Dr. Veena Bhanushali is an Anorectal and General Surgeon in Thane and currently practicing at Lake City Hospital, Thane. For the past 5 years, she has worked as an Anorectal and General Surgeon.

Hemorrhoids

Dr. Veena expresses, “Haemorrhoids also known as piles are the swollen veins or lumps inside the anal canal. Around 2 million hemorrhoids have been identified. Hemorrhoids can be classified as external and internal.

• External hemorrhoids – In this type, hemorrhoids like hard lumps are located outside the anus.
• Internal hemorrhoids – The hemorrhoids are situated inside the anal canal.

Signs

External hemorrhoids – 

• Swollen 
• Painful
• Irritation
• Thrombosed piles – In this the blood clot forms inside the external piles, thereby causing extreme pain and discomfort (the patient can’t sit, walk or lie down)

Internal hemorrhoids – 

• Painless
• Bleeding without pain
• Bleeding with stools and urinating

Causes of hemorrhoids

• Straining during the bowel movement
• Constipation (Passing hard stools)
• Pregnancy and delivery (females)
• Intake of a low-fiber diet
• Regular heavy lifting

Treatment for hemorrhoids

Dr. Veena emphasizes, “Medicines are available to treat the symptoms but medicines alone cannot treat the piles completely. For this, doctors generally recommend surgery. Laser treatment is the most advanced technique for curing hemorrhoids and gives excellent results within 10 days after the surgery. Thus, hemorrhoids are curable, with medicines, the possibility is a little low but with surgical for sure.”

Complications associated with hemorrhoids

• Anemia
• Blood clots
• A build-up of extra skin outside the anus
• Strangulated hemorrhoids

Different grades of hemorrhoids

Grade I – Bleeding with stools

Grade II – The anus lump comes out as straining during the bowel movement but returns on its own.

Grade III – The lump is pushed back by the patient and doesn’t get in on its own.

Grade IV – The lump cannot be pushed back. This becomes severely painful with an excess of bleeding.

How to clean the pile area?

Dr. Veena explains, “Clean your anus area thoroughly with water after each bowel movement. Make sure no amount of stool is stuck to your anal region. After cleaning the entire area with water, take a tissue (facial tissue or baby wipes) and gently pat the area. Those who want to sanitize the area, can clean the area firstly with water and then use betadine solution to keep the area more hygienic.” 

Points to remember

• Waking or moderate physical activity helps to stimulate bowel movement as well as enhances blood flow and muscle tone.
• Sitting in a tub with lukewarm water twice a day for 15 minutes definitely helps the patient. But if the water is very hot, it may worsen the hemorrhoids.
• Consuming moderate to very spicy food may increase the pain and discomfort associated with hemorrhoids. 

(Edited by Renu Gupta)