Treating Hemroids

When the veins in the rectum become enlarged, hemorrhoids can occur, causing pain to occur. The various causes of hemorrhoids include constipation and straining during bowel movements, pregnancy, and even liver disease. These conditions can put increased pressure on the veins, which sometimes causes hemorrhoids to occur. They are often found most commonly in people over fifty, but they can actually occur at any age. Another symptom of hemorrhoids includes bright red blood streaks on the stool, or blood on the toilet paper because of the rectal bleeding, although the bleeding generally stops easily. Blood clots can also form in a hemorrhoid, which can cause additional pain and swelling.

There are a number of different home hemroid treatments that can be effective for simple cases, which are often used to relieve the pain. A hot sitz bath several times a day, and especially after bowel movements, can be effective. This helps to reduce the swelling, and can also be effective at relieving itching and pain, which can bring the patient relief.

It is also possible to alleviate some of the problems caused by hemorrhoids by making some simple dietary changes. Drinking plenty of water and fluids can be helpful, as can including foods in the diet that are naturally high in fiber and water. The stool is softened by making these dietary changes, which in turn helps to prevent bowel movements from aggravating the hemorrhoids. Mild stool softeners can also be used, but avoid any types of harsh laxatives. There are some ointments, creams and suppositories that are available as over-the-counter medications that can also help to alleviate some of the pain and swelling of hemorrhoids.

Medical attention for hemorrhoids should be sought under some circumstances. Clots sometimes form in hemorrhoids, which can be quite painful, and cannot be treated with home methods. A doctor can then surgically remove the clot. This can generally be performed under local anesthesia, in the doctor's office. To remove the clot, the doctor will make a small incision into the hemorrhoid, remove the clot, and then apply a small bandage, which prevents further bleeding. The patient will then experience less pain after a clot has been removed than they were experiencing before.

Medical attention should also be sought out when a prolapsed internal hemorrhoid occurs. In this type of case, after the hemorrhoid has been pushed out of the anus, a doctor's medical attention is often required in order to push the hemorrhoid back in, or to reduce the swelling by means of a surgical method.

Sometimes it becomes medically necessary to remove the hemorrhoids, if they are causing the patient too many problems, or if they are causing too much pain. There are medications that the doctor can use in order to shrink the hemorrhoids, or they can use a hemorrhoid treatment that involves a rubber band, which cuts off the blood supply to the hemorrhoid. These are generally simple medical procedures, and as such, they can usually be performed in the doctor's office without any problems or complications.

Diagnosing Hemroids - Why an Exan is Important

External hemorrhoids usually cause patients the most discomfort just by the very fact that they are exposed to more daily stresses, this type of hemroid causes swelling, itching and pain. With external hemroids there are many more symptoms so it is easier to diagnose. A doctor's exam is the best place to start in order to eliminate other possible disorders. These more serious conditions include colon cancer, polyps, rectal cancer, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis which are inflammatory bowel diseases. Other medical problems with the anal region are tears and anal abscesses or infections. In order to get a medical diagnosis, tests need to be conducted to rule out the more serious conditions that can appear similar to hemroids. Your doctor will look at the anal cavity and then conduct a more thorough examination, either a colonoscopy or a sigmoidoscopy. A colonoscopy is when the whole bowel is examined and a sigmoidoscopy is when only the last two feet of the colon is viewed.

A colonoscopy may be unpleasant but it's not a hard procedure. Plus, once you get to 50 years of age, it's recommended you get one anyway. Patients with a family risk of colon cancer should get screened beginning at 40 years old and everyone else generally at fifty. When the colonoscopy is first done, even if everything look good, you will still need another colonoscopy in several years. The day before the colon exam when a heavy laxative is prescribed is the most difficult part of the process. Laxatives are sometimes prescribed to make sure the colon is fully emptied. You will definitely want to stay close to the bathroom so take a relaxing day off work. But other than that bit of unpleasantness the procedure itself is done under sedation so it’s not much of a worry.

Is Surgery Neccessary for Hemroids

There are two types of hemorrhoids, those which remain in the anal cavity and those that protrude outside the anal cavity. With internal hemorrhoids, most people don't even know they may have a hemroid condition because there are no pain sensors in this area and they might not have any symptoms. The way most patients figure out they have internal hemroids is because of blood when using the bathroom. Without treatment an internal hemorrhoid may turn into a more serious problem such as prolapsed hemroids or a strangulated hemorrhoid. A prolapsed hemorrhoid is simply when the internal hemorrhoid gets so expanded that it extends out of the anal cavity and a strangulated hemroid is when a prolapsed hemorrhoid becomes trapped outside the anal cavity due to a muscle spasm and then the blood supply to the hemorrhoids gets cut off.

Hemorrhoids During Pregnancy

If you're pregnant, you are likely experiencing a great number of hormonal imbalances and shifts, especially in the third trimester of the pregnancy. Your pelvic veins experience a lot of pressure from the uterus expanding to accommodate the growing baby. The inferior vena cava is a major vein that travels along the right side of your body; its purpose is to carry blood through your body, and straining it can in turn put pressure on your anal veins, making conditions ideal for you to experience a hemorrhoid. You are much more at risk for getting a hemorrhoid when you are pregnant than under other conditions. Pregnancy causes the hormone progesterone to increase production and swell your vein walls. You can even become constipated through progesterone production, which is yet another thing that can cause hemorrhoids in most pregnant women.

Doppler Guided Hemorrhoidal Artery Ligation

It's a popular procedure that hasn't been around long. Kazumasa Morinaga, a Japanese surgeon invented the technique in 1995. Morinaga discovered that he could find a hemorrhoidal artery with an ultrasound machine and stitch it, making the symptoms go away for the most part, creating a whole new way to treat hemorrhoids. You'll be able to recover faster, and it won't hurt nearly as much as a lot of the other hemroid surgeries available. It just takes one visit to the doctor's office, and you're back on your feet in two days. It's a fairly new procedure, so it remains to be seen whether there are long term side effects, but things are looking good so far. There have been thousands of people who have benefited from this revolutionary new way to treat hemorrhoids; high success rates are promising.

Surgeries for your Hemorrhoids

A few typical hemroid surgeries include:

Rubber Band Ligation - In this procedure, the hemorrhoid is cut off from its blood supply by a rubber band, suffocating it and making it die off.

Stapled Hemorrhoidectomy - If you have a prolapsed hemorrhoid, this will be used. In this procedure, the hemorrhoid is stapled to prevent blood flow, and removed like the rubber band ligation; this is a lot less painful than a hemorrhoidectomy.

Hemorrhoidectomy - This is reserved for the most drastic and immediate cases, as it can hurt a lot and you'll be off your feet for awhile; the hemroid is surgically removed.

Laser Or Infrared - The hemorrhoid is cut off using a laser. With the advent of infrared, fewer doctors use lasers for this type of surgery anymore, as infrared is a lot safer.