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Summary
Normally, if you get hurt, your body forms a blood clot to stop the bleeding. For blood to clot, your body needs cells called platelets and proteins known as clotting factors. If you have a bleeding disorder, you either do not have enough platelets or clotting factors or they don't work the way they should.
Bleeding disorders can be the result of other diseases, such as severe liver disease or a lack of vitamin K. They can also be inherited. Hemophilia is an inherited bleeding disorder. Bleeding disorders can also be a side effect of medicines such as blood thinners.
Various blood tests can check for a bleeding disorder. You will also have a physical exam and history. Treatments depend on the cause. They may include medicines and transfusions of blood, platelets, or clotting factor.
Symptoms
- Signs and Symptoms of Bleeding Disorders in Women (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
Diagnosis and Tests
- Blood Test: Factor VIII Activity (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
- Blood Test: Prothrombin Time (PT) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
- Coagulation Factor Tests (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
- D-Dimer Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
- MPV Blood Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
- Prothrombin Time Test and INR (PT/INR) (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Treatments and Therapies
- Blood Thinners: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Living With
- Treatments for Blood Disorders (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish
Specifics
- About Vitamin K Deficiency Bleeding (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
- Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC) (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
- Rare Clotting Factor Deficiencies (World Federation of Hemophilia) Also in Spanish
Genetics
- Bernard-Soulier syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
- Complete plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 deficiency: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
- Factor V deficiency: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
- Factor VII deficiency: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
- Factor X deficiency: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
- Factor XI deficiency: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
- Factor XIII deficiency: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
- Glycoprotein VI deficiency: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
- Prekallikrein deficiency: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
- Prothrombin deficiency: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
- Stormorken syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
- Thrombocytopenia-absent radius syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
- Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
Videos and Tutorials
- Blood clotting (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Blood Coagulation Disorders (National Institutes of Health)
Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
Find an Expert
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Also in Spanish
- Find a Hematologist (American Society of Hematology)
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
- Where to Donate Blood (Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies)
Children
- Blood (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
Teenagers
- Blood Transfusions (For Teens) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
Women
- About Bleeding Disorders in Women (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
- Bleeding Disorders (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health) Also in Spanish
Patient Handouts
- Bleeding disorders (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Bleeding time (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Partial thromboplastin time (PTT) (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Prothrombin time (PT) (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
The information on this site should not be used as a substitute for professional medical care or advice. Contact a health care provider if you have questions about your health.