Haemorrhoids - the most common vascular disease in proctology, in which the cavernous (cavernous) bodies in the terminal part of the rectum expand. Many people do not attach importance to its symptoms, thus leading the process to complications.
According to statistics, every 7 out of 10 people on our planet experience symptoms of hemorrhoids. Lack of timely adequate treatment can lead to serious complications. Among them are bleeding from hemorrhoids, their inflammation, thrombosis and necrosis, anemia, paraproctitis and anal fissure. MedicCity proctologists recommend undergoing regular examinations by a specialist to prevent unpleasant consequences of the disease. In the early stages, hemorrhoids are treated using the most gentle methods possible!
Hemorrhoids in women usually occur during pregnancy and childbirth. Hemorrhoids during pregnancy are quite difficult to treat, since most medications can adversely affect the development of the fetus. Therefore, women are recommended to visit a proctologist at the stage of pregnancy planning.
1 Consultation with a proctologist in MedicCity
2 Consultation with a proctologist in MedicCity
3 Consultation with a proctologist in MedicCity
Hemorrhoids in men are no less common. The disease appears as a result of a sedentary lifestyle, sedentary work (for example, hemorrhoids are an “occupational” disease of drivers), digestive disorders, constipation, alcohol abuse, and smoking. The cause of the disease can also be increased physical activity and hereditary predisposition.
It is customary to distinguish the following types of hemorrhoids: external (external) hemorrhoids and internal hemorrhoids.
This video talks about the main causes of hemorrhoids. Hemorrhoids are a chronic disease that, without timely treatment, progresses and often leads to serious complications.
External (external) hemorrhoids
The external manifestation of hemorrhoids is the presence of varicose veins (hemorrhoids), which are located outside the anus. External hemorrhoids appear near the anus.
Enlargement and inflammation of hemorrhoids occurs due to stagnation of blood in the pelvis and in particular in the cavernous bodies of the anal canal.
When a blood clot appears in the external hemorrhoid, swelling develops and the person begins to feel pain. The sufferer may feel hemorrhoids as a large, firm “bump” covered with thin, sensitive skin.
With poor nutrition, a sedentary lifestyle, heavy physical activity and stagnation of venous blood in the rectum, a complication in the form of acute thrombosis (the so-called “hemorrhoidal thrombosis”) may occur.
Blood in external (external) hemorrhoids (hemorrhoidal thrombosis) appears when the skin over the hemorrhoid becomes thinner and the blood clot breaks out in the form of a clot, then scarlet blood may appear.
1 Hemorrhoidectomy in MedicCity
2 Hemorrhoidectomy in MedicCity
3 Hemorrhoidectomy in MedicCity
Symptoms of external hemorrhoids
With this type of disease, the following symptoms of hemorrhoids can be distinguished:
- pineal-shaped protrusion around the anus;
- hemorrhoids, varying in size and location, which are easily palpable by the patient and increase with strain during bowel movements;
- pain and blood during bowel movements;
- unpleasant burning and itching in the anus;
- piercing pain at rest, after stool, when walking, coughing and sneezing (with the development of hemorrhoidal thrombosis);
- severe pain when touching hemorrhoids (hemorrhoids increase in size, swell, turn blue).
Acute form
The period of exacerbation of the disease is characterized by the manifestation of symptoms in their most vivid embodiment: if there is pain, then the most severe, the itching is unbearable. Temperature may increase if treatment is not started promptly. The slightest movement causes sharp, unbearable pain in the patient. Walking, sitting, any movement from place to place brings discomfort, and what pain does defecation bring! This process simply makes a person fall into despair and panic. All hemorrhoidal cones become so inflamed that it is even impossible to touch them. External self-examination may detect a change in the color of the nodes; they may acquire a bluish tint. Tension and swelling of the nodes are an obligatory factor in the acute period of the disease. If an infection gets into the tissue of a node or blood clot, this can trigger the appearance of a high temperature, which indicates the beginning of the inflammatory process. The acute form can become one of the links in chronic hemorrhoids. The disease, which occurs in a relatively calm stage, can become acute under the influence of certain factors. Prolonged sitting or standing, lifting weights, changes in the normal process of bowel movements (constipation or diarrhea), abuse of alcohol or foods with a spicy, pungent and salty “tint” - all this can cause an acute course of the disease. Treatment should begin immediately, without giving hemorrhoids the slightest chance to take over the patient completely.
Internal hemorrhoids
With internal hemorrhoids, the patient develops hemorrhoidal nodes, which are visually almost invisible. They are located under the mucous membrane of the rectum (i.e., inside the anal canal at the point of its transition to the rectum) due to protrusion of the walls of blood vessels. Internal hemorrhoids are usually painless.
Signs of this type of hemorrhoids at the initial stage are small blood discharge that can be found on toilet paper after bowel movements.
With this form of the disease, hemorrhoidal thrombosis can also occur.
1 AMI HAL-Doppler II - device for the treatment of hemorrhoids
2 AMI HAL-Doppler II - device for the treatment of hemorrhoids
3 Anoscopy apparatus
Symptoms of internal hemorrhoids
The following symptoms are characteristic of internal hemorrhoids:
- discharge of blood after defecation;
- pain during and (or) after bowel movements;
- feeling of incomplete bowel movement;
- prolapse of hemorrhoids;
- the appearance of space-occupying formations;
- feeling of discomfort and itching in the anus, etc.
Hemorrhoidal thrombosis, prolapsed hemorrhoids are symptoms of advanced hemorrhoids. Do not lead the situation to complications, do not self-medicate! If at least one of the symptoms of a proctological disease appears, immediately consult a coloproctologist! In the early stages, hemorrhoids are treated within 1 day using minimally invasive techniques.
Diagnosis of hemorrhoids: determining the cause and symptoms in men and women
Common symptoms of hemorrhoids include itching, pain, rectal fullness or hardness, and bleeding. Diagnosis is made based on a history and physical examination. The history may indicate associated symptoms, including constipation, problems with bowel movements, and straining to go to the toilet. Your doctor will ask more questions to look for other causes of rectal bleeding, including tumors, inflammatory bowel disease, and gastrointestinal bleeding.
To confirm the diagnosis, determine the cause of hemorrhoids and select treatment, an examination is performed. It involves a rectal examination, in which a finger is used to feel for abnormal lumps or masses. A rectal examination may be delayed if pain or swelling is severe. Additionally, hemorrhoids and constipation may be associated with anal fissures in the skin surrounding the anus. The associated pain and spasm makes rectal examination very painful. If the doctor is concerned that symptoms, especially rectal bleeding, cannot be explained by hemorrhoids, an anoscopy may be considered. This is a procedure in which a lighted tube is inserted to view the anus. If there is concern that bleeding is coming from other areas of the colon, a sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy may be performed. These procedures are usually performed by a gastroenterologist or surgeon.
Depending on the situation, blood tests may be ordered. If there was heavy bleeding, you need to check your hemoglobin or red blood cell levels. If the patient is taking blood thinners, a coagulation test is necessary.
Stages of hemorrhoids:
- Stage 1 is determined by the release of blood from the anus without prolapse of hemorrhoids;
- Stage 2 is characterized by prolapse of hemorrhoids with spontaneous reduction into the anal canal (with or without bleeding);
- Stage 3 is characterized by periodic loss of nodes with the need for their manual reduction into the anal canal (with or without bleeding);
- Stage 4 is characterized by constant prolapse of hemorrhoids along with the rectal mucosa and the impossibility of reduction into the anal canal (with or without bleeding).
| Stages | Symptoms | Clinic | |
| 1st stage | Bleeding, discomfort | Hemorrhoids do not protrude from the anal canal. The vascular pattern of the mucous membrane is enhanced. | |
| 2nd stage | Bleeding, prolapse of nodes, itching, mucous discharge | The nodes fall out, but are reset into the anal canal on their own. | |
| 3rd stage | Bleeding, prolapse of nodes, anal itching, mucous discharge | Prolapse of hemorrhoids requires manual assistance to reposition them into the anal canal. | |
| 4th stage | Bleeding, constant loss of nodes, itching, discomfort, sphincter incontinence, pain syndrome | Constant prolapse and inability to reduce hemorrhoids into | |
A logical question arises: for what purpose was the classification of hemorrhoids developed? The answer is simple: in order to determine further treatment tactics.
Today, minimally invasive methods of treating hemorrhoids are widely used in medical practice, used both on an outpatient basis and in a hospital setting. These include infrared photocoagulation , sclerotherapy , ligation of hemorrhoids with latex rings , ligation of hemorrhoidal vessels under the control of Doppler ultrasound and others. The use of minimally invasive methods in an outpatient setting contributes to the successful treatment of most patients with hemorrhoids.
In the later stages of the disease, an operation (hemorrhoidectomy) is performed, aimed at radical removal of the three main collectors of cavernous tissue, which are the basis of hemorrhoids.
Symptoms of hemorrhoids in men and women
Acute hemorrhoids or exacerbation of a chronic process are the most common cause of complaints from the rectum and anus. Most common symptoms:
- painless bleeding from the anal area, blood stains on linen, toilet paper;
- anal itching;
- pain, discomfort in the anal area;
- swelling and the sensation of a lump or foreign body in the anus are associated with inflammation and exacerbation of chronic hemorrhoids.
Inflammation of internal hemorrhoids has special symptoms, for example, it can cause swelling. This in itself does not cause pain because there are no pain fibers attached to the veins above the pectineal line. Hard stool can damage the thinned mucous membrane of the node, causing painless bleeding. However, swollen hemorrhoids can also cause the muscles surrounding the rectum and anus to spasm, causing pain, especially if they prolapse through the anus. You can feel a lump along the edge of the anus. Internal hemorrhoids can also thrombose (clot), causing severe pain.
Inflamed hemorrhoids can produce mucus, which can cause inflammation of the skin around the anus, causing burning and anal itching. However, there may be other causes of itching, including yeast and other skin infections.
External hemorrhoids behave differently because the nodes are covered with “regular skin”, which contains pain receptors. Thrombosis of external hemorrhoids occurs when the underlying vein inside the hemorrhoid becomes blocked, causing severe pain due to the rapid stretching of the skin covering the hemorrhoid. You may feel a hard, painful lump in your anus. External hemorrhoids can also result in excess skin tags that can be felt at the edge of the anus and can cause difficulty cleaning the skin after bowel movements, leading to secondary skin infections.
Treatment of hemorrhoids, treatment of hemorrhoids
- For stage 1 hemorrhoids, the following are indicated: conservative therapy, infrared photocoagulation, sclerotherapy.
- For stage 2 hemorrhoids, the following are indicated: conservative therapy, infrared photocoagulation, sclerotherapy, ligation with latex rings, suture ligation, combined methods.
- For stage 3 hemorrhoids, the following are indicated: ligation with latex rings, transanal resection of the mucosa using the Longo method, combined methods, surgical treatment (hemorrhoidectomy).
- For stage 4 hemorrhoids, surgical treatment (hemorrhoidectomy) is indicated.
Rustam Abdullaev, a surgeon and proctologist at MedicCity, talks about the technique of disarterization of hemorrhoids under ultrasound control in the Doctors program (TVC).
Many people believe that with today's choice of medications, hemorrhoids can be cured with medication alone, but this is a misconception. Today, the pharmacy can offer you a lot of drugs (ointments, suppositories, tablets) that will only temporarily eliminate certain symptoms of the disease. After their use, some relief may occur, but “experienced” patients understand that it is temporary, until the next exacerbation.
Early diagnosis allows our coloproctologists to perform gentle removal of hemorrhoids and treatment of hemorrhoidal thrombosis using the most modern minimally invasive techniques. You can learn about the advanced method of treating hemorrhoids - disarterization of hemorrhoids under ultrasound control using the AMI HAL-Doppler II device - from our video.
Doctors treating this disease
People who suffer from hemorrhoids and do not understand doctors often wonder which doctor treats their disease.
A specialist such as a proctologist deals with the professional treatment of hemorrhoids. Therefore, you should consult a doctor if hemorrhoids actively progress. It treats all diseases related to the perineum, colon, rectum and colon. The doctor diagnoses the possible development of diseases, prescribes prevention, gives a list of indications, and tells the approximate cost of treatment. The task of a proctologist is to cure perineal disease, polyps, and anal fissures. Every proctologist knows what not to do for hemorrhoids. He is professional in his work and is always ready to remove hemorrhoids. This doctor treats an individual patient's hemorrhoids. That is why you need to look at the list of doctors in order to decide on the necessary treating professional who will cure hemorrhoids in the clinic.
