Myth Busting

Publication5

FALSE TRUE
If you cut yourself, even if it’s small, you will lose a lot of blood You may bleed longer, but not any faster. Normal first aid measures should stop the bleeding
Women can’t have any symptoms of haemophilia Around a third of women who are carriers of haemophilia can have symptoms of mild or even moderate bleeding
Only women pass the haemophilia gene onto their children All the daughters of a man with haemophilia will be carriers, but none of his sons will be affected.
Children with a severe form of bleeding disorder need to go to a special school Whilst some special measures may be needed, we recommend you should be able to choose any school.
You should avoid all physical exercise if you have a severe bleeding disorder Physical exercise helps build strength in joints and prevents painful bleeds into those joints. However, during a bleed, you should rest the affected area.
Treatments for haemophilia and other bleeding disorders are unsafe In the past some people were infected with HIV and viral hepatitis from contaminated treatment, but the use of genetically-engineered (recombinant) products (where available) has eliminated this risk.
You can catch von Willebrands You can’t ‘catch’ any of the bleeding disorders covered in this handbook (even those with ‘disease’ in their name). They are all inherited from a parent.
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