- Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month is celebrating during the month of March.
- April 17, 2019 is World Hemophilia Day.
- Bleeding disorders prevent the blood from clotting, which can result in having a prolonged bleeding episode.
- Hemophilia, the most commonly known bleeding disorder, was first discovered in the 10th century, when physicians began to look deeper into the cases of various people, especially men and boys, who bled to death from seemingly minor injuries.
- Bleeding disorders are complex and require collaboration from doctors, nurses, physical therapists, geneticists and social workers to provide treatment.
- There are at least fifteen different bleeding disorders including hemophilia, von Willebrand’s Disease and rare factor deficiencies.
- Hemophilia affects 1 in 5,000 male births. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that about 20,000 people live in the U.S. with hemophilia. Hemophilia is usually an inherited bleeding disorder, which can lead to spontaneous bleeding as well as bleeding following an injury or surgery. It can also cause bleeding in the joints, causing chronic swelling and pain.
- Von Willebrand’s Disease occurs in both men and women, and affects 1.4 million people in the U.S. Symptoms include frequent or hard to stop nosebleeds, easy bruising, longer than typical bleeding after injury, and heavy menstrual bleeding in women.
- The National Hemophilia Foundation (NHF) is the leading/largest/only national nonprofit organization dedicated to finding better treatments and cures for bleeding disorders and to prevent complications of these disorders through education, advocacy, and research.
For more information on bleeding disorders, check the following websites:
www.hemophilia.org (National Hemophilia Foundation)
www.hemophiliafed.org (Hemophilia Federation of America)