Written By: Satata Karmakar | Published : April 30, 2023 12:05 PM IST
Hemophilia is a rare disorder in which the blood doesn't clot due to the lack of clotting factors.
Hemophilia is a disorder which affects only males. it is an inherited disorder and transmitted from a carrier mother to all her male babies (affected) and from an affected father to all his female babies who become carriers. Hemophilia is a rare blood disorder in which the blood of the patient doesn't clot in a typical way because it doesn't have enough blood-clotting proteins (clotting factors). The disease requires immediate medical intervention in order to prevent the death of the patient.
There are several contributing factors that can make haemophilia and the symptoms associated with it turn worse, one of the major ones among them is head trauma. The condition can also lead to bleeding inside your body, especially in your knees, ankles and elbows. Internal bleeding can damage your organs and tissues and be life-threatening.
In this article, we will take a close look at how a minor head trauma can result in the death of a patient suffering from haemophilia. We spoke to Dr Tanmay Deshpande, Consultant General Paediatrics and Paedaitric Genetics and Metabolic Diseases, Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital, to understand more about the condition and factors that can make it worse. Here's what the doctor has to say.
In this genetic defect, the patient is unable to make factor VIII or Factor IX (Hemophilia A or B respectively). Due to this, when these individuals undergo any kind of trauma which results in bleeding, secondary to the absence of clotting factors (VIII and IX), the bleeding does not stop and this may lead to a catastrophic event.
Any individual who is affected with Hemophilia should avoid contact sports or any such sport which possesses a risk of an external or an internal bleed. These sports include Boxing, Karate, heavy Gymnastics etc.
If the individual has a moderate or severe form of the disease (factor concentration between 5-40% and <1% respectively), then even a minor trauma like a minor head injury may lead to internal bleeding. Here are some of the risk factors that can contribute to death in haemophilia patients:
According to the doctor, a holistic diagnostic and management approach is key to successfully treating a case of Hemophilia. To ensure timely medical intervention one must make a visit to the doctor immediately when the below-mentioned symptoms appear:
