Hemorrhoids

Hemorrhoids Q & A

What are hemorrhoids?

Also called piles, hemorrhoids are swollen blood vessels present in the lower rectum and anus. You can think of these as an inside-the-body version of varicose veins. Hemorrhoids can be internal, located in the rectum, or external, occurring around the anus. Often, hemorrhoids cause no symptoms, but can occasionally cause itching, bleeding, and general discomfort.

When clots form inside a hemorrhoid, the pain can become quite intense and may require medical attention to offer relief. The clot itself isn’t dangerous, but the discomfort is often severe.

What causes hemorrhoids?

Veins in the lower parts of your intestinal tract stretch under pressure and may form hemorrhoids if they start to swell. Increased pressure in the lower rectum may originate with:

• Straining during bowel movements
• Chronic constipation or diarrhea
• Pregnancy
• Spending long periods of time on a toilet
• Obesity
• Having anal intercourse

As you get older, your risk for developing hemorrhoids increases as support tissues within the rectum become weaker and stretch.

What are the symptoms of hemorrhoids?

If you occasionally see blood during a bowel movement though there is no pain associated with it, it may be a bleeding hemorrhoid. That, in itself, is not a troublesome issue, but blood in the stool could also stem from other diseases and disorders, including cancer. It’s prudent to follow up our surgeons, to be sure bleeding is, indeed, from hemorrhoids and not a more serious condition.

Other symptoms of hemorrhoids include:

• Irritation or itchiness in the anal region
• Pain or discomfort in the same area
• Swelling around your anus
• Lumps that are sensitive to the touch or painful

How are hemorrhoids treated?

When home care and remedies don’t provide relief, seeing a surgeon at Angelina Surgical Associates is your best course of action. There may be additional treatment options before surgical procedures are required, or, in the case of a thrombosed hemorrhoid, treatment within a few days of onset may be simple, while providing immediate relief.

Dr. Meyer specializes in less painful surgery for hemorrhoids. Hemorrhoidectomy is a surgical procedure that can be done laparoscopically. Laparoscopic surgery uses smaller incisions and features faster recovery times than conventional open surgery.