All about hemorrhoids: causes, symptoms, stages and modern methods of treatment

Hemorrhoids called expansion of the veins of the rectum, which causes hemorrhoids that cause severe pain( especially whenact of defecation), bleed, fall out and cause people a lot of physical suffering and social problems.

Unfortunately, hemorrhoids are traditionally considered to be a "shameful" intimate problem, and therefore the visit to the doctor is postponed, as a rule, to the last, when the disease is already very much started and is accompanied by unbearable pain.

According to proctologists, about 70% of people experience certain symptoms of hemorrhoids, but not more than 25% of them apply for medical help.

Causes of hemorrhoids ^

The causes of hemorrhoids are quite diverse - the impetus to the development of the disease can give both hereditary factors( congenital anomalies of the venous walls), and errors in nutrition, improper lifestyle, chronic internal diseases and pregnancy.

The following are the main causes of the disease development:

• The long sedentary work of leads to stagnation of blood in the pelvic organs. Therefore, at the risk of the disease, all employees of "sedentary" professions - drivers, accountants, operators, programmers, etc., are traditionally included.

• The sedentary lifestyle of also contributes to the development of hemorrhoids, because of lack of motor activity stagnation of blood and venous insufficiency develops.

• Long stay on the legs and considerable physical exertion of are no less harmful than physical inactivity, as they provoke a delay in blood in the veins and increase of pressure in them, as a result of which the venous walls gradually lose their elasticity. This process is most affected by teachers, dancers, hairdressers, as well as stevedores and weightlifters.

• Chronic constipation , according to doctors, is the most common cause of hemorrhoids. As a result of constipation, the movement of feces inside the intestine is hampered, it accumulates in its lower parts and compresses the veins, thereby significantly disrupting the blood flow. In addition, additionally strengthen the intra-abdominal pressure by strong attempts of a person suffering from constipation during the act of defecation.

• Alcohol and spicy food .Acute spices contribute to a strong inflow of blood to the rectum and irritate its tender mucous membrane. Alcohol provokes excessive vasodilation and stagnation of blood, contributing to the formation and inflammation of hemorrhoids.

• Various tumors and inflammation in the small pelvis often become the cause of hemorrhoids. These include gynecological diseases( fibroids, fibroids of the uterus), inflammation of the prostate, cirrhosis, malignant neoplasms of the rectum, as well as fistulas, ulcers and fissures of the anus.

• Pregnancy and childbirth .During pregnancy, the growing uterus displaces all the organs of the small pelvis upward, and the rectum, on the contrary, presses down to the pelvic bones, experienced vessels and contributes to the expansion of veins and the formation of hemorrhoids. In the process of delivery, the situation is further aggravated because of the strong labor of the mother in childbirth.

Internal and external hemorrhoids: symptoms

Hemorrhoids are divided into internal and external, depending on where the hemorrhoids are located, whether on the outside or inside.

With internal hemorrhoids the nodes are located in the rectum lumen. Outside the stage of exacerbation, they are not visible to the eye and are determined only on special equipment. In the initial stage of internal hemorrhoids, a person, as a rule, does not even know about the developing disease, until internal hemorrhoidal nodes begin to crawl out during an act of defecation outside.

With external hemorrhoid , the nodes are located outside the anus, and they can be easily detected by ordinary palpation, even in the initial, painless stage. In practice, quite often( about 50% of cases) there is a combined hemorrhoids that combines the signs of the external and internal species.

Symptoms and stages of hemorrhoids ^

The first symptoms of hemorrhoids, as a rule, are rather insignificant, therefore they are not particularly noticed. However, as the disease progresses, all unpleasant and painful sensations multiply.

• At first the disease manifests itself only by a feeling of heaviness or by the sensation of a foreign body in the anus - this is due to the swelling of the internal tissues of the anal canal.
• This is followed by an itching and burning sensation in the anus, a consequence of an increase in hemorrhoids, which is accompanied by insignificant secretion of blood and mucus and causes irritation of the skin around the anus.
• Then there are regular bleeding when emptying( varying degrees of intensity).If you do not start urgent treatment at this stage, the hemorrhoidal nodes begin to fall out and the severe pain becomes permanent, not only during defecation, but also in a sitting position and walking.

Proctologists distinguish 4 stages of hemorrhoids development, depending on how much the nodes are enlarged and how much the degenerative process in the muscles of the muscles is developed.

• The first stage of - hemorrhoidal nodes increase, itching, burning, sensation of foreign body in the anus, there is a slight discharge of blood during emptying. Since these symptoms are not permanent, but only occasionally, the vast majority of patients at this stage of hemorrhoids do not go to the doctor, the disease goes on to the next stage.

• The second stage of - when bowel movements begin to "crawl out" nodules, drops of blood regularly appear on toilet paper. At this stage, the nodes themselves hiding back immediately after the stool or in a short time.

• The third stage of the - drop-out nodes the patient has to put his hands in the rectum to achieve a more or less comfortable state. At this stage, the disease is already seriously progressing and requires immediate attention to the doctor, since the nodules begin to fall out not only during defecation, but also at any increase in intra-abdominal pressure( coughing, sneezing, lifting weights and even with little physical exertion).

• The fourth stage of - hemorrhoidal nodes no longer fit or drop out immediately after repositioning, look like a grape brush, very inflamed and painful. At this stage, bleeding is very common, and the pain in the anus is so strong that it is impossible to touch it with toilet paper. Intensive frequent bleeding leads to anemia( decreased hemoglobin in the blood), which further worsens the patient's well-being.

In addition, with the constant loss of hemorrhoids, the tone of anal beet pulp decreases, resulting in complete or partial incontinence of gases and liquid feces, which is a huge additional psychological problem for patients.

Treatment of hemorrhoids in modern conditions ^

Treatment of hemorrhoids in modern conditions completely depends on the stage of the disease - the sooner you start treatment, the more successful and faster the final result will be.

Unfortunately, with the fourth stage of the disease, and in some cases, at the third, without surgery, you will not get by, so visit the doctor as early as possible and do not make a diagnosis yourself. Self-treatment of hemorrhoids is dangerous because such symptoms as itching, pain, bleeding and mucus discharge are characteristic for many other diseases, including cancer.

According to medical statistics, in Europe, rectal cancer ranks second among all diseases after lung cancer. This is due, first of all, to the fact that patients often turn to the doctor too late, allowing many pathological processes to develop and missing their beginning. There are cases when people independently for a long time treat hemorrhoids with local baths and microclysters, and as a result they enter a hospital with the last stage of colon cancer.

If the doctor-proctologist after a comprehensive examination has diagnosed you with hemorrhoids, take his recommendations responsibly, because in time the treatment started will help in most cases to avoid surgery and cure hemorrhoids without pain and complications. In modern conditions, only 5-10% of cases of hemorrhoids require surgical intervention; in others, non-surgical treatment with minimally invasive methods is successfully performed.

Initial stages of hemorrhoids: methods of treatment

At the first stage the disease can be successfully cured with folk remedies, phlebotrophic preparations, various ointments, suppositories and preventive measures( special diet, therapeutic exercise and normalization of the intestine).

If the disease is accompanied by hemorrhoidal bleeding, the method of sclerotherapy is effective for its elimination in the first and second stages of the disease. After several procedures, the tone of the anal canal improves, swelling and inflammation decrease, and pain disappears.

Sclerotherapy is performed as follows:

• Intra-hemorrhoidal node or under the mucous membrane next to it is injected with a special sclerotizing drug.
• Under the action of drugs, the node is compacted, decreases in size and subsequently atrophies( disappears).

Latex ligation of hemorrhoidal nodes

In the second and third stages, the patient can be offered latent ligation of the nodes - the newest popular method for the treatment of hemorrhoids in the world proctology, which is low-traumatic, painless and is performed on an outpatient basis.

Its essence consists in the following - with the help of special devices a special latent ring is put on the hemorrhoidal knot, which squeezes the leg of the node and blocks blood circulation in it. After about a week of manipulation, the node disappears and is discharged outward along with the calves.

Desaturization of hemorrhoids based on suture ligation

But even if you have the fourth stage of hemorrhoids, do not despair, modern proctology does not stand still and painful operations of hemorrhoidectomy with long disability have long been in the past.

Instead, surgeons successfully use the latest technology called "desarterization of hemorrhoids based on suture ligation."Desarterization is performed, as a rule, under local anesthesia in a day hospital, lasts no more than 30-40 minutes, and a few hours after the operation the patient can be released home.