Untreated haemophilia causes joint damage – Doctor
Untreated haemophilia causes joint damage – Doctor
NAN-HG-5
Disorder
By Chinenye Offor
Abuja, March 15, 2017 (NAN) Dr Offiong Etim, a medical practitioner in Asokoro General Hospital Abuja has said that untreated haemophilia could lead to complications and joint damage.
Etim said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.
He described haemophilia as an abnormal bleeding disorder in which the blood does not clot normally or a deficiency in one of the clotting process.
Etim also explained that haemophilia was inherited through a mutation in the X chromosomes which is common among men usually passed from father to son.
According to him, haemophilia is inherited, but most times patients with the disorder do not have family history of the disorder.
He added that the type of mutation determined whether the family member would experience mild, moderate or severe symptoms of the condition.
Etim noted that patients with the disorder would not have enough clothing factors in their blood which would cause them to bleed more if there was a cut in the ankle and legs, among others.
The medical doctor said that there were three types of haemophilia which were the A, B and C type, respectively.
He said that the ”A’’ means that there is not enough clotting factor VIII (8) in the blood while the B has to do with not having enough clotting factor (9) in the blood and C is caused by insufficient clotting factor.
However, Etim said that treatment of the condition would start with replacement therapy which started by infusing the clotting factor concentrates into a vein.
He suggested administration of some drugs could stimulate release of more clotting factor into the body especially in patients with mild cases of haemophilia in order to treat the condition.
Etim enjoined patients with the condition to adopt the culture of timely and adequate treatment in order to reduce the risk of life threatening bleeding as well as joint damage. (NAN)
CSO/JEO/MST
Edited by Jane-Frances Oraka/Muhammad Suleiman Tola