Hemorrhoids or piles are a condition that mainly affects men and 50% of pregnant women in the anal and rectal region. Hemorrhoids can be of two types – external and internal. Both have their respective symptoms, but external, hemorrhoids can be painful.

But there is no need to worry because hemorrhoids is a treatable condition and there are lots of medical treatments available for hemorrhoids which will first of all, relieve symptoms.

Here your hemorrhoid region will be bathed without wetting your body. It will cure the symptoms with time and make them vanish after a point of time. Because your whole body won’t get wet, it will allow you to soften your hemorrhoid protrusion or blood clot through repeated sitz baths.

You can also take tub baths at the rate of 10 minutes each, a number of times every day in warm and plain water. The other solution is medicated cream that can be found in any pharmacy store. You can apply this cream on the painful or itchy region for a limited period of time till the itch subsides.

The most important treatment however involves the cure of constipation – one of the main reasons for developing hemorrhoids. Medicos will advise a hemorrhoids patient to increase his intake of fiber by consuming lots of fresh fruits, vegetables, green leafy vegetables, legumes, whole wheat products etc.

Red meat, white flour products etc have to be eliminated from the diet. The more fiber you add to your diet, the softer will be your stool and lesser will be the pressure put on your anal and rectal region and the veins and blood vessels there.

If you consume gallons of water, fresh fruit juices and a glass of milk with regularity, it will ease the movement of your bowel further and stool will be passed with real ease without any straining or putting pressure on the rectum or anus.

It will therefore prevent your hemorrhoids from further protrusion. Physicians may at times prescribe stool softeners or Citrucel or Metamucil/psyllium which are fiber supplements. Or you may drink a glass of husk/isabgool mixed in milk or water once or twice a week to empty your bowels with ease.

Other treatments are surgery or endoscopy or hemorrhoidectomy or infrared coagulation or sclerotherapy or rubber band ligation.

There is a popular perception that bleeding hemorrhoids are a rare phenomenon. Well, this notion is certainly wrong. It is a pretty common condition that can affect anyone, of any age, but mostly men and pregnant women and older people.

Nowadays, even young people get bleeding hemorrhoids because of the kind of junk low fiber high fat diet they consume without performing any exercise.
Now your interest must have been piqued. So let me explain, what I mean by bleeding hemorrhoids.

What are bleeding hemorrhoids?

There are blood vessels or veins in the anal and rectal region which, when excessive pressure is put on them, become swollen and often form a lump or a clot either inside the anal passage or just at the mouth of the anus. Thus depending on the placement, hemorrhoids can either be internal or external respectively. And bleeding hemorrhoids can be either of the two. The condition is very like varicose veins.

Symptoms and causes of bleeding hemorrhoids

From the name itself, it must have become clear to you that bleeding hemorrhoids must be accompanied by blood. If you consume a low fiber diet rich in oily fatty food or strain too hard to pass stool or experience chronic straining or sit in the toilet in strange or poor postures that are prevalent in some Asian countries or if you are pregnant or if you have just given birth or if you lift up heavy things very often or stand for too long periods of time, it can lead to bleeding hemorrhoids.

When you rub that area of the anus with your toilet paper, there may be blood on it or you may witness blood in the toilet bowl or your stool may have on the surface bright red drops of blood.

Sometimes if you have constipation and strain a lot to pass hard stool, that hard stool may rub against that internal hemorrhoid, making the clot rupture and the natural result will be blood oozing out. It is also possible to silently bleed from the ruptured hemorrhoid and yet not experience any pain or you may suffer from excruciating pain in other cases.

Just like any other physical condition or disease, hemorrhoids also have their respective causes. And it is important to know the causes of hemorrhoids in order to diagnose the exact problem and decide on a suitable line of treatment.

Some Hemorrhoids Causes

Among the many causes of hemorrhoids are obesity which puts pressure on the anal and rectal veins, gorging on a diet that is low in fiber, a sedentary lifestyle minus any kind of physical activity, pregnancy where the weight of the baby puts pressure on the vagina and the anus, sitting for long periods at a stretch, puking, sneezing, coughing, diarrhea, passing mucus through the anus and straining to pass stool habitually which occurs with constipation.

Some other causes are infection in the rectal or anal area are cirrhosis of the liver and continuously standing on your legs for a long period at a stretch and lifting too much weight, all of which put pressure on the lower abdominal region.

Sometimes it runs in families. Some families have a genetic predisposition towards hemorrhoids. As a result, if the father has a problem, the hemorrhoid will pass on to the son.

Hemorrhoids appear most commonly in women post birth of child, in pregnant women as mentioned earlier and in younger people. It is possible to contract hemorrhoids at any point of time in life, but the more a person advances in age, higher will he run the risk of getting it.

Not only low fiber, but if your diet consists of oily buttery fatty food items, then also you will find it problematic to pass stool smoothly. If you have poor bowel habits like if you pass stool in a sitting position, the way it happens alot in Asian toilets, it will put a lot of pressure on the external hemorrhoidal veins.

That will lead to the aggravation of external hemorrhoids. Even vitamin deficiency, reading newspaper in the bathroom, taking more than 1 minute to pass stool, chronic bowel straining, a weak muscle tone and cleaning the anal or rectal opening multiple times with a dry toilet paper or rubbing that area vigorously can all result in hemorrhoids.

The other name for hemorrhoids is piles and it is a pretty common condition that strikes most men and half of the women who get pregnant every year. There are two types of hemorrhoids – internal hemorrhoids and external hemorrhoids. Internal hemorrhoids hardly ever cause any pain. But the case is not so with external hemorrhoids.

External hemorrhoids can cause a lot of pain simply because the skin around the anus, through the mouth or opening of which stool passes out, is very sensitive.
There may be a soft or hard lump near the anal opening formed by a blood clot or swelling of vein.

There is the possibility of rupturing the external hemorrhoid, bursting the blood vessels and discharging a bit of blood. That is why, when you rub toilet paper in that region, the condition gets aggravated and you notice bright red blood on your toilet paper or your stool covered with blood or blood in the toilet bowl.

In very rare cases, if the external hemorrhoid ruptures, i.e., the blood vessel inside gets ruptured, the blood will continue to collect under the skin and as a result a painful hard lump will be formed. When the case is like this, doctors refer to it as clotted or thrombosed hemorrhoid.

Symptoms of piles or external hemorrhoids

Some of the symptoms of external hemorrhoids will be itching, a desire to scratch, irritation and a burning sensation in that area. Along with these, there will be difficulty in passing stool which will aggravate the condition. There will be severe swelling and extreme pain and discomfort. Often you will notice that the sensitive region round the anal opening will sport a lump, either soft or hard. It may be tinted in purple or blue.

Treatment of external hemorrhoid

There are a host of medical treatments available for external hemorrhoids like sitz bath, tub bath, rubber band ligation, sclerotherapy, hemorrhoidectomy etc which can effectively cure hemorrhoid, drive away the symptoms and provide complete relief in a short period of time. Along with these, you have to switch over to a fibrous diet, and consume lots of fluid including water.

The other name for hemorrhoids is piles and just like any other disease, this one too has its symptoms. When an individual puts too much pressure on the rectal veins, the blood is stretched and it causes the veins and their walls to rupture. Perhaps it is due to genetic makeup. This is what is called hemorrhoids one of the leading causes of which is constipation.

Piles/hemorrhoids symptoms

There might be a hard lump or a very painful swelling in the region surrounding the anus. An individual may feel the desire to scratch the itching area in the anus. This itching is caused by hemorrhoids. When you pass stool, there will be a bit of blood discharge. The stool may be covered with bright red blood. When you use a toilet paper, there may be blood on it. You may even get to see blood in the bowl of the toilet.

Near the opening of the anus, hemorrhoids or the swollen veins of it will form a lump. If the lump is hard, thanks to the formation of a blood clot, it will be referred to as thrombosed external hemorrhoid. Or it may be that, in cases of prolapsed hemorrhoid, through the opening of the anus, there may stick out a vein that is swollen.

Sometimes an internal hemorrhoid will, as described in the previously, stick out of the body through the anal opening. And this protruding part, at times, may cause a lot of pain and irritation. This kind of hemorrhoid is referred to as protruding hemorrhoid. Another common feature that is reported at times is incomplete bowel movements.

Some may feel that there is a soft lump at the opening of the anus.
These are the symptoms of external hemorrhoids but it is important to remember that all of these symptoms won’t be experienced by an individual who has external hemorrhoids. Another indication or symptom may be the pain because of these anal outgrowths.

Unlike external hemorrhoids, internal hemorrhoids generally aren’t accompanied by any pain. If an individual drains mucus through the anus, it will be followed by itching.

When hemorrhoids condition is not too severe or serious and doesn’t yet require surgery, home treatment of hemorrhoids may prove to be fruitful.

Preventive home treatment of hemorrhoids

One of the leading causes of hemorrhoids or piles is constipation. So, preventive home treatment will first target the uprooting of this cause. To avoid constipation and enhance the smooth passing of stool, you have to switch over to a fibrous diet and eliminate red meat, white flour products, white bread and sodas from your diet.

A good home treatment of hemorrhoids is to eat lots and lots of fresh fruits like cherries, grapes, watermelon, mangos, grapefruits, prunes, bananas, apples and oranges along with green leafy fresh vegetables, legumes, whole wheat products etc. Drink gallons of water, fresh fruit juices and a glass of hot milk early in the morning or before going to bed at night. Once a week you can consume a spoonful of husk/isabgool mixed with water or milk. This will clear out your bowel and help keep hemorrhoids at bay.

Sedentary lifestyle is another cause of hemorrhoids and many other conditions. So it is extremely important that you indulge in physical activities like swimming, brisk walking, running, jogging, or exercising or doing yoga daily. Yoga can cure piles or hemorrhoids.

You should never rub the area of the anus vigorously or never wash that region with perfumed soap or dyed soap. It will probably dry out that area and can cause hemorrhoids. After completing your bowel movement, you should blot the area with a gentle hand using a moistened toilet paper or moistened pads which are medicated or with a mild cleansing agent.

But never should you rub that region with a dry tissue paper, it will aggravate your hemorrhoids.

Other home treatments for hemorrhoids

Ice packs, sitz bath, doughnut shaped cushions sold in pharmacies etc can all prove to be helpful in relieving the symptoms of hemorrhoids and shrinking it.
There are medicated creams available in pharmacy stores which, when applied, can relieve the itching, make you stop scratching that area and with the passage of time, heal your hemorrhoid problem.

You can also avail of butcher’s broom herb, horse chestnut and Japanese pagoda tree extract to cure your hemorrhoids problem and these herbs have been proven to be effective.

Hemorrhoids can be of two types – external hemorrhoids and internal hemorrhoids. Unlike external hemorrhoids where a lump is formed in the anal or rectal region, and which is accompanied by a lot of pain, internal hemorrhoids are not painful. The reason is that there is no sense of pain in the visceral nerves. The only thing to account for is the pressure put on the visceral nerves.

Site of the internal hemorrhoids

The site of the internal hemorrhoids is the anal passageway that is situated above the line of dentate.

Description of internal hemorrhoids

There will definitely be a sense of vague discomfort. And while you are passing stool and the stool happens to be hard, it might rupture the internal hemorrhoid and this may result in a bit of bleeding.

In rare cases which are known as prolapsed internal hemorrhoid, the latter will stick out of the anus. In this case the internal hemorrhoid will appear as grape like small masses outside the anus and you will experience severe pain.

Symptoms of internal hemorrhoids

Unlike external hemorrhoids, the symptoms of internal hemorrhoids can take a very serious turn. The first symptom that is noticed is bleeding without any pain and the other symptom is protrusion or sticking out when stool is being passed through the anus.

There may also be bright red drops of blood on the toilet paper if you vigorously rub that area or you may see bright red drops of blood in the toilet bowl or maybe your stool will be mixed with blood.

Some other symptoms of hemorrhoids are itching and a desire to scratch himself, irritation and a sensation of burning, a sense of discomfort and pain.

Treatment of internal hemorrhoids

The natural modes of treatment are the best treatments for hemorrhoids because they can offer immediate relief from the excruciating pain. If the size of the internal hemorrhoid is small, it will be cured fast and if they are larger, they will take time to heal. But the condition is completely treatable. If everything else fails, there is the option of surgery and other treatments like sclerotherapy, hemorrhoidectomy, rubber band ligation etc.

Hemorrhoids are mostly reported from men, but there are also plenty of women who suffer from really painful hemorrhoids in the rectal and anal regions and swollen blood vessels in those same areas when they are pregnant. In fact, during pregnancy, a hemorrhoid is a very common condition.

You would be surprised to know that half of the women who get pregnant every year suffer from hemorrhoids. Hemorrhoids usually develop in pregnant women during the third trimester.

But there is really no cause to worry. After the delivery of the baby, there appears a marked improvement in hemorrhoids. And besides, a hemorrhoid is a treatable case and with a few lifestyle changes or dietary changes, the symptoms of pregnant hemorrhoids can improve.

Causes of pregnant hemorrhoids

The anus and the vagina are weighed down by the weight of the baby and this leads to the creation of pressure on the vessels of blood that are situated in this region. Because of this extra pressure, the anal or rectal region will develop hemorrhoids while the vulva or the legs will develop varicose veins.

Other causes of hemorrhoids may be constipation or hormonal changes.
When a pregnant woman is giving birth to her baby, it puts severe pressure on the hemorrhoidal veins. This also leads to the development of hemorrhoids. Constipation also leads to hemorrhoids because it puts strain and pressure while trying to pass bowel.

Symptoms of pregnant hemorrhoids

Both pregnant women and normal women who suffer from hemorrhoids experience the same kind of symptoms. There are two kinds of hemorrhoids – internal hemorrhoids and external hemorrhoids.

Symptoms of internal hemorrhoids in pregnant women

Pregnant women suffering from internal hemorrhoids will often see their stool covered in bright red blood. They may also find blood in the bowl of the toilet and blood on their toilet paper.

At other times a vague feeling of anal discomfort and a feeling of fullness after passing stool will be the other symptoms of internal hemorrhoids, but usually do not cause any pain.

Symptoms of external hemorrhoids in pregnant women

External hemorrhoids can cause pain, a lot of pain at times. Other symptoms are bleeding and anal itching.