Hemorrhoids? Ouch!
About ten million people in the U.S. suffer from
hemorrhoids. During the fourteen to fifteen hundreds, this malady was known as
“Saint Fiacre’s Curse.”
In 2004, the National
Institutes of Health noted that a diagnosis of hemorrhoids was associated with three
million clinic visits, three hundred thousand hospitalizations, and two million
prescriptions. Repeated straining during
bowel movements can cause hemorrhoids.
Symptoms include blood on the toilet paper, itching, pain, and a lump of soft
tissue at the anus.
Conservative Treatment: Increased
dietary fiber, avoidance of straining during bowel movements, moist heat, and
soothing sitz baths alleviate symptoms. A dietary
supplement, flavonoids, can improve bowel elimination and control anal
inflammation. However, their widespread use isn’t
recommended till more research verifies their effectiveness.Sitting in warm water a tub or sitz
bath reduces itching and pain. Fiber supplements, such as psyllium and unprocessed
bran, reduce symptoms.
Rubber Band Ligation is
an effective, nonsurgical office treatment. Its success rate in is eighty to
ninety nine percent. Side effects include temporary bleeding and pain. It is
not recommended for people who are on long-term blood thinners.
Sclerotherapy involves
injection of a medicine into the hemorrhoid. This causes a soft tissue reaction
that shrinks underlying blood vessels. Possible side effects include urine
retention and abscess. Serious complications are rare.
Infrared Coagulation is a technique that delivers infrared energy to the
hemorrhoid tissue using a tungsten halogen lamp. This scars and shrinks the
underlying tissue. Repeat treatments might be needed every two to four weeks. Although thrombosed (clotted)
hemorrhoids cause unbearable pain, they might resolve in one or two weeks
without surgery.
Doppler Ultrasound-guided hemorrhoid artery ligation could be considered. This procedure
involves ligating (suturing shut) the blood vessels that connect to the
hemorrhoids. It is less invasive than other procedures. It might not work for
severe hemorrhoids. Long term benefit isn’t clear, and it isn’t widely
available in the U.S..
Finally, surgical removal of the hemorrhoid clot under local anesthesia is
the most effective treatment. Most people resume normal activities in two to
three weeks.
“Why are hemorrhoids called hemorrhoids
and asteroids called asteroids? Wouldn`t it make more sense if it was the other
way around? But if that was true, then a proctologist would be an astronaut.” Robert
Schimmel
Source: Consumer Reports on Health;
Vol. 25, Number 9.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/805040_7
