The action of clotting is a bit like a series of dominoes, with each domino falling and making the next one fall. Each domino has to be in the right place for all the dominoes to fall. In hemophilia, either one clotting factor is missing, is low, or is there but not working properly. Doctors call this nonfunctional hemophilia . The result is the same, however.
Blood takes longer to clot once bleeding has started.
It is important to remember that people with hemophilia don't bleed more than or faster than other people, they just bleed for a longer period of time. Hemophilia cannot be cured yet, but you can treat it. Your doctor has probably already told you that treating hemophilia involves replacing the clotting factor that is not there or is not working with one that does work. This has to be done as needed, either at the hospital or by your parents or you, as part of a self-infusion program. Replacing the low, missing, or nonfunctional clotting factor allows a person with hemophilia to form a normal clot as fast as anyone else.