The Opelousas courier., 1896-07-18
BLEEDER FAMILIES.
A Strange Hereditary Disease
That Puzzles Scientists.
The Marriage Of Afflicted Daugh-
terS Sometimes Prohibited.

terS Sometimes Prohibited.
One of the most peculiar diseases
known to medical science, writes DR..
}. +. Whitmyer in the New York
World is called ''the bleeder disease"
or hoemophilia, as it is known to
physicians. The history of this dis
ease dates back to the writings Of an
Arabian physician, who died A. d.
llOI. Within recent years many cases
have been reported.
A person suffering from this strange
disease is liable to the most severe and
obstinate hemorrhages. They may
occur without any apparent cause, or
may be the result of the simplest
wounds, such as the scratch of a pin or
the prick of a needle.
The disease is classed as hereditary,
and it has ever been called "the most
hereditary Of all hereditary diseases
A case Of O bleeder family is re-
corded where the predisposition to
this peculiar disease could be traced
back over a period of 200 years.
The disease is much more common
in males than in females, the ratio be-
ing about thirteen to one. When it
does occur in q female the danger of
fatal hcmorrhage is said to be much
less than it is with a man. Although
the disease is, as a rule, transmitted
from one generation to another, there
are cases recorded in which the dispo-
sition to bleed has been gradually lost
in a family.
In many cases death has followed
such simple operations as vaccination,
leeching, blistering and the extraction
of atooth. A person suffering from
this disease is liable to hemorrhage
from the nose, mouth, lungs, stomach
and any part of the skin. The latter
fact illustrates the source of the popu-
lar expression, Sweating blood" A
Venetian barber is said to have bled
to death from a wound received while
clipping the hairs from his nostrils.
Post-mortem examinations have de-
termined little or nothing as to the
cause of this disease. One observer
called attention to the thinness and
transparency of the veins and arteries.
Another found that the large blood
vessels were smaller than normal.
Others still have failed to find any of
these peculiarities in victims of the
bleeders' disease.
Most peculiar Of all is the remark
able way in which this dE.ase is
transmitted. In most i%nstancg9} the
disease is handed down by s,non-
bleeder member of a bleeder family,
and almost invariably by a female
member.
This strange disease is moae'fre-
quently found in Germany and Great
Britain. North America and France
are next in order.
There is nothing of a distinctive
character in the constitutional con-
dition Of a bleeder. Unless suffering
from the effects of a recent hemorrhage
the subject may appear robust and in
the best of health. A popularity of
bleeders, although not constant, con-
sists in their fine and transparent skin.
The disease usually manifests itself
at an early age, generally during the
first year of life. Bleeders frequently
suffer from general rheumatic pains.
These pains are aggravated by certain
kinds of weather. They are always
more severe during cold and wet
weather. The changes occur with
such regularity that the sufferer is
capable of serving as a veritable
weather prophet.
In some cases the tendency to bleed
disappears for years. This is said to
occur most frequently in those who
suffer from rheumatic complications.
Only one sure remedy has been tried
to arrest the progress Of this strange
disease. The marriage Of the daugh-
ers of a ''bleeder family" has been
sometimes prohibited.