The Symptoms of Hemorrhagic Diathesis Or Haemophilia

Persistent bleeding occasioned by a slight cut, puncture, or laceration of the skin.

This is a peculiar affection, the exact nature of which is not known.

It is, however, known to be of an hereditary character, whole families frequently being affected by it, and the condition often being transmitted through several generations. A person who is affected by this constitutional tendency to hemorrhage, in common parlance termed a "bleeder," is liable to death occasioned by even the slightest injury. The extraction of a tooth or a small cut may give rise to such persistent and irrepressible bleeding that the patient's life may be drained away in the course of a few days. Most patients suffering with this affection die young, very few surviving childhood. If, however, the patient lives to old age, as is sometimes the case, the tendency to hemorrhage diminishes, and may often disappear altogether.

The Treatment of Hemorrhagic Diathesis Or Haemophilia

There is no known remedy by which the constitutional tendency may be removed. Consequently, preventive measures are by far the most important. These consist almost exclusively in protecting the individual afflicted by this disease from the occurrence of accidents of a character calculated to excite hemorrhage. Such persons should not be allowed to use tea or coffee or other hot drinks, on account of their relaxing effects. The most effective remedies for hemorrhage when it occurs are prolonged and steady pressure, and cauterization with a heated iron. All other means should be tried, however, in conjunction with this.