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Von Willebrand's Disease
| What is Von Willebrand's Disease? |
Erik Adolf von Willebrand was a pediatrician who first identified the disease. Von Willebrand's is a hereditary disease and is very common in humans and also in dogs. This is a disorder that is related to the blood where proper clotting does not take place along with platelet aggression. Though termed as hereditary, the disease can also be acquired. There are certain specific versions the Von Willebrand's disease.
Von Willebrand's disease is basically classified into three types. They are type I, type II, and type III.
The type I disease is a most common disease and a person affected by this disorder may lead an almost normal life. Sometimes he can pass off without even detecting the problem in himself. The only problems that are faced
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by a person affected by the type I Von Willebrand's disease is that he may bleed excessively after a surgery or after a dental procedure. Women may experience excessively heavy bleeding during menstrual periods. This condition is called menorrhagia.
Type II Von Willebrand's disease is a mild defect in the person. There are four sub-types in this disease. They are called 2A, 2B, 2M and 2N.
Type III Von Willebrand's disease is a severe condition where the person / |
patient may suffer from severe mucosal bleeding. It is a serious condition and people who suffer it are quite rare.
Von Willebrand's disease has other alternative names; they are pseudo hemophilia or vascular hemophilia. The disease does not limit itself to certain genders.
Von Willebrand's DiseaseSymptoms
Some of the most common symptoms of Von Willebrand's disease include bleeding of the gums, bleeding from the nose, blood in the urine, blood in the stool, bleeding from the urinary tract and easy bruising. Women may experience heavy menstrual flow.
Von Willebrand's Disease Causes
Von Willebrand's disease is caused by a defect in the clotting factor. This factor is also known as Von Willebrand's factor. It has also been identified that there is a deficiency in the clotting factor VIII.
Von Willebrand's Disease Treatment Options
Generally the patients suffering from Von Willebrand's disease needs no treatment. This so for patients who are suffering from the mild symptoms. However, if the patient is due for a surgery then he / she are given Prophylactic treatment. They are treated with factor VIII concentrates of the human derived medium purity.
Other treatment options include medications and blood transfusions. The best possible way of treatment is if the patient has been identified as a person suffering from Von Willebrand's disease with severity, then try to avoid the situations that can avoid injury or bleeding. There is no better solution than prevention.
How is Von Willebrand's Disease Diagnosed?
A simple blood test performed by your doctor will help him to identify whether you have the Von Willebrand's disease. The severity of the problem can be identified by a full blood count. In the full blood count, the main area of interest is the platelets count. An activated partial thromboplastin time, commonly known as APTT, the prothrombin time, the thrombin time and the fibrinogen level is also checked for during a full blood count.
In case of suspected hemophilia B, the testing of factor IX is also carried out. Advanced tests on coagulation factor assays may be carried out depending on the results of the coagulation screen. |
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