When anal pain and bleeding occurs, especially during the act of evacuating, with blood-streaked stools or staining the toilet paper with blood, it may indicate the presence of hemorrhoids.
Hemorrhoids can be visible on the outside of the anus or inside and leave the intestine when you force yourself to defecate, with varying degrees of internal hemorrhoids, with degrees 1 being inside the anus, degree 2 leaving the anus during evacuation and grade 3 and 4 are outside the anus and are visible.
However, there is not always blood, being more common the appearance of a small 'skin' or a small ball in the anus.
Hemorrhoid symptoms
Symptoms that may indicate hemorrhoids include:
- Pain in the anus when its surface is rubbed by toilet paper or underwear; Small ball in the anus that increases in volume; Discomfort that can become persistent due to dilation of the hemorrhoidal veins; Release of mucus and feeling that the rectum has not been completely emptied; Anal itching due to the difficulty in cleaning the anus because of the pain.
When the hemorrhoid is not externalized through the anus, its main symptom is acute pain in the anal area and the presence of blood in the stool, toilet bowl or toilet paper after evacuation.
When hemorrhoids can appear
A person can have more than one hemorrhoid and it can appear at any stage of life, although they are more common in adults and the elderly, especially affecting people who suffer with a stuck intestine and need to make a lot of effort to evacuate and people who are overweight.
Hemorrhoids are also frequent during pregnancy, presenting the same symptoms and treatment can also be carried out in the same way.
How to treat hemorrhoids
Hemorrhoids can be treated with hemorrhoid ointment, sitz baths, softening of stools and in the most severe cases, the doctor may even recommend surgery. See some examples of Ointments for hemorrhoids.
Sitting inside a bowl filled with warm water and adding a little chamomile, cypress or horse chestnut tea is a good way to relieve the pain and discomfort caused by hemorrhoids.
See how to prepare home remedies like these in the following video:
But in addition, it is important not to eat spicy foods, soft drinks and to eat a lot of fruits and wholegrains, besides drinking enough water to soften the feces, so that when they are eliminated they do not cause pain. Here's what to do to stop hemorrhoids.
When to go to the doctor
It is advisable to go to the doctor when observing these symptoms mentioned above because an anal exam quickly determines the existence of the hemorrhoid and so the doctor can indicate the most appropriate form of treatment.
Although the general practitioner can identify hemorrhoids, treatment and surgery are usually performed by the proctologist.
