Treatments- hemophilia

Hemophilia is a condition in which a person does not have the ability to clot blood naturally. This is a hereditary disease in which cuts and bruises may not heal for many days and the bleeding has to be stopped as the body is not able to clot blood on its own. The causes of hemophilia are largely genetic, in which one or more of the clotting factors in the blood are missing.

Replacement therapy is one of the main treatments for hemophilia. This is usually a lifelong therapy which has to be undergone every few months. There are many other treatments for hemophilia, but replacement therapy is the most commonly used one.

Here are some of the cures for hemophilia that can help you overcome hemophilia symptoms.

Replacement therapy: The main treatment for this condition, replacement therapy is one in which clotting factor concentrates are intravenously injected into the body. These concentrates help maintain a balance of the clotting factors that are missing or are produced in low quantities. These concentrates are made from human blood. Before making the concentrates, the blood is checked for diseases such as hepatitis and AIDS. Since the blood is thoroughly checked and the clotting concentrate is treated before transfusion, the risk of getting an infection from it is very small, you can also use recombinant clotting factors that are not made from human blood. These synthetic clotting factors can be purchased and can be stored and used at home.

To prevent bleeding, replacement therapy may be used on a regular basis. Preventive therapy is usually the only therapy in this condition. In case, you have not been taking the preventive therapy properly, you can use a demand therapy when the bleeding actually occurs. The latter, however, may be risky. There are some complications of this treatment. Apart from the hemophilia symptoms and signs, a person receiving regular replacement therapy may develop antibodies against the clotting factor. Human clotting factors have a slight chance of being infectious as well. In rare cases, a delay in treatment may cause damage to the joints of the body.

While a few years back, replacement therapy was still performed in a hospital setting, today it can be performed at home. Both preventive and on-demand replacement therapy can be performed at home if you learn how to prepare the infusions. There are many advantages of home treatment, the most obvious one being the convenience. You no longer have to get admitted to receive the infusions. There are fewer complications when you get home treatment. You also have to make fewer visits to the doctor, and the overall cost of the treatment is much less than it would be in a hospital setting.

If you are planning to get replacement therapy, you can discuss the options for home treatment with your doctor. There are some safety procedures to be followed with which the doctor will familiarize you. The doctor can surgically implant a vein access device that completely eliminates the need to go to a hospital every time you need replacement therapy.

Hormones: The other treatments for hemophilia include the use of a synthetic hormone named Desmopressin. This hormone can be easily used to treat patients who have a mild or moderate case of hemophilia A. in case of hemophilia B, or severe case of hemophilia A, this hormone cannot be used. Desmopressin, also known as DDAVP, can help stimulate factor VIII, a clotting factor that is stored in the body. It also helps in the stimulation of the Von Willerbrand factor that binds factor VIII. This helps in keeping the factor in the blood stream for longer. The hormone can be received either as an injection or can be used for self-medication as a nasal spray. However, when used often, the effect of DDAVP may be completely lost. Therefore, most people use this medicine only before particular situations when there is inevitable bleeding, like dental work.

Antifibrinolytic medicines: Hemophilia symptoms and causes are genetic, and therefore, it is not possible to suppress the gene and eliminate or cure the condition completely. However, antifibrinolytic medicines can help in improving the results of replacement therapy. Though they are not a treatment for the condition in themselves, when used as a pill, along with replacement therapy, they keep the blood from breaking down clots that are forming. These medications should ideally be used when a patient is expecting mild bleeding, like in a dental surgery.

Gene therapy: All the facts on hemophilia point out to the genetic origins of the disease. There are many researchers who are trying to find out a way to correct or suppress the faulty genes that cause the condition. Gene therapy has not yet completely developed into a workable solution. However, persistent research in the area aspires to minimize the effects of hemophilia on patients suffering from the condition.

Which treatment is best for you? There are many different treatments for hemophilia to choose from. However, the best treatment for any patient is determined by the severity of the condition and the symptoms experienced due to it. For mild to moderate hemophilia, persistent treatments may not be required. However, when the condition enters into a severe form, replacement therapy, which is given on a regular basis, is necessary. Preventive therapy is always a better resort in severe forms of the condition. While for moderate hemophilia, you can take demand therapy, consuming a pill only when you are preparing for an event where bleeding is inevitable, replacement therapy ensures that you are never unprepared.

However, in case of replacement therapy, a regimen has to be sought so that bleeding can be prevented permanently. Also, if you do not follow the regimen to the letter and delay your treatments, you may inadvertently damage your joints, muscles and certain other parts of your body. The hemophilia symptoms and treatment go hand in hand. If hemophilia symptoms are severe right from childhood, the child is given replacement therapy. This therapy is continued throughout the child’s life.