What are hemorrhoids?
Posted on 09. Jul, 2010 by admin in hemorrhoids
One of the most common medical conditions is also the hardest to confront: hemorrhoids. Most adults will suffer from hemorrhoid swelling and irritation in their lifetime, and it should not be ignored, no matter how embarrassing the doctor’s consultation may be.
Bowel movements are crucial to our health. To facilitate the passing of stool, the anal passage is “padded” by veins which are called hemorrhoids or piles. We normally do not even know these varicosities of veins are even there. Hemorrhoids are grouped into two categories: internal and external. Internal hemorrhoids are inside the anal passage and we are unable to see them or feel them, in their normal state. External hemorrhoids line the anal opening, and also not normally apparent to us unless a pathology develops. Both internal and external hemorrhoids help us in the daily process of defecating or passing stool.
Anything that impedes regular bowel movements will affect our health negatively, such as a hemorrhoidal pathology. Our diet, and some other conditions, may cause problems with our digestion, and culminate in constipation or diarrhea. These effects are the most common reason for irritated or swollen hemorrhoids, and for the resulting painful, and even injuring, passing of stool. The symptoms of irritated hemorrhoids include itching, sensitivity, swelling in to lumps, and pain. Untreated hemorrhoids lead to more serious symptoms, including bleeding, thrombosis, and blood clots, and should be properly diagnosed by a doctor. Hemorrhoids are sometimes misdiagnosed due to the similarities in symptoms with fistulae, abscesses, fissures, rectal varices, polyps, tumors, and even cancer.
Hemorrhoids, like other veins, serve to transport blood and nutrients, but have fragile vascular walls. When hemorrhoids become enflamed, the fragility increases, and hemorrhoids can both ruptured by themselves or be torn by passing stool during a bowel movement. This will result in bleeding from the rectum or anus, which will be painless if the bleeding takes place in the anal cavity where there are no pain receptors, or painful if the ruptured hemorrhoid protrudes near or outside the anal opening.
Both men and women may suffer from inflamed hemorrhoids. Some of the most common causes include digestive problems resulting in diarrhea or constipation, often caused by insufficient fiber in the diet, increased pressure on those veins such as from sitting for extended periods of time or from pregnancy, genetic factors, and aging.
The treatment of hemorrhoids ranges from lifestyle changes, particularly referring to diet, to surgery, only in those cases where dietary changes, home remedies, and topical creams are unsuccessful.