Disease Treatment Tips :: Hemophilia Disease
Hemophilia Disease: Understanding Hemophilia - The Bleeding Disease
Hemophilia disease is actually a group of diseases that are all genetic disorders that adversely affects the body's ability to control blood clotting. Hemophilia tends to affect males only, though females are often the carriers of the disease.
To learn more about hemophilia, including its causes and treatments, keep reading.
Causes of Hemophilia
Hemophilia is a genetic disease. There are three types of hemophilia; Hemophilia A, which is caused by non-functioning clotting Factor VII, is the most common; Hemophilia B is caused by non-functioning clotting Factor IX; and Hemophilia C, which is caused by non-functioning clotting Factor XI.
Again, hemophilia only affects males, though females can be carriers. While a male carrier will always pass the disease down to his daughter, he will never pass it on to his son. However, a female carrier only has a 50 percent chance of passing it onto her daughter or son. The disease is very rare and affects approximately 1 in every 5000 births.
Treating Hemophilia Disease
There is no cure for hemophilia. However, the disease can be controlled through regular injections or infusions of the missing clotting factor. In some cases though, hemophiliacs develop resistance or antibodies against the replacement factors, so the dosage has to be dramatically increased or non-human factors used instead.
A new drug was recently approved by the FDA as an anti-hemophiliac drug. It's genetically engineered from hamster ovarian cells and are essentially a recombinant factor product.
Typically, treatments are either administered as an ongoing treatment schedule designed to prevent emergencies and continue ongoing treatment that keeps the blood clotting.
In contrast, on-demand treatments only administer treatments when a bleeding episode occurs and treatment is needed. On-demand treatment is not only significantly less expensive, the patient is also less likely to develop antibodies.
In areas or countries where health care is covered by the state, patients can typically attend care centers designated for hemophiliac care. They are then assigned a hematologist, nurse, physiotherapist and social worker to help them with their treatments and ongoing care.
Alternative Treatments for Hemophiliacs
Some studies suggest that hypnosis and self-hypnosis have been used to effectively control hemophilia and reduce the number of bleeds along with the severity of bleeding. This method of treatment has not been proven clinically.
Some hemophiliacs may also use certain herbs to strengthen blood vessels. Common herbs used include grape seed extract, bilberry, scotch broom, stinging nettle, witch hazel and yarrow. If you suffer from hemophilia disease, please consult your doctor before you start a herbal therapy program.
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DiseaseTreatmentTips.com :: Hemophilia Disease