“Symptoms of hemophilia? ”

Your mother is right. Easy bruising and bleeding is not normal. It’s either coagulation problem such as hemophilia or platelet dysfunction, such as Vonwillebrand disease. Your son needs to be seen by a pediatric hematologist to have the work up done.

Yes, he should have an evaluation and blood test to find out the cause so as to be treated.

First of all, hemophilia is quite rare and is an inherited disease. Does anyone else in the family have hemophilia? If not, it is highly unlikely that your son has it. Symptoms depend on what type of hemophilia and what level the clotting factor is. The lower the level of clotting factor, the worse the symptoms are. Severe deficiencies can include: large, deep bruises; unexplained and excessive bleeding from simple cuts or injuries; excessive bleeding after vaccinations or with dental cleanings; blood in urine or stool; spontaneous nosebleeds. A big problem is internal bleeding into a joint or internal organ or the brain from even a minor injury.

That being said, there are many other reasons that your son may bruise easily and have frequent nosebleeds. Simple iron deficiency or other vitamin deficiencies can lead to anemia which causes those issues. If you have any concerns, you should have him evaluated by a physician.

Hope that helps,

B. Suzanne McKell, DO

Hemophilia is a bleeding disorder caused by a low level of proteins in the blood which are called clotting factors; clotting factors are important because they help stop bleeding in case of injury, even in cases of minor injury. Patient with hemophilia do not have enough of these clotting factors; so they are more likely to bleed and bruise easily even with minor trauma (like bumping against an object or with a cut on the skin), and it takes longer for bleeding to stop. Easy bruising and frequent nose bleeds can be symptoms of a hemophilia. There are different types of hemophilia. Many case of hemophilia are genetic and run in families, particularly affecting the males of the family.