Kid's Corner
Kids' Guide to Hemophilia
What is Hemophilia?
When we get a cut and start to bleed, our body uses some of its special proteins, called clotting factors, to make the bleeding slow down and then stop. When your blood doesn't have enough of the right clotting factors to stop or prevent bleeding, it's called hemophilia. Hemophilia A (also called classical hemophilia) is when you have little or no clotting factor VIII. Hemophilia B (also called Christmas disease) is when you have little or no clotting factor IX.
Who Has Hemophilia?
Lots of people all over the world have hemophilia. There are more than 15,000 people with hemophilia in the United States, and every year about 400 babies who have hemophilia are born in the United States.
It is almost always boys who have hemophilia-you will hardly ever meet girls who have hemophilia. The reason for this has a lot to do with the way hemophilia develops. It is a hereditary disease, which means that people with hemophilia are born with it and that you can't catch it from another person like a cold. Because of the way it is passed on, many more boys are born with hemophilia than girls.
What Does Having Hemophilia Mean?
People with hemophilia bleed the same as other people when they get hurt, but they bleed for a longer time. So they have to get help from a parent, doctor or clinic to stop the bleeding. When you bump yourself you can bleed inside without being able to see it, and that can be dangerous, so it's important to get help right away.
Are There Medicines for Hemophilia?
People who have hemophilia today are fortunate, because there are safe medicines available to help them take care of their hemophilia, like Kogenate® FS from Bayer. Bayer is working hard on special tools to help make living with hemophilia easier, and its scientists are also working hard to someday find a cure.
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