Avoid the winter heat trap

As the weather gets colder in winter, many people choose to take dietary supplements to strengthen their physique, or choose spicy food such as hot pot to drive away the cold. However, people of different physiques and ages are suitable for different dietary treatments. If you take supplements carelessly, it will often backfire. Not only will it not play a role in health preservation, but it will also cause heat and toxins to accumulate in the body due to improper supplements or a preference for spicy food, inducing a series of anorectal diseases. Let's talk about how to avoid these "hot" traps.

Beware of the high incidence of anorectal diseases in winter. The climate is relatively dry in winter, and people eat more fatty, greasy and hot foods, which can easily lead to anorectal diseases such as constipation, anal fissures, and hemorrhoidal bleeding. Among the common benign anorectal diseases in clinical practice, hemorrhoids rank first, followed by anal fistulas, and perianal abscesses and intestinal polyps rank third.

hemorrhoid

Hemorrhoid attacks are mainly related to fatigue, excessive consumption of spicy food, and drinking. Winter is the end of the year, and young and middle-aged people tend to work overtime and stay up late, which makes them easily fatigued. Eating more spicy food and drinking alcohol at social events also increase significantly, which can lead to hemorrhoid attacks, prolapse, pain, bleeding, and other symptoms. In severe cases, there may even be heavy bleeding, so you must seek medical attention as soon as possible.

Anal fissure

Patients with hemorrhoids and constipation are prone to anal fissures, especially in winter when they eat spicy and hot foods or take warm tonic medicines, which can easily lead to dry and hard stools, causing anal fissures to bleed and unbearable pain.

Perianal abscess, anal fistula

Perianal abscesses are manifested by swelling and pain in the anus or a feeling of heaviness and foreign body. A hard lump can be felt locally and gradually increases in size. If the condition is severe, it is often accompanied by a low fever. This is an infectious disease that can be alleviated by early intervention. However, many people do not pay attention to it in the early stages of the disease and only seek medical attention when symptoms such as redness, swelling, heat, pain, and fever appear. If perianal abscesses are not effectively treated, they will progress to anal fistulas and will not heal. Clinically, the number of patients with perianal abscesses increases in winter. On the one hand, it may be because of the accumulation of heat and toxins in the summer, which erupt in the winter. On the other hand, it may be related to changes in eating habits in winter.

Constipation and diarrhea

Eating too much hot food can easily lead to constipation, but some people may also experience diarrhea, which depends on each person's physical condition.

Three Keys to Preventing Anorectal Diseases

Keep your mouth shut and don't eat anything

Paying attention to diet is the most important part of preventing anorectal diseases. Many fruits and snacks may seem harmless, but eating too much can cause physical discomfort. For example, eating too much chocolate can cause dry stools; eating too much grapes can cause constipation because they contain tannic acid, which has an astringent effect; eating too much hot and acidic food can also cause dry stools.

People with constipation can eat foods that have a laxative effect, such as black sesame and walnuts. They can be ground into powder and taken or made into cakes. However, fried black sesame and walnuts are dry in nature and should be eaten less. Wolfberry tea can also help with laxatives. People with poor sleep can also add some chrysanthemum.

People with a family history should have regular checkups

It should be noted that people with a family history of polyps or tumors should pay special attention to symptoms such as blood in the stool and seek medical attention in time. Even if such people do not have symptoms of anorectal diseases, they should undergo regular fecal occult blood tests after the age of 40. If the result is positive, a colonoscopy should be performed.

Don't take laxatives for constipation

There are many reasons for constipation, and doctors will take appropriate treatment measures based on the patient's specific situation. Therefore, if you have constipation, don't take laxatives on your own.

The selection of food supplements should be reasonable

Winter is a good time to nourish the body, and almost every household will consider how to nourish the body. Some people eat mutton, while others eat sesame and walnut powder, sea cucumber porridge, and black chicken soup.

Reasonable food supplements can indeed strengthen the body and prevent diseases, but if the ingredients are not chosen properly, it may also cause physical discomfort and induce disease. You should choose food according to your physical condition under the guidance of a doctor. Even for tonic foods, the more you eat, the better. No matter what you eat, you should not overeat and know when to stop.

Avoid hot foods

Patients with anorectal diseases should pay attention to eating less hot foods in winter, such as hot pot, beef, mutton, dried longan, dried lychee, etc. Eating too much may cause hemorrhoid bleeding and even cause perianal abscesses.

Avoid spicy food

Some people like to drink warming medicinal wine in winter, while others like to put spices such as pepper, fennel, cinnamon, and pepper when cooking. These spicy and irritating things can easily induce anorectal diseases.

Don’t eat anything that strengthens the spleen and eliminates dampness

Some people have heard that Gorgon Fruit and Coix Seed can eliminate dampness, so they eat them as whole grains every day. However, they do not know that although these two herbs can strengthen the spleen and eliminate dampness, and stop diarrhea, long-term consumption can also cause constipation.

In short, you cannot just follow the crowd when it comes to health preservation in winter. You need to maintain healthy eating habits based on your own physical condition and the characteristics of existing diseases so that you can have a healthy body while enjoying the snowy winter atmosphere.

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This article is transferred from: China Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine Author: Wang Zhenyi

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