Medication
The main treatment for hemophilia is called replacement therapy. Concentrates of clotting factor VIII (for hemophilia A) or clotting factor IX (for hemophilia B) are slowly dripped or injected into a vein. These infusions help replace the clotting factor that's missing or low. Clotting factor concentrates can be made from human blood.
Therapy
Jun 15, 2021 · The main aim of hemophilia treatment is to prevent life-threatening bleeding and/or treat muscle and joint bleeding. Early, treatment was limited to on-demand therapy, ie, the infusion of concentrate after the occurrence of the bleeding, also allowing the home therapy a prompt and successful treatment. 43
Self-care
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 feeling sick (nausea)
Nutrition
The best way to treat hemophilia is to replace the missing blood clotting factor so that the blood can clot properly. This is done by infusing (administering through a vein) commercially prepared factor concentrates.
How do you cure hemophilia?
Nov 08, 2021 · Hemophilia A can be treated, but there is no cure. The treatments are used long-term. Replacement of factor VIII is the main treatment for hemophilia A, and this treatment is often referred to as clotting factor. Other treatments can prevent bleeding through biological actions that do not specifically replace factor VIII. Treatments include:
Are there any cures for hemophilia?
This is a synthetic hormone which releases the body’s stored factor VIII into the bloodstream to help blood clot. It is used for treating some people with mild haemophilia A. DDAVP can be given as a slow injection into a vein, but may also be given as an injection subcutaneously (into the fatty tissue under the skin). Tranexamic acid
What is the current treatment for hemophilia?
Introduction: The standard treatment of hemophilia A consists of the prophylactic administration of a coagulation factor concentrate, to be administered intravenously several times a week. Newly approved factor concentrates and non-factor products reduce the frequency of injection and offer better protection against bleeding.
Can you cure hemophilia?
Jan 13, 2022 · The mainstay treatment for hemophilia B is the prophylactic (preventive) administration of clotting factor IX, but specific treatments depend on the severity of your hemophilia and the need to manage your acute needs at the time. A personalized treatment plan that is tailored to you can alleviate symptoms and lower your risk of complications.
See more
What is the treatment for hemophilia?
The main treatment for hemophilia is called replacement therapy . Concentrates of clotting factor VIII (for hemophilia A) or clotting factor IX (for hemophilia B) are slowly dripped or injected into a vein. These infusions help replace the clotting factor that's missing or low. Clotting factor concentrates can be made from human blood.
Why is blood treated?
The blood is treated to prevent the spread of diseases, such as hepatitis. With the current methods of screening and treating donated blood, the risk of getting an infectious disease from human clotting factors is very small.
What is the best medicine for a blood clot?
Antifibrinolytic medicines (including tranexamic acid and epsilon aminocaproic acid) may be used with replacement therapy. They're usually given as a pill, and they help keep blood clots from breaking down.
Why is home treatment important?
Home treatment helps children accept treatment and take responsibility for their own health. Discuss options for home treatment with your doctor or your child's doctor. A doctor or other health care provider can teach you the steps and safety procedures for home treatment.
Is gene therapy for hemophilia accepted?
Researchers are trying to find ways to correct the faulty genes that cause hemophilia. Gene therapy hasn't yet developed to the point that it's an accepted treatment for hemophilia. However, researchers continue to test gene therapy in clinical trials.
Can you get replacement therapy for bleeding?
Or, you may only need replacement therapy to stop bleeding when it occurs. This use of the treatment, on an as-needed basis, is called demand therapy. Demand therapy is less intensive and expensive than preventive therapy. However, there's a risk that bleeding will cause damage before you receive the demand therapy.
Can you do preventive therapy at home?
You can do both preventive (ongoing) and demand (as-needed) replacement therapy at home. Many people learn to do the infusions at home for their child or for themselves. Home treatment has several advantages:
How to prevent hemophilia?
Lifestyle and home remedies. To avoid excessive bleeding and protect your joints: Exercise regularly. Activities such as swimming, bicycle riding and walking can build up muscles while protecting joints. Contact sports — such as football, hockey or wrestling — are not safe for people with hemophilia.
How to help a child with hemophilia?
To help you and your child cope with hemophilia: Get a medical alert bracelet. This bracelet lets medical personnel know that you or your child has hemophilia, and the type of clotting factor that's best in case of an emergency. Talk with a counselor.
What is a recombinant clotting factor?
Similar products, called recombinant clotting factors, are manufactured in a laboratory and aren't made from human blood. Other therapies may include: Desmopressin. In some forms of mild hemophilia, this hormone can stimulate your body to release more clotting factor.
How to stop bleeding under the skin?
For small areas of bleeding beneath the skin, use an ice pack. Ice pops can be used to slow down minor bleeding in the mouth. Vaccinations. Although blood products are screened, it's still possible for people who rely on them to contract diseases.
What is the best way to prevent clots from breaking down?
It can be injected slowly into a vein or provided as a nasal spray. Clot-preserving medications. These medications help prevent clots from breaking down. Fibrin sealants. These medications can be applied directly to wound sites to promote clotting and healing. Fibrin sealants are especially useful in dental therapy.
How to treat internal bleeding?
If internal bleeding has caused severe damage, you may need surgery. First aid for minor cuts. Using pressure and a bandage will generally take care of the bleeding. For small areas of bleeding beneath the skin, use an ice pack.
When is hemophilia diagnosed?
Depending on the severity of the deficiency, hemophilia symptoms can first arise at various ages. Severe cases of hemophilia usually are diagnosed within the first year of life.
What is the treatment for haemophilia A?
Haemophilia A. Preventative treatment for haemophilia A involves regular injections of a medicine called octocog alfa (Advate). Read about octocog alfa (Advate) on the European Medicines Agency's website. This medicine is an engineered version of clotting factor VIII (8), the clotting factor people with haemophilia A do not have enough of.
How to treat haemophilia in children?
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.
What is the name of the drug that makes blood clotting factor less effective?
Inhibitors . Some people who take blood clotting factor medicine develop antibodies in their immune system, called inhibitors, which make the medicine less effective. People having treatment for haemophilia should be regularly tested for inhibitors. Inhibitors can be treated with immune tolerance induction (ITI).
What is preventative treatment?
preventative treatment, where medicine is used to prevent bleeding and subsequent joint and muscle damage. on-demand treatment, where medicine is used to treat prolonged bleeding. Haemophilia is usually treated by a team at a haemophilia hospital department.
How often should I take octocog alfa?
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: an itchy skin rash. redness and soreness at the site of the injection.
Can ITI be given to people with haemophilia?
ITI is usually offered to people with severe haemophilia A. People with haemophilia B may be offered ITI, but it's less effective and there's a risk of severe allergic reaction. People with mild or moderate haemophilia A who develop inhibitors may be offered either bypass therapy or immunosuppressants.
Can haemophilia cause bleeding?
The more damaged a joint is, the more vulnerable it is to bleeding. Joint damage is more common in older adults with severe haemophilia. It's hoped that modern treatments mean children growing up with haemophilia today will not have joint damage. Surgery can be used to remove damaged synovium so new synovium can grow.
What is hemophilia clotting?
Table of Contents. Hemophilia is usually an inherited bleeding disorder in which the blood does not clot properly. This can lead to spontaneous bleeding as well as bleeding following injuries or surgery. Blood contains many proteins called clotting factors that can help to stop bleeding. People with hemophilia have low levels ...
How is hemophilia determined?
The severity of hemophilia that a person has is determined by the amount of factor in the blood. The lower the amount of the factor, the more likely it is that bleeding will occur which can lead to serious health problems. In rare cases, a person can develop hemophilia later in life. The majority of cases involve middle-aged or elderly people, ...
What is the effect of hemophilia on blood clotting?
About 15-20 percent of people with hemophilia develop an antibody (called an inhibitor) that stops the clotting factors from being able to clot the blood and stop bleeding. Treatment of bleeding episodes becomes extremely difficult, and the cost of care for a person with an inhibitor can skyrocket because more clotting factor or a different type of clotting factor is needed. People with inhibitors often experience more joint disease and other problems from bleeding that result in a reduced quality of life.
What tests are done to determine if a newborn has hemophilia?
To make a diagnosis, doctors would perform certain blood tests to show if the blood is clotting properly. If it does not, then they would do clotting factor tests, also called factor assays, to diagnose the cause of the bleeding disorder.
How do you know if you have hemophilia?
Signs and Symptoms. Common signs of hemophilia include: Bleeding into the joints. This can cause swelling and pain or tightness in the joints; it often affects the knees, elbows, and ankles. Bleeding into the skin (which is bruising) or muscle and soft tissue causing a build-up of blood in the area (called a hematoma).
Can hemophilia cause death?
Bleeding in the head and sometimes in the brain which can cause long term problems, such as seizures and paralysis. Death can occur if the bleeding cannot be stopped or if it occurs in a vital organ such as the brain.
Can you get hemophilia later in life?
In rare cases, a person can develop hemophilia later in life. The majority of cases involve middle-aged or elderly people, or young women who have recently given birth or are in the later stages of pregnancy. This condition often resolves with appropriate treatment.
Factor VIII Replacement and More
Heidi Moawad is a neurologist and expert in the field of brain health and neurological disorders. Dr. Moawad regularly writes and edits health and career content for medical books and publications.
Home Remedies and Lifestyle
If you have hemophilia A, it’s important that you try to avoid injuries. This can mean avoiding contact sports and other known injury risks.
Over-the-Counter (OTC) Therapies
Sometimes hemophilia A can cause joint pain. Generally, Tylenol ( acetaminophen) is recommended to help manage the pain. 1
Prescriptions
Hemophilia A can be treated, but there is no cure. The treatments are used long-term. Replacement of factor VIII is the main treatment for hemophilia A, and this treatment is often referred to as clotting factor. Other treatments can prevent bleeding through biological actions that do not specifically replace factor VIII.
Surgeries and Specialist-Driven Procedures
Surgery is not a treatment for hemophilia A, but sometimes surgery might be necessary in cases of severe bleeding, such as to remove blood that is pooling in the body or blood that is causing pressure on the organs. Surgery poses a bleeding risk for people who have hemophilia A, so this is not considered a standard approach.
Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)
There are no CAM therapies that can help prevent bleeding in hemophilia A, but several therapies are used to help manage some of the effects of hemophilia A. Because this condition predisposes you to bleed, you must be cautious about any CAM therapies.
Summary
Hemophilia A is a chronic disease that requires lifelong management. Replacement of factor VIII is the cornerstone of medical management for this condition. Treatment is aimed at preventing bleeding, and there are also treatments that can be used if you have a bleeding complication.
What happens after clotting factor treatment?
After treatment with a clotting factor product, some people with haemophilia may develop antibodies – known as ‘inhibitors’ - which make treatment less effective. There are a number of ways to treat inhibitors and many people are successful in overcoming them while others have ongoing problems.
Is there a new treatment for haemophilia?
Researchers are always looking for new ways to treat haemophilia. New treatments are now in development and becoming available. Some of these new treatments could mean less infusions, or that factor is injected into a muscle instead of into a vein.
Home Remedies and Lifestyle
There is no cure for hemophilia B, but it’s possible for you and your family to learn how to prevent injury and administer your own clotting factor treatments at home.
Over-the-Counter (OTC) Therapies
Bleeding into the joints and bruising can be painful. Unfortunately, common OTC pain medications like aspirin and Advil or Motrin IB can interfere with the body’s ability to clot blood. Therefore, you may want to substitute these medications with Tylenol ( acetaminophen) for pain relief. 2
Prescriptions
While there is no cure for hemophilia B, the disease can be treated over the long term with prescription replacements for the clotting factor IX that is missing in children and adults with this condition. Other medications may also be prescribed to help promote blood clotting. Treatments include:
Specialist-Driven Procedures
Surgery is not a common treatment for hemophilia B, but sometimes surgery or other treatments such as blood transfusions for heavy blood loss or intravenous administration of FIX may be given at a comprehensive hemophilia treatment center (HTC).
Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)
There are no CAM therapies approved for hemophilia B, and some therapies can put you at greater risk for a bleeding episode. It's important to discuss any CAM treatment you are considering with a hematologist (blood disorder specialist) to make sure that it's safe for your condition.
Summary
The mainstay treatment for hemophilia B is the prophylactic (preventive) administration of clotting factor IX, but specific treatments depend on the severity of your hemophilia and the need to manage your acute needs at the time. A personalized treatment plan that is tailored to you can alleviate symptoms and lower your risk of complications.
A Word From Verywell
Comprehensive treatment of your hemophilia usually requires seeing multiple specialists and other healthcare providers. You and your caregivers should have access to additional information regarding new treatment options, with a specific emphasis on providing personalized health education adapted to the present challenges that you may be facing.
Diagnosis
Treatment
Clinical Trials
Lifestyle and Home Remedies
Specialist to consult
Coping and Support
Preparing For Your Appointment
- The main treatment for severe hemophilia involves replacing the clotting factor you need through a tube in a vein. This replacement therapy can be given to treat a bleeding episode in progress. It can also be given on a regular schedule at home to help prevent bleeding episodes. Some people receive continuous replacement therapy. Replacement clotti...