Von Willebrand's Disease: Home Treatment

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Home Treatment

You can take steps at home to prevent bleeding and stay healthy. Avoid certain nonprescription medicines that can increase the risk of bleeding in the stomach or intestines and can interfere with normal blood clotting. Medicines to avoid include:

• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as:
  • Aspirin.
  • Ibuprofen, such as Advil or Motrin.
  • Naproxen, such as Aleve or Naprosyn.
• Medicines that contain the ingredient salicylate, which is closely related to aspirin. Alka-Seltzer, Pepto-Bismol, and many cough medicines contain salicylates.

Acetaminophen (such as Tylenol) is a much safer pain reliever for people with bleeding disorders, because it is less likely to cause bleeding in the stomach or intestines than aspirin or other NSAIDs. But acetaminophen does not reduce swelling and inflammation. Ask your doctor what to do if you have von Willebrand's disease and need to treat swelling.

If you know that you have von Willebrand's disease, make sure to notify all of your health professionals. In most cases, you will need to avoid certain prescription blood thinners, such as warfarin and heparin. Wearing a medical alert bracelet is also a good idea.

For type 3 (severe) von Willebrand's disease

• Try to maintain a healthy weight for your height. Being overweight puts stress on joints and can cause bleeding episodes.
• Keep active to help keep your muscles flexible and control your weight. This can prevent damage to muscles or joints. To get the most out of exercise and daily activities and to protect your muscles and joints:
  • Warm up with a few minutes of gentle stretching before being active. If muscles are warmed up, they are less likely to bleed from being pulled or torn.
  • Try swimming, bicycling, and walking, which are safe activities because of their low impact on joints and low risk of injury.
  • Avoid football, hockey, wrestling, and weight lifting (with heavy weights), which are not safe activities because they increase your risk of injury that may lead to excessive bleeding.
• Recognize bleeding episodes. You can often feel when you are bleeding into muscles and joints. Clotting factors should be given as soon as possible after you know that you are bleeding.
• Learn to inject (infuse) replacement clotting factors in yourself or your children. Children also may be taught by age 10 to inject themselves with clotting factors. Being able to inject at home will help speed treatment and prevent damage caused by excessive bleeding.
• A "bleeding disorders" resource center exists in most large hospitals. Learn the phone number to the center closest to you, and carry it with you.

Last updated:	November 29, 2006
Author:	Debby Golonka, MPH
Reviewed By:	Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine, Joseph O'Donnell, MD - Hematology/Oncology
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Pat Truman, MATC