Haemophilia is when somebody has difficulty stopping bleeding because they don’t have a clotting factor, or their clotting factors are low. A clotting factor is something in their blood that helps to stop them bleeding.
What is it like for siblings if their brother or sister has haemophilia?
Lots of siblings have really good relationships with their brothers and sisters who have haemophilia. However, siblings may also feel very protective of their brothers and sisters who have haemophilia and may worry about them falling over or having a bleed.
What causes haemophilia?
Haemophilia is a genetic condition that somebody is born with. It can be passed from parents to children. It cannot be caught, like a cold. In some families, it will affect some children, but not others. There are two types of haemophilia. Haemophilia A is when the body is missing or has a low level of a clotting factor called factor 8. Haemophilia B (sometimes called Christmas disease) is when the body is missing or has a low level of a clotting factor called factor 9.
What does it mean?
A body needs lots of clotting factors to stop bleeding properly. When someone is missing a clotting factor, or has low clotting factor, it means that their body can’t stop bleeding as quickly as they should do. They might not even see any blood when this happens because the bleeding can sometimes happen inside their body, often into a joint, where they can’t see it straight away. It may be possible to see a purple bruise on the skin. It can be very painful.
What treatment is there?
There are two main treatments for haemophilia. There is replacement therapy, which is when a clotting factor is injected into a vein to top up the clotting factor that’s missing or low. There is also a treatment for haemophilia A which is injected into muscle that mimics factor 8.
This information has been approved by The Haemophilia Society November 2024