Hemophilia is a rare disorder related to the clotting of blood. This disorder is inherited and occurs when you lack the proteins necessary for the blood clotting process. As a result, your blood does not clot properly and you may have sudden bleeding during an injury or operation. You may have a mild, moderate or severe type of hemophilia depending upon the levels of the clotting factor.

The signs and symptoms of hemophilia are as follows: excessive bleeding due to injury, dental work or vaccination; bleeding from nose due to unknown reasons; presence of blood in urine and stools; appearance of deep bruises; bleeding into the brain after a bump on the head; and internal bleeding in the muscles surrounding the elbow, shoulder, knees, hip and ankles causing stiffness.

Hemophilia is caused by the mutations that take place in the genes present in the proteins in the blood clotting cycle. If you lack factor VIII you may have hemophilia A. Similarly, if you lack factor IX you may suffer from hemophilia B. They are passed on to the children from their parents. Very rarely you may acquire hemophilia though it is not present in your family.

If you have symptoms of hemophilia, your doctor will take a thorough family history and carry out a physical examination to rule out other causes. The doctor may then order a blood test to determine the levels of clotting factors VIII and IX in your blood. Hemophilia is diagnosed in infants during a fall or injury when the blood fails to clot.

Yes, hemophilia runs in the family and is passed on to children from parents having this condition. If a woman carries the gene then there are 50% chances that a boy child will have hemophilia while there are 50% chances that the girl child will be carrier.