Hemophilia is a genetic bleeding problem in which a patient has a lower level of “clotting factors,” a protein responsible for the clotting of our blood. As a result, people who have hemophilia cannot clot blood properly. This can also mean excessive bleeding and many complications. Here are some risk factors for hemophilia.

Types
There are three types of Hemophilia- A.B and C. hemophilia A is caused by the lack of factor VIII and is the most common. Hemophilia B is due to the lack of factor IX and is also known as Christmas disease. Hemophilia C is caused because of the deficiency of factor XI, and it is an uncommon type. Hemophilia isn’t curable but can be managed to reduce symptoms and further complications.

Symptoms
The symptoms of hemophilia depend on the severity of the condition and what factors they are attacking. In people where the disease is considered mild, bleeding may happen only due to some severe injury or trauma. Those with a more serious condition may experience bleeding for no reason whatsoever. Some symptoms that tend to occur around the age of 2 are as follows

• Bloody urine and stool
• Bruising easily
• Large and deep bruises
• Bleeding profusely
• Nosebleeds happen often
• Gums bleed
• Irritability
• Sudden and unexplained bleeding

Causes
When we bleed, our body works to clot to stop the bleeding using clotting factors. As hemophilia is a genetic condition, it is passed down in families. This gene defect affects the factors in the body that make blood clotting possible. Babies inherit the two sex chromosomes from their parents. Female babies have two X chromosomes, and male babies have an X and Y chromosome, and since the disease is passed on from the X chromosome, fathers cannot infect their sons with this. Therefore, the defect comes from the X chromosome; therefore, males get it from their mothers with the altered chromosome. A woman who has this chromosome is also known as the carrier and embodies a 50% chance of passing it on to her offspring.

A female baby who inherits the altered gene may never get the disease because the other chromosome, which is not affected, has sufficient clotting factors, and prevents bleeding issues.

Risk factors
The first two types of Hemophilia are more common in men than in women. Hemophilia C, on the other hand, is an autosomal inherited disease that can develop in both men and women. This happens because type C is not dependent on the sex chromosome. People who most frequently get this type of disease are of Jewish descent. It is so rare that it affects only 1 in 100,000 people.

Now that we have become enlightened on the risk factors for hemophilia, anyone at risk should schedule a doctor’s appointment.