormone called Desmopressin can stimulate the body with the goal of releasing higher clotting factors. This hormone can either be injected into the vein or inhaled via a nasal spray.

Vaccinations: When one has hemophilia, they should get vaccinated against hepatitis A and hepatitis B.

Physical therapy: It helps ease the symptoms in case damage has been caused to the joints by internal bleeding. However, if the damage is severe, a person will need surgery.

Fibrin Sealants: Fibrin Sealants are medications that can be used directly at the site of the wound. It helps facilitate healing and clotting. This treatment measure is particularly helpful in the case of dental therapy.

First aid in times of minor cuts: To cater to the bleeding, one should use some pressure and a bandage to cover the wound. For bleeding inside the skin, one could use ice pops or ice packs as they slow down any internal bleeding.