First and foremost, if you suspect that you may have hemorrhoids don’t wait or be embarrassed, get a hemorrhoid exam immediately. This will prevent you from having much pain and discomfort down the road. You are not alone there are millions of people that suffer from hemorrhoids, either external or internal hemorrhoids. It is a quite common condition.
Getting a hemorrhoid exam:
The first place you would want to go is to your family physician. They know all your medical history or should if you have been getting regular checkups. The first step of finding out if you have hemorrhoids is to explain the symptoms that you have been having. This will give your health care provider the information they need to decide what is next. If you must get a hemorrhoid exam it is a very simple procedure but can be embarrassing to expose yourself. Doesn’t matter just do it. Getting and initial diagnosis early is key to hemorrhoid treatment with the least amount of pain and possible complications that might involve more than simple over the counter solutions, up to and including hemorrhoidectomy surgery. This should only be considered after you have exhausted all other measures and of course under the advice of your doctor.
If your general practitioner physician does not feel they can help you may be referred to a proctologist. A proctologist is a doctor who specializes in the entire structure of the colon, rectum and anus.
For the exam, you’ll be left to change out of your normal clothes and into a hospital gown. After you have changed, a nurse or physician assistant will get you situated face down on a table and you’ll be draped both for your dignity and modesty and the doctor’s comfort and safety.
Draping serves both to maintain a clean environment for the doctor to work in and to make you feel better. The only part of you visible should be the specific part the doctor needs to look at. The doctor may perform external palpitation and visual exam, where they take a long and detailed look at the exterior of the anal sphincter and may prod about a bit, feeling for lumps or anything abnormal.
If the doctor is examining internal hemorrhoids, he or she will use an anoscope, which is a tapering metal tube with a window cut in it for visual examination. The window is cut to show one quarter of the interior of the anal canal at a time, so the doctor will probably insert it a total of four times in order to visually examine everything.
After the examination is complete, everyone will leave you in privacy to get dressed again in your normal clothing.
It’s estimated that about 100 million Americans suffer from hemorrhoids even though you rarely hear about it in the mainstream media. Many people suffer in silence, undoubtedly due to embarrassment and an unwillingness to seek help. But the good news is, there is hemorrhoid treatment that can be done to prevent and cure hard external hemorrhoids.
So what are hemorrhoids anyway?
There are two types of hemorrhoids: external and internal.
When the hemorrhoidal veins in our anal areas get irritated, these veins can get inflamed or swollen, and even bleed. When that happens you have the condition commonly called hemorrhoids. External hemorrhoids generally appear as a soft lump around your anal opening and are also known as thrombosed external hemorrhoids. There are times that you will even have hard hemorrhoids externally if the swelling gets bad enough and you do nothing about it. When they get this way it really sucks and the pain is terrible. It hurts to stand, sit, move or have normal body functions involving this area.
Internal hemorrhoids on the other hand are not generally painful since there are no, or very few pain-sensitive nerves in that part of the body. You may know that you are having this condition with the presence of blood in your stool as you do your daily business. Sometimes, this type of hemorrhoid can become inflamed and irritated to the point that it is pushed outside the anal opening in a condition called prolapsed hemorrhoids.
Typically, internal hemorrhoids can be divided into four stages or degrees of development.
1. In the stage one, small hemorrhoids develop on the lining of the anal canal. For most people, this is not noticeable unless hard stool scraping on their surface causes slight bleeding.
2. In stage two, a small portion of the hemorrhoids may protrude out of the anus during bowel movements. However, the connective tissue of the anal canal is still strong enough to spontaneously draw the hemorrhoids back within the anus.
3. In stage three, the painful hemorrhoids remain in a prolapsed or protruding condition and can be carefully put back inside the anus by hand.
4. The most serious and advanced development of hemorrhoids is stage four. At this point, a large amount of hemorrhoids permanently protrude out of the anus. In this debilitating and very painful condition, emergency surgery may be required.
Bottom line is there are treatments available to prevent, curb and cure thrombosed external hemorrhoids. These hemorrhoid treatment options are simple if done at the first signs of external hemorrhoids flaring up.
Hemorrhoids are relatively common during pregnancy. Some women get them for the first time while they’re pregnant — and if you’ve had them before pregnancy, you’re quite likely to have them again now. Hemorrhoids are associated with the increased pressure on the anal region caused by the pregnancy. Keep in mind that constipation is often the main culprit behind hemorrhoids during pregnancy. Hemorrhoids usually are not dangerous or life threatening. In most cases, hemorrhoid symptoms will go away within a few days.
In most cases, treatment for hemorrhoids during pregnancy is focused on:
- Relieving symptoms
- Relieving pressure within the hemorrhoid veins by increasing fiber and fluids
- Modifying bowel habits
Specific treatment options may include:
- Ice packs (for external hemorrhoids) applied for 10 to 15 minutes three or four times a day.
- Warm baths four or five times a day for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Increased fluids and fiber in the diet.
- Stool softeners. These are often combined with prenatal vitamins, but you do not want your system to become reliant on them.
- Over-the-counter creams and ointments to help with itching or inflammation. Ask your doctor which brands are safe during pregnancy.
- A compress soaked in witch hazel.
- A pain reliever as directed by your health professional.
Both women and men commonly experience hemorrhoids. About half of the population have hemorrhoids by age fifty. Women often experience hemorrhoids during pregnancy. The pressure of the fetus in the abdomen, as well as hormonal changes, cause the hemorrhoidal vessels to enlarge. These vessels are also placed under severe pressure during childbirth. For most women, however, hemorrhoids caused by pregnancy are a temporary problem.
Generally, hemorrhoids pregnancy treatment will be a simple process that you can do at home using the techniques mentioned here or others that your doctor may suggest including using some steroid topical creams. Surgical treatment is usually reserved for large hemorrhoids, chronic anal fissures or perirectal abscesses. Surgical treatment can include banding of the veins, surgical excision, laser or electrocautery and even injection of the veins with sclerosing agents that scar shut the hemorrhoid.
If none of these remedies helps, your hemorrhoids get worse, or you see any bleeding, check with your health care team. Remember to hang in there, the hemorrhoids will go away after you deliver!
First off coffee does not cause hemorrhoids per se. Hemorrhoids are caused by increased pressure in the veins around the anus due to a disease. drugs, and certain lifestyle and diet. The hemorrhoids are swollen veins due to pressure.
The problem that coffee does cause is dehydration of the body. This dehydration causes dry stools and may cause constipation, thus causing hemorrhoids. Therefore, caffeine works as an indirect causal agent. Hence, to prevent hemroids, avoid consuming foods with excessive caffeine, such as coffee and energy drinks. So the solution is simply try to always drink an extra glass of water when you are drinking coffee to avoid dehydration.
If you cannot quit alcohol or caffeine, then you should at least reduce their consumption. Those already suffering from hemorrhoids must avoid consuming food items containing these, so that the condition is not aggravated. That is, it is possible to prevent hemroid development or aggravation through effective dietary changes.
Most medical authorities believe coffee is harmless to a healthy individual when used in moderation (usually considered drinking two to three cups a day), but aggravates gastrointestinal problems in others. Moderate coffee drinkers have been shown to enjoy some health benefits, such as less risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, type 2 diabetes, gall bladder disease, certain types of cancer, and Parkinson’s disease. On the other hand, caffeine dependency can create anxiety and sleep disorders, and attempts to withdraw from caffeine can be difficult to handle in heavy coffee drinkers. Furthermore, people who suffer from gastrointestinal disorders are more sensitive to the adverse effects of both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee.
Thrombosed external hemorrhoid treatment can be as varied as the cases that are presented. What is an external thrombosed hemorrhoid? Thrombosed hemorrhoids are among the most severe forms of hemorrhoids. A thrombosed hemorrhoid is a hemorrhoid in which the vein has clotted. External hemorrhoids are those found on the outside of the anus. Thrombosed hemorrhoids are usually quite painful. An external thrombosed hemorrhoid generally develops over time. Treating hemorrhoids early can help prevent the development of more serious conditions such as an external thrombosed hemorrhoid.
You may also hear a thrombosed external hemorrhoid occasionally referred to as a hemorrhoid skin tag. They can vary in size from being very small (the size of a pea) through to being as large as a golf ball in the most extreme cases.
A number of factors may lead to the formations of hemorrhoids including irregular bowel habits (constipation or diarrhea), exercise, nutrition (low-fiber diet), increased intra-abdominal pressure (prolonged straining), pregnancy, genetics, absence of valves within the hemorrhoidal veins, and aging.
Other factors that can increase the rectal vein pressure resulting in hemorrhoids include obesity and sitting for long periods of time.
During pregnancy, pressure from the fetus on the abdomen and hormonal changes cause the hemorrhoidal vessels to enlarge. Delivery also leads to increased intra-abdominal pressures. Surgical treatment is rarely needed, as symptoms usually resolve post delivery.
External hemorrhoids can be treated with over-the-counter hydrocortisone creams. These medications help to shrink hemorrhoids and also relieve the itching, burning sensations, and pain associated with hemorrhoids. Using these treatments as soon as you notice symptoms of hemorrhoids can help prevent the development of an external thrombosed hemorrhoid.
If you decide to go with surgery (which is only recommended as a last resort) there are numerous options available to you, some of them include:
- Band ligation – a rubber band is tied around the base of the hemorrhoid, this causes the hemorrhoid to dry up as no blood can get to it. It eventually disappears altogether.
- Hemorrhoidectomy – generally a last resort for hemorrhoid removal, this painful surgery fully removes the thrombosed hemorrhoid but you may require several weeks or more to recover fully.
- Sclerotherapy – the infected area is injected with a shrinking agent. The hemorrhoid eventually disappears.
Hemorrhoids are caused by increased pressure in the veins around the anus due to a disease. drugs, and certain lifestyle and diet. It is more common in older people, pregnancy, childbirth, constipation and chronic diarrhea. The hemorrhoids are swollen veins due to pressure.
Living with untreated hemorrhoids is a royal pain in the rear both figuratively and literally. I would not recommend that you let untreated hemorrhoids stay that way since a hemorrhoid exam, while embarrassing, is a simple one and can possibly give your doctor an idea for an easy home treatment. One of those simple home treatments could be a hemorrhoid bath or sitz bath as described:
SITZ means sitting in water. One emerges the abdomen, hips, lower torso into the water. It’s not a full out bath. Most texts suggest 15-20 minutes with water as hot as possible and adding water to keep it hot and repeating this several times daily. The temperature of the sitz bath could be alternated between hot and cold water. Follow the hot water sitz bath with a cold water one.
Coffee and hemorrhoids seem to not get along. If your are suffering from internal hemorrhoid pain or have hard thrombosed external hemorrhoids cutting back on the coffee may help with the duration of the symptoms and discomfort. Living with hemorrhoids is no fun and is terribly uncomfortable but there are many solutions ranging from simple home and over the counter remedies up to hemorrhoid excision, sclerotherapy, hemorrhoid rubber band and hemorrhoid massage. But the simplest treatments are often the best if done early and consistently.
Hemorrhoids during pregnancy are some of the most common and easiest normally to control. Hemorrhoid pregnancy treatment is straight forward and could actually probably apply to all that are living with hemorrhoids. Most are fairly common sense suggestions: Soak in warm water, use ice to reduce swelling, avoid sitting for long periods, keep hemorrhoids clean are a few.
