Also called: Christmas disease, Factor IX deficiency, Factor VIII deficiency
Hemophilia is a rare disorder in which the blood does not clot normally. It is usually inherited. Hemophilia usually occurs in males.
If you have hemophilia, you have little or no clotting factor. Clotting factor is a protein needed for normal blood clotting. Without it, you may bleed for a long time after an injury or accident. You also may bleed into your knees, ankles, and elbows. Bleeding in the joints causes pain and, if not treated, can lead to arthritis. Bleeding in the brain, a very serious complication of hemophilia, requires emergency treatment.
The main symptoms of hemophilia are excessive bleeding and easy bruising. Blood tests can tell if you have it. The main treatment is injecting the missing clotting factor into the bloodstream. You may need it on a regular basis, or just when bleeding occurs.
NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Hemophilia is a bleeding disorder that slows the blood clotting process. People with this condition experience prolonged bleeding or oozing following an injury, surgery, or having a tooth pulled. In severe cases of hemophilia, continuous bleeding occurs after minor trauma or even in the absence of injury (spontaneous bleeding). Serious complications can result from bleeding into the joints, muscles, brain, or other internal organs. Milder forms of hemophilia do not necessarily involve spontaneous bleeding, and the condition may not become apparent until abnormal bleeding occurs following surgery or a serious injury.The major types of this condition are hemophilia A (also known as classic hemophilia or factor VIII deficiency) and hemophilia B (also known as Christmas disease or factor IX deficiency). Although the two types have very similar signs and symptoms, they are caused by mutations in different genes. People with an unusual form of hemophilia B, known as hemophilia B Leyden, experience episodes of excessive bleeding in childhood but have few bleeding problems after puberty.