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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.
The recommended treatment plan for haemophilia depends on how severe it is.
There are 2 main approaches to treatment:
1. preventative treatment, where medicine is used to prevent bleeding and subsequent joint and muscle damage
2. on-demand treatment, where medicine is used to treat prolonged bleeding.
Haemophilia is usually treated by a team at a haemophilia hospital department.
Preventative treatment
Most cases of haemophilia are severe and need preventative treatment. This involves regular injections of clotting factor medicine.
If your child has haemophilia, you’ll be trained to give them the injections when they’re young.
They’ll be taught how to inject themselves when they’re older, to help avoid regular hospital appointments.
In some cases, injections may be given into a device called an implantable port, which can be surgically placed under the skin.
This port is connected to a blood vessel near the heart, so you do not need to try to find a vein for every injection.
People who have preventative treatment will need regular follow-up appointments with their care team so their progress can be monitored.
Preventative treatment is usually continued for life. It may be possible for someone to change to on-demand treatment, but they may be advised to switch back to preventative treatment if they have any episodes of significant bleeding.
There are different types of haemophilia. This article covers the most common types: haemophilia A and haemophilia B. They have similar symptoms but need different treatments because different clotting factors are affected.
Haemophilia A
Preventative treatment for haemophilia A involves regular injections of a medicine called octocog alfa (Advate).
This medicine is an engineered version of clotting factor VIII (8), the clotting factor people with haemophilia A do not have enough of. Injections every 48 hours are often recommended.
Side effects of octocog alfa are uncommon but can include:
1. an itchy skin rash
2. redness and soreness at the site of the injection.
Haemophilia B
Preventative treatment for people with haemophilia B involves regular injections of a medicine called nonacog alfa (BeneFix).
This is an engineered version of clotting factor IX (9), which people with haemophilia B do not have enough of. Injections twice a week are often recommended.
Side effects of nonacog alfa are uncommon but can include headaches, altered taste, feeling sick (nausea) and discomfort and swelling at the injection site.
On-demand treatment
In mild or moderate cases, treatment for haemophilia may only be necessary as an immediate response to bleeding.
Haemophilia A
People with haemophilia A can be treated on-demand with injections of octocog alfa or a medicine called desmopressin.
Desmopressin is a synthetic hormone. It works by stimulating the production of clotting factor VIII (8) and is usually given by injection.
Possible side effects of desmopressin include headache, stomach pain and feeling sick (nausea).
Haemophilia B
On-demand treatment for haemophilia B usually involves injections of nonacog alfa.
Content created and supplied by: Kwajaffa (via Opera
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