Healing Naturally, Restoring Balance

What are hemorrhoids?

Hemorrhoids are swollen, enlarged veins that form inside and outside of your anus and rectum. They can be painful and uncomfortable and cause rectal bleeding. Hemorrhoids are also called piles
Anyone can get symptomatic hemorrhoids, even teenagers. (But because hemorrhoids take a while to develop, they’re uncommon in children.) You may be more at risk if yo

What are the types of hemorrhoids?

Hemorrhoids can happen inside or outside of your rectum. The type depends on where the swollen vein develops. Types include:
  • External: Swollen veins form underneath the skin around your anus. Your anus is the canal where your poop comes out. External hemorrhoids can be itchy and painful. Occasionally, they bleed. Sometimes, they fill with blood that can clot. This isn’t dangerous, but can result in pain and swelling.
  • Internal: Swollen veins form inside your rectum. Your rectum is the part of your digestive system that connects your colon (large intestine) to your anus. Internal hemorrhoids may bleed, but they usually aren’t painful.
  • Prolapsed: Both internal and external hemorrhoids can prolapse, meaning they stretch and bulge outside of your anus. These hemorrhoids may bleed or cause pain.

What’s the difference between hemorrhoids and anal fissures?

Hemorrhoids and anal fissures cause similar symptoms, such as itching, pain and bleeding. While swollen veins cause hemorrhoids, a tear in the lining of your anus causes an anal fissure. Symptoms and Causes What causes hemorrhoids? Any sort of straining that increases pressure on your belly or lower extremities can cause anal and rectal veins to become swollen and inflamed.
Hemorrhoids may develop due to:
  • Pelvic pressure from weight gain, especially during pregnancy.
  • Pushing hard to have a bowel movement (poop) because of constipation. .
  • Straining to lift heavy objects or weightlifting.

What are the symptoms of hemorrhoids?

Internal hemorrhoids rarely cause pain (and typically can’t be felt) unless they prolapse. Many people with internal hemorrhoids don’t know they have them because they don’t have symptoms.
If you have symptoms of internal hemorrhoids, you might see blood on toilet paper, in your stool or in the toilet bowl. These are signs of rectal bleeding.
Signs of external hemorrhoids include:
  • Itchy anus.
  • Hard lumps near your anus that feel sore or tender.
  • Pain or ache in your anus, especially when you sit.
  • Rectal bleeding.
  • Prolapsed hemorrhoids can be painful and uncomfortable. You may be able to feel them bulging outside of your anus and gently push them back inside.
What other conditions cause hemorrhoid-type symptoms?
Different gastrointestinal disorders can cause rectal bleeding and other symptoms similar to hemorrhoids. Some of these disorders are life-threatening.
Bowel diseases that can cause bleeding include:
  • Colon cancer
  • Crohn’s disease.
  • Ulcerative colitis
  • Diagnosis and Tests

How are hemorrhoids diagnosed?

A healthcare provider diagnoses hemorrhoids based on symptoms and a physical exam. You may also have:
  • Digital rectal exam: Your provider inserts a gloved, lubricated finger into your rectum to feel for swollen veins.
  • Anoscopy: Your provider uses an anoscope (lighted tube) to view the lining of your anus and rectum.
  • Sigmoidoscopy: Your provider uses a sigmoidoscope (lighted tube with a camera) to view inside the lower (sigmoid) part of your colon and rectum. Procedure types include flexible sigmoidoscopy and rigid sigmoidoscopy (proctoscopy)

What are the complications of hemorrhoids?

Complications

Hemorrhoids can be uncomfortable and painful, but they don’t tend to cause serious problems.
Rarely, people with hemorrhoids develop:
  • Anemia.
  • Blood clots in external hemorrhoids.
  • Infection
  • Skin tags (flap of tissue that hangs off skin).
  • Strangulated hemorrhoids (muscles in the anus cut off blood flow to a prolapsed internal hemorrhoid)