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The royal illness: everything about the ailment that suffered in the families of the rulers
The last child from the Romanov dynasty also had this ailment!
Of course, this disease was not only among famous rulers, but also among ordinary mortals. But writing down information about commoners in history is the tenth thing. Therefore, it was believed that it was the royal people who suffered from mutations in the X chromosome: we are talking about gene hemophilia.
What is hemophilia?
This disease is transmitted mainly by inheritance from mother to child. It is characterized by a violation of blood clotting, its outpouring into the joints, organs, muscles and the brain. Surgical interventions, as well as dental procedures (such as tooth extraction) and serious injuries for people with hemophilia are extremely dangerous. And small cuts, falls from a bicycle, as well as other injuries can bring a lot of trouble, because it will not be so easy to stop the bleeding. It is because of poor coagulability that the disease is called “liquid blood”.
To this day, the disease is incurable. Doctors can only prolong the life and health of the patient by injecting the missing clotting factor.
It is noteworthy that men most often suffer from hemophilia, and women are only carriers of the disease.
Why is hemophilia called a “royal disease”?
In addition to the name “hemophilia”, the disease is also called “Victorian” or “royal disease”. British Queen Victoria was not the first female carrier, but one of the most memorable. Her parents did not pass on the fatal gene to her, in Victoria’s body he emerged independently and laid the foundation for the long-term illnesses of her children, and then – her grandchildren. As a result, hemophilia spread throughout all the royal families at the time.
Another factor in the emergence of a “broken” gene is marriages between relatives: During the reign of Victoria, this was commonplace.
Victoria’s son – Leopold – became the first victim of the mother. However, despite the illness, he conscientiously and successfully unlearned at Oxford, helped Victoria in business and started a family, passing them on to the ill-fated gene. Leopold died unexpectedly for an ordinary person, but expected for a carrier of hemophilia: he stumbled, hit his head, after which a fatal cerebral hemorrhage occurred.
Hemophilia in Russia
Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of Nicholas II, being the granddaughter of Queen Victoria, adopted the same hemophilia gene, which she passed on to her children. Most of all went to his son, Tsarevich Alexei Romanov. Even experienced healers could not stop the blood from every cut. Therefore, only Rasputin was allowed to see the child. He was the only one who somehow miraculously could stop her, for which he secured the trust of the royal family.
Illness today
Now hemophilia is not a sentence! After all, the disease has been studied for a long time, and doctors know what actions need to be taken in order to prolong the life of people. However, this disease causes many inconveniences and imposes a million restrictions on people-carriers. And even the title “royal disease” does not in any way mitigate the entire weight of this burden.