A STRANGE DISEASE.
BLOOD WILL NOT COAGULATE.
By Telegraph—Press Association— Copyright Melbourne, August 28. A child bled to death through cutting: its thumb, although it had been early attended to by a doctor. The medical man was unable to staunch tho bloo/J, which would not coagulate. Other relations have died in similar fashion, the failure of their blood to coagulate being a family peculiarity.
A tendency to immoderate bleeding runs in some families in a most extraordinary manner. Tho disease is known as haemophilia. Men are far more liable than women b it, the. proportion Ijejiic about eleven lo one. Women who Miller from haomophilia show much less typical specimens of the diseaso and randy die. from haemorrhage. Tho best ascertained cause of haemophilia is hereditary predisposition. No other cause is known with anything like certainty. In a family of bleeders tho disease as a rule dessends to the boys through the mothers, t.ho women remaining quite healthy and appaicntly free from all disease. In this way it may persist through seven generations, as in the case of the Applcton-Swayiio family. The fathers do not seem to trans/nit the disease to their sons; at least, instances of this arc rare. The women of blf-edor families are remarkably fertile. Some have thought haemophilia to bo more' common in Germany, but this is owing probably to the greater attention paid to tho disease in that country. Cases, howover, have beei met with m many different parts of the world. Thvre is nothing about the subjects of haemophilia when not suffering from bleeding re distinguish them from ordinary persons. They look well; and nothing can bo discovered by physical examination in tho chest or the abdomen. In childhood bleeding from the nose is most common, ond also tho most fatal, although bleeding from the bowel, chest, or month may also occur. Tho blecdinsr is nearlv always capillary, and may kill in a few hours or after <=nme woeks. As a rule the disease lasts thromrhouv life, but may become lesj marked with advancing years
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Bibliographic details
Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1218, 29 August 1911, Page 5
Word Count
341A STRANGE DISEASE. Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1218, 29 August 1911, Page 5
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