World Hemophilia Day

World Hemophilia Day is celebrated globally on the 17th of April every year. The day marks the birth anniversary of Frank Schnabel, the founder of the World Federation for Hemophilia (WFH). The day is aimed at raising awareness about hemophilia worldwide. Let us take a look in detail at World Hemophilia Day, 2022 theme, and some facts about hemophilia.

Haemophilia is a rare medical condition that reduces the ability of the blood to clot normally. This can be dangerous as it may lead to excessive blood loss or uncontrollable bleeding during surgeries or injuries. Haemophilia is a genetic condition that can happen due to a mutation which prevents the clotting protein from working correctly. The low levels of factor VIII or factor IX in the blood are checked to confirm haemophilia.

Haemophilia cannot be cured entirely. However, with a few lifestyle changes, like a healthy diet, daily exercise, and eating the right food, you can manage symptoms of haemophilia. In this blog, we will dive deep into the topic.

What is Hemophilia?

Hemophilia is a rare medical condition that reduces the ability of the blood to clot normally. This can be dangerous as it may lead to excessive blood loss or uncontrollable bleeding during surgeries or injuries. Hemophilia is a genetic condition that can happen due to mutation of genes which prevents the clotting protein from working properly. The low levels of factor VIII or factor IX in the blood are checked to confirm hemophilia.

The most common symptoms of hemophilia include prolonged headaches, bleeding inside the brain that can cause seizures, deep bruises, joint pain and swelling, frequent nosebleeds, and blood in the urine. Severe cases of hemophilia are usually diagnosed during childhood. However, mild hemophilia symptoms are diagnosed during middle age in the majority of cases.

Hemophilia cannot be cured entirely. However, with a few lifestyle changes like a healthy diet, daily exercise, and eating the right food, you can manage symptoms of hemophilia.

World Hemophilia Day 2023

World Haemophilia Day is celebrated globally on the 17th of April every year. The day marks the birth anniversary of Frank Schnabel, the founder of the World Federation for Haemophilia (WFH). It is aimed at raising awareness about haemophilia worldwide. The theme for World Haemophilia Day 2023 is “Access for All: Prevention of Bleeds as the Global Standard of Care”. The theme implies coming together and advocating with policymakers for improved access to treatment.

Past Themes for World Hemophilia Day

World Hemophilia Day centers around a new theme every year. These themes are carefully planned to raise awareness about the spreading of the disease, improve the diagnosis of the disease, and raise funds for hemophilia patients globally. In 2021, the theme for World Hemophilia Day was "Adapting to change: sustaining care in a new world". The theme indicates the global impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2020, the World Hemophilia Day theme was "Get + Involved". It was a call to action for everyone. The theme aimed to encourage family members, healthcare staff, and other members of society to raise awareness about the disease so that maximum care can be provided to hemophilia patients. The World Hemophilia Day theme in 2019 was “Outreach and Identification”. The theme focused on encouraging more people to identify the symptoms of hemophilia in new people and reach out to them.

The theme for World Haemophilia Day 2022 was "Access for All: Partnership. Policy. Progress”. Engaging your government, integrating inherited bleeding disorders into national policy“. The theme focuses on increasing awareness among ordinary people and requests policymakers to provide accessibility of treatment to the patient. World Haemophilia Day centres around a new theme every year. These themes are carefully planned to raise awareness about the spreading of the disease, improve the diagnosis of the disease, and raise funds for haemophilia patients globally. In 2021, the theme for World Haemophilia Day was "Adapting to change: sustaining care in a new world”. The theme indicates the global impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Symptoms

The symptoms of the disease vary as it depends on the level of clotting factors. In the case of mild clotting-factor level, bleeding might happen only after surgery or trauma. Whereas in severe cases, you can bleed broadly for no reason.

Symptoms include:

• In infants, unexplained irritability

• Large or deep bruises

• Pain, swelling or tightness in your joints

• Unusual bleeding after vaccination

• Excessive bleeding from cuts or injuries or after surgery.

• Blood in urine or stool

   

Complication

Complications of haemophilia can include:

• Internal Bleeding: Bleeding, which occurs in deep muscles, may cause swelling in the limbs. The swelling might lead to numbness and pain.

• Bleeding into the Throat or Neck: Deep bleeding in the throat or neck area can affect the ability to breathe.

• Damage to Joints: Internal bleeding causes pressure on joints which results in severe pain. If not treated, it can lead to arthritis or the destruction of the joint. 

• Adverse Reaction to Clotting Factor Treatment: Immune system of people with severe haemophilia may witness a negative reaction to the clotting factor, which is used to treat bleeding.

   

Treatment

Haemophilia can be treated by boosting clotting factors or replacing missing clotting factors, which is generally known as replacement therapy. People with severe haemophilia require regular replacement therapy, and people with mild symptoms who need surgery may also need replacement therapy. Medicines like antifibrinolytics help in preventing blood clots from breaking down. If you or your loved ones are suffering from severe conditions of the disease, your doctor may prescribe prophylactic factor infusion to prevent bleeding.

Health Insurance for Hemophilia

Hemophilia is a rare disease with an incidence of 1 per 10,000 births. Therefore, the expenses associated with treating bleeding disorders are also very high. Hemophilia is marked by a substantial economic burden, including pre & post-hospitalization charges, constant monitoring, and other health conditions related to the disease. Thus, it is imperative that people with bleeding disorders must have adequate health insurance. So, choose a health plan that best fits your needs if you have Hemophilia.

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