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What is hemorrhoids
The word hemorrhoids expresses a condition when the veins close to anus or lower rectum become inflamed or swollen. The fact that hemorrhoids can be treated with the use of some effective drugs and procedures is known well. Sometimes only self-care and the right way of living are demanded to fight the disease.
As a matter of fact, hemorrhoids may be caused by straining to move stool, though there are many other factors as well, which are: aging, pregnancy, diarrhea, anal intercourse. Two types of hemorrhoids are distinguished. The internal type of hemorrhoids stands for the hemorrhoids inside the anus, since the external hemorrhoids is observed as hemorrhoids under the skin around the anus. Both men and women are subjected to hemorrhoids. It is certain fact that nearly fifty percent of the people living on the earth have hemorrhoids by age 50. Many pregnant women also suffer from hemorrhoids. The fetus inside pregnant woman's abdomen causes strong pressure which results in enlargement of hemorrhoidal vessels. Hormonal changes are often become another reason for the disease to appear.
Two types of hemorrhoids (external and internal) are distinguished. Sometimes it's actually not so easy to distinguish hemorrhoids from other anorectal diseases, such as fistula, abscesses and fissures.
You see, hemorrhoids don't result in death, because the symptoms disappear soon.
Internal hemorrhoids
Internal hemorrhoids can not be seen or felt, until a person tenses to pass stool, the gentile surface of the hemorrhoid may get injured. The consequence of such injury may result in bleeding of hemorrhoids. The hemorrhoids don't cause any discomfort at all, because internal anal membranes do not have nerve fibers which might be sensitive for pain. In case if internal hemorrhoid is pushed through the anal hole due to tension, it really can result in pain and unpleasant irritation.
External hemorrhoids
Being an embarrassing problem for many people, hemorrhoids are also common among both men and women. Over fifty percents of people all over the world suffer from all the problems connected with hemorrhoids as soon as they reach 50. Pregnant women are more subjected to hemorrhoids than any other people.
That's why it is a common condition owing to constipation which is caused by water retention in women having premenstrual syndrome or menstruation. Another cause of hemorrhoids is hypertension, ad particularly portal hypertension. The reason is the following: the connections between the portal vein and the vena cava occurring in the rectal wall (it’s known as portocaval anastomoses).
How do we understand Internal and External Hemorrhoids?
If you simply think of hemorrhoids, you will definitely associate it with very painful and unpleasant disease. Some people use such variants of the name of hemorrhoids as hemorrhoids and piles while looking for some information about the disease, the signs which show that this or that person has hemorrhoids, cures and therapies for disease, and, of course, the origin of the hemorrhoids. It really makes no sense whether you call hemorrhoids any other way, because every day millions of people on the earth are affected with it. The hemorrhoids are observed as the swelling of the glands around man's anal area. The hemorrhoids results in irritation of various tissues, fibers, muscles and arteries, which are located close to the anal canal and the rectum. The most common and obvious sign of hemorrhoids is bleeding and blood loss. It should be mentioned that the blood you observe as soon as hemorrhoids bleeds has quite another color than the usual one. It is of bright red color, since normal blood is dark red. The reason why the bleeding occurs is the presence of arterial blood in the rectum and the fibers around the anal hole. The most common classifications of hemorrhoids are internal and external ones, which can be subdivided into two more parts, i.e. prolapsed hemorrhoids and thrombosed hemorrhoids. It's actually very easy to distinguish external hemorrhoids from the internal one. Thus, as soon as the hemorrhoid becomes visible (it comes out of the anus), it is considered external hemorrhoids. Bleeding and the itching sensation are two main signs which allow one to define the external hemorrhoids. As for internal hemorrhoids, one can hardly identify this type of the disease, because there're no visible symptoms from the outside. Moreover, a person doesn't probably feel them too. Somehow or other, there's a tipoff that can help in identifying internal hemorrhoids - blood which may come out from the anal hole with the passing stool. Because of the rupture in the anal area, there's a blood clot appears. It is referred to as the thrombosed hemorrhoids. Thrombosed hemorrhoids are not caused from the internal type hemorrhoids, but the external one. The final stage of internal hemorrhoids is prolapsed hemorrhoids.
Hemorrhoids are made up from the masses of clumps of tissue within the anal canal and off blood vessels and supporting tissue. As for the supporting tissue, it is made up of elastic fibers and muscle. The last four centimeters that stool passes from the rectum are called anal canal. Although there're quite a lot of symptoms identifying the hemorrhoids, only some of them are obvious. Thus, if a person feels strong pressure or tension not far from the intestines or feels pain in lower abdomen, this may be the evident sign that he/she has hemorrhoids. The larger the hemorrhoid becomes, the closer it reaches the anus. You see, the hemorrhoid that is becoming larger soon pulls down a portion of the rectum lining and, therefore, a part of it appears in the anus.
That's what we call relapsing internal hemorrhoid. One can find blood in stool as well. You already know that it's one of most obvious signs of hemorrhoids. Anal itchiness may also be a sign of the hemorrhoids, though it is not common sign. The slime secreting from the rectal lining makes the area around the anal hole be wet. And it leads to constant itching. You should remember that hemorrhoids demands medical attention. Gangrene is one of the most unpleasant results of the hemorrhoids, though it is not common at all. If you observe some tension or any protuberance close to the anus, you probably have hemorrhoids. In case if the above-mentioned signs are less obvious, you may not even know that you have hemorrhoids, because they don't influence on the anus' function. The most painful, unpleasant and annoying type of hemorrhoids are external ones. In most of cases external hemorrhoid is a very painful ailment which demands medical treatment. Although hemorrhoids can be healed, the consequences of it are very unpleasant. Thus, you may feel discomfort and scarring when bathing. This is a side effect of very this disease. If you consult the doctor, you will be put on a special grading system. If hemorrhoids bleed but not protrude from the anus - this is a first-degree hemorrhoid. As for second-degree hemorrhoids, they're protruding, though retract by them. They also bleed from time to time. Well, the third degree hemorrhoids are those ones which can be pushed back with a finger. The most unpleasant degree of hemorrhoids is fourth-degree one. It is protruding and can't be pushed back in. Much of the rectum is pulled though the anus, causing strong pain. Moreover, fourth-degree hemorrhoid contains blood clots.
In case if hemorrhoids are not treated, it may result in really annoying problems. Sure, prolapsed and strangulated hemorrhoids are the most common consequence of untreated hemorrhoids. If a person has prolapsed hemorrhoids, the internal hemorrhoids are pushed outside of the anus, because it becomes too inflated to remain inside the anal canal. If prolapsed hemorrhoid is not treated in time, then anal sphincter muscle goes into spasm which results in trapping a prolapsed hemorrhoid out of the anal hole. It leads to cutting off of supply of blood. In this case prolapsed hemorrhoid turns into a strangulated hemorrhoid.
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