Introduction
Approximately one in 5,000 people worldwide suffers from a blood clotting disorder. The technical term for a coagulation disorder is coagulopathy. A blood clotting disorder can have two effects.
One is excessive clotting. The blood becomes thicker, which increases the risk of blood clots forming, i.e. the formation of thromboses or embolisms resulting from the carry-over of blood clots. On the other hand, the blood clotting may be too weak, so that the risk of bleeding is increased.
Worldwide, more than one percent of the population suffers from a blood coagulation disorder with an increased risk of bleeding. Coagulation/hemostasis is a complex functional chain. It begins by narrowing local blood vessels to minimize bleeding.
Then blood platelets congregate to quickly close the wound. The platelet complex is then stabilised again by fibrin threads. The fibrin threads are created by the interaction of a total of 12 clotting factors. Blood clotting is based on many different components, each of which is individually susceptible to defects, so that defects can occur at various points. In the end, many different diseases can result in a blood clotting disorder.
Symptoms
Patients with a coagulation disorder are particularly conspicuous by the frequent occurrence of bruises (haematomas). Even a slight bump can cause them to bruise. The bruises often occur in rather unusual places, such as the upper arms or on the back.
In addition to the bruises, other signs of bleeding can be seen on the skin. These include, above all, the so-called petechiae. These are very small punctiform bleedings in the skin or in mucous membranes, which are characteristic of people with a blood clotting disorder.
In some cases, the bleedings can also be larger and resemble a rash. In this case one speaks of purpura. Furthermore, bleeding, such as from a small cut, lasts longer because the body is not able to stop the bleeding as quickly as in a healthy person due to the coagulation disorder.
There is also often secondary bleeding when the actual bleeding has already stopped. It is also typical for people with a coagulation disorder that nosebleeds or bleeding gums occur frequently. Patients with a coagulation disorder are therefore also often noticed during dental treatment by excessive bleeding that is difficult to stop.
Women may also notice increased and prolonged menstrual bleeding. The increased bleeding tendency can also lead to serious complications, such as an increased risk of cerebral haemorrhage or joint bleeding. The occurrence of the symptoms varies greatly and depends on the type of disease and the severity of its manifestation.
Some patients, for example, only develop symptoms after an accident or similar, while others already experience symptoms in everyday life. Do you have an increased tendency to bleed? Do you have punctiform bleeding in the skin?
Perhaps Werlhof disease is behind your symptoms. If your blood clotting is too strong, symptoms usually only occur when a thrombosis has already formed. Thromboses usually occur in the veins of the lower leg.
The blood clot restricts the blood flow and causes pain in the leg. As it progresses, the pain increases in intensity and the leg swells and becomes warm. If the blood clotting is increased, a so-called pulmonary embolism can also occur due to a clot being carried into the vessels of the lung.
Typical symptoms are shortness of breath and chest pain, similar to that of a heart attack. As a rule, the clots are formed in the venous vessel bed, but they can also occur in the arterial system. In this case, the formation of a clot can also lead to a heart attack or stroke.
Bruises (so-called haematomas) develop after a shock or impact. A small blood vessel is damaged, so that blood leaks out and accumulates in the surrounding tissue, where it coagulates. A bruise remains.
In healthy people, this bruise should disappear completely after two to three weeks. If the blood clotting is reduced, even slight knocks can lead to severe bruising. If there is bleeding, the bleeding takes longer and more blood can accumulate in the tissue, so that the bruise looks more serious.
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