Symptoms:

The severity of symptoms vary. Bleeding is the main symptom of the disease and sometimes, although not always, occurs if an infant is circumcised.

Additional bleeding problems are seen when the infant starts crawling and walking.

Mild cases may go unnoticed until later in life when they occur in response to surgery or trauma. Internal bleeding may happen anywhere, and bleeding into joints is common.

Symptoms may include:

• Bleeding into joints, with associated pain and swelling
• Blood in the urine or stool
• Bruising
• Gastrointestinal tract and urinary tract hemorrhage
• Nosebleeds
• Prolonged bleeding from cuts, tooth extraction, and surgery
• Spontaneous bleeding

Signs and tests:

If the patient is the first person in the family to have a suspected bleeding disorder, he or she will undergo a series of tests called a coagulation study. Once a disorder has been identified, other family members will need less testing to diagnose the disorder.

Tests to diagnose hemophilia A include:

• Low serum factor VIII activity
• Normal prothrombin time
• Normal bleeding time
• Normal fibrinogen level
• Prolonged partial thromboplastin time (PTT)