Collect suggestions and don’t be a person with “hemorrhoids”!

Heart-wrenching cries were heard in the surgical dressing room, but patients passing by for follow-up visits were no longer surprised. After all, this small dark room was filled with their own desperate experiences. If the patient was asked to describe the feeling of having this disease in one sentence, he would say: "You guys are shitting, and I'm excreting 'thumbtacks'." Yes, this kind of pain that makes people shudder and beg for mercy at the mere thought of it is "hemorrhoids."

#1

What are hemorrhoids?

Hemorrhoids are a mass of tissue formed by the pathological hypertrophy and displacement of the anal cushions at the lower end of the rectum, as well as the tortuosity and expansion of the perianal subcutaneous venous plexus. In other words, it is a hemorrhagic mass near the anus, which can be divided into internal hemorrhoids, external hemorrhoids and mixed hemorrhoids.

Image source: Pixabay

#2

Hemorrhoids Theory

The cause of hemorrhoids has not yet been fully clarified. The current mainstream theories are anal cushion descent and varicose veins.

1 Anal cushions move downward

Hemorrhoids are originally normal anatomical structures in the anal canal, that is, an annular sponge-like vascular cushion composed of veins, smooth muscles and connective tissues, which has the function of closing the anal canal and assisting defecation. However, due to years of disrepair and "sugar-coated bullets", the normal anal cushion supporting tissue muscles cannot retract the anal cushions into the anal canal after defecation, and the tight sphincter hinders blood return. Finally, the tissue moves downward, hypertrophies, and becomes congested, becoming the hemorrhoids that people hate to talk about. This proves the saying "When you used to watch the moon with me, you called me a small cushion! Now the newcomers are better than the old ones, so you call me a big hemorrhoid!"

2Varicose veins

Modern physiological anatomy has confirmed that the human rectal veins and their branches have thin walls, no venous valves, are shallowly located, and lack support from surrounding tissues. Under the influence of the earth's gravity, venous blood is prone to blood congestion in the rectum, the lowest part of the pelvic cavity, which in turn induces varicose veins and hyperplasia of the venous plexus of the anal mucosa, forming venous masses, i.e. hemorrhoids.

#3

Who is prone to hemorrhoids?

When it comes to hemorrhoids, everyone’s impression is that “nine out of ten men and ten out of ten women have hemorrhoids”. Spicy food can easily cause hemorrhoids, and pregnancy can easily cause hemorrhoids... So what is the truth?

Old age

According to the anal cushion descent theory, as people age, the smooth muscle and connective tissue function declines, and the anal cushions are no longer able to regain their strength. Instead, they tend to become soft and slack, and further become congested and hypertrophic. Although the phenomenon of young people suffering from hemorrhoids is now popular, it cannot shake the number one position of the disease in the middle-aged and elderly groups.

Image source: Pixabay

Maintaining the same action for a long time: sitting, standing, squatting for a long time

Traditional Chinese medicine says: "Hemorrhoids are caused by the conflict between qi and blood falling down. You cannot sit for a long time, nor can you walk for a long time. Standing for a long time will relieve the falling." Maintaining the same action for a long time will affect the return of rectal veins, and local swelling will easily damage the structure, eventually increasing the chance of hemorrhoids. The culprit for the young man with "hemorrhoids" who ended up in this situation today may be squatting in the toilet for a long time with his mobile phone in his hand.

Chronic diseases: diarrhea, constipation, perianal inflammation, heart failure

Long-term diarrhea and constipation, on the one hand, increase the pressure in the lower rectum and pelvic cavity, poor blood circulation, and cause venous congestion. On the other hand, they can also locally irritate, squeeze, and destroy the normal structure of the rectum and anus, inducing or aggravating the occurrence and symptoms of hemorrhoids. Diseases such as heart failure and tumors can also affect the return of rectal venous blood, increase the risk of blood stasis, and increase the probability of hemorrhoids.

other

Poor eating habits such as low fiber and little water intake; factors such as lifting heavy objects and fatigue.

#4

What to do if you have hemorrhoids

Hemorrhoids can easily cause discomfort such as blood in stool, pain, itching, infection, and prolapse, which troubles countless people with hemorrhoids. Even a strong man may be tortured to tears when facing it. What should I do if I have hemorrhoids? Asymptomatic hemorrhoids do not require treatment; symptomatic hemorrhoids are mainly treated with conservative treatment to eliminate and alleviate symptoms. Conservative treatment includes oral medication, local care, and life optimization.

Oral medication: If accompanied by constipation, you can take laxatives such as lactulose as prescribed by your doctor to improve stool texture. If hemorrhoids are obviously red and swollen, you can appropriately assist with drugs such as diosmin to promote circulation and reduce swelling. If combined with infection, you can take penicillins and cephalosporins for anti-inflammatory drugs.

Topical medications: Anal topical medications are designed to relieve itching, pain, and swelling to relieve symptoms. You can use lidocaine gel to relieve pain, steroids such as elosone to relieve itching, and some Chinese patent medicines to reduce swelling. However, the specific evaluation and use should be combined with the offline doctor's judgment.

Adjust your lifestyle habits: Adjustments to your lifestyle include diet and daily routine.

However, patients with grade III, IV, and II internal hemorrhoids with severe bleeding, acute thrombosed external hemorrhoids, incarcerated hemorrhoids that cannot be reduced on their own, necrotic hemorrhoids, mixed hemorrhoids, and those that affect the quality of life and are ineffective with long-term conservative treatment can be treated surgically. There are many different surgical methods for hemorrhoids, especially PPH surgery (hemorrhoidectomy), which uses a circular excision of the rectal mucosa to facilitate the smooth return of the prolapsed anal cushion into the anal canal and restore the normal anatomy of the anal canal. The wound is small, the pain is mild, the prognosis is fast, and the treatment is safe. However, no matter what surgical procedure is used, there is still a certain recurrence rate after surgery. Further improving surgical skills and fine operations, and doing a good job of postoperative management are the key to improving efficacy and reducing postoperative recurrence.

#5

Life advice for people with hemorrhoids

Dietary recommendations: Drink plenty of water and eat more fiber-rich foods to keep bowel movements smooth. Pay attention to dietary hygiene, avoid unclean or cold foods, and eat less spicy foods. Although spicy foods are not the culprit of hemorrhoids, they may aggravate the symptoms of hemorrhoids.

Defecation advice: Maintain good defecation habits to prevent constipation or diarrhea. Mainly correct bad habits such as frequent toilet visits, increased abdominal pressure to force defecation, or squatting in the toilet for a long time to play with mobile phones.

Nursing advice: Keep the anal area clean. It is recommended to rinse the anal area with clean water of moderate temperature or take a sitz bath to prevent inflammatory diseases and promote blood circulation around the anus.

Treatment suggestions: Reasonable diagnosis and treatment under the guidance of a doctor, do not apply herbal medicine or inject drugs randomly. After reading this, you calculated your toilet time, quickly stood up, pressed the toilet valve, and decisively stood up and left. Only the small hemorrhoids advertisement posted on the door was left fluttering in the wind, waiting for the "hemorrhoids" to be unveiled!

Source: Chongqing Science and Technology Museum

Author: Wei Yi, Ph.D. from Chongqing Medical University and one of the top ten science popularization ambassadors in the country.

Review experts: Huang He, Li Chunli, Chen Tao, Xu Xiaoping

Statement: Except for original content and special notes, some pictures are from the Internet. They are not for commercial purposes and are only used as popular science materials. The copyright belongs to the original authors. If there is any infringement, please contact us to delete them.