Medications

Treatment of hemophilia aims to stop your bleeding. Doctors stop bleeding either by overcoming the deficiency in the clotting factors or by aiding in blood clotting.

• Giving a medicine called DDAVP (Octostim) may increase levels of Factor VIII (8) temporarily. But the medication will not be effective in severe cases of hemophilia or in hemophilia B.
  
  
• Aminocaproic acid (Amicar) and tranexamic acid (Cyklokapron) assist your clotting by slowing down the ongoing destruction of clots. These medications are useful in oral bleeding in either hemophilia A or B.
  
  
• You may be given an IV infusion of factor.
  
  
  • You are given purified Factor VII or IX (9) depending on the type of hemophilia you have.
    
    
  • Doctors determine the amount to give you by where your bleeding occurs and how much you weigh. The site of your bleeding also will determine the number of days you must be given the factor.