Hemorrhoids after childbirth, how to treat and how to avoid, prevention for women

What are hemorrhoids? Its types, symptoms, stages

Exercises to prevent hemorrhoids

There is a stereotype that only older people suffer from hemorrhoids, but this is far from true. Pregnant women and young mothers are also at risk. During pregnancy, the walls of blood vessels are weakened, and the pressure on the small pelvis is enormous. It is extremely difficult to avoid hemorrhoids in this case. About 40% of women expecting a child complain of this disease. Labor attempts can also provoke the appearance of hemorrhoids.

Often women are embarrassed to contact a specialist with this delicate problem and communicate on forums, sharing information about what causes hemorrhoids after childbirth, how to treat it and what remedies are most effective. By trusting the advice of strangers, young mothers put themselves in danger. After all, only a competent specialist, after a thorough examination, taking into account all individual characteristics, can prescribe adequate treatment. Symptoms of hemorrhoids include:

Burning and itching in the rectum.
Blood and pain after defecation. After some time, the pain may subside, and then reappear when you have a bowel movement.
Prolapsed hemorrhoids, they are easy to palpate and can be of various sizes - from a pea to a cherry. They usually cause discomfort when walking or sitting.
Inflammation and fissures of the anus. These things can cause a lot of trouble and spoil the wonderful time of motherhood.
Feeling of insufficient emptying of the rectum.

Do not underestimate the danger of this disease. After childbirth, a woman’s immunity is weakened, and hemorrhoids only further aggravate the problem. In addition to a huge amount of discomfort, hemorrhoids and fissures can become the target of infection. Bleeding can cause anemia, which is extremely dangerous for pregnant and breastfeeding women. In addition, hemorrhoids are one of the causes of cancer. Therefore, you should not take it lightly. At the first signs of hemorrhoids, it is advisable to consult a specialist. There are two common types of hemorrhoids:

Internal hemorrhoids. Hemorrhoids are located inside the intestine, they are not visible, but this type of hemorrhoid is easily diagnosed by palpation. It is the most dangerous, since the likelihood of heavy bleeding is quite high.
External hemorrhoids. The bumps are easy to feel and are located outside. The nodule can be one or a whole cluster around the anus. This type of hemorrhoids is easier to treat.

There are four stages during the course of the disease:

The first stage is accompanied by short-term, mild bleeding and pain during bowel movements.
In the second stage, hemorrhoidal nodules appear. They can be detected after straining and can be easily adjusted independently.
The third stage is characterized by increased loss of “bumps” during bowel movements and even coughing. The nodules are reduced.
The fourth stage is the most dangerous. It is accompanied by burning and pain in the anus. The pain practically does not go away and appears during sitting, movement, and bowel movements. There is a sensation of a foreign object in the rectum. Possible bleeding.

Treatment must begin at the first signs and not bring the disease to the last painful stage.

The reasons for this phenomenon

Before prescribing treatment, it is necessary to find out the causes of this pathology. Some believe that hemorrhoids occur due to childbirth itself. However, it is not. Inflammation of hemorrhoidal nodes is a chronic disease that can be aggravated under the influence of certain factors. Hemorrhoids after childbirth can occur during the period of pushing, when the woman’s nodes fall out.

The main reason for the exacerbation in this case is overstrain of the perineal muscles, as a result of which the blood vessels begin to be compressed. After giving birth, a woman faces the question: how to cure this unpleasant phenomenon, preferably without surgery, and how to prevent relapses?

Causes, diagnosis and consequences of hemorrhoids

One of the drugs for the treatment of hemorrhoids

To prevent the occurrence of such a nuisance as hemorrhoids, you need to know why they appear. Let's look at the common causes of hemorrhoids. Load on the pelvis during pregnancy. At this time, the woman’s level of progesterone in the blood increases, which relaxes the walls of blood vessels and promotes their stretching. Simultaneously with the growth of the baby, the load on the small pelvis increases and intra-abdominal pressure increases. All this leads to stagnation of blood in the pelvic vessels and then to the formation of hemorrhoidal cones.

Childbirth. Even if the pregnancy was successful without hemorrhoids, the process of childbirth itself may well provoke it. During labor, the sphincter receives a huge load. The baby's head, when passing through the birth canal, puts pressure on the pelvic organs, which increases the pressure in the vessels. It is very important to push correctly and listen to obstetricians so as not to cause unnecessary stress that interferes with mother and baby.
Constipation. This problem does not only affect pregnant women; many people face it nowadays.
Poor nutrition, insufficient exercise, sitting at the computer all day - all this inevitably leads to constipation. And they, in turn, provoke other troubles, such as hemorrhoids and anal fissures.
Use of hormonal drugs. Hormonal contraception, especially long-term, can lead to weakening of the walls of blood vessels and hemorrhoids. Often, the doctor prescribes medications along with hormones that maintain vascular tone.
Excess weight. When carrying a child, women inevitably gain weight. Unfortunately, the increased load on the pelvic organs caused by extra pounds and improper metabolism provoke the appearance of hemorrhoidal cones.
Hereditary predisposition. If someone in your family has already suffered from this disease, there is a chance that venous problems will be inherited by you. Prevention is necessary, otherwise hemorrhoids cannot be avoided.

Diagnosis of postpartum hemorrhoids consists of examining the anus and palpation. If necessary, the doctor may prescribe an endoscopic or x-ray examination of the rectum to identify internal hemorrhoids. If treatment is not started on time, the consequences of an advanced disease can be disastrous. At first, the prolapsed nodules are not difficult to set, but then they constantly fall out even in a calm state. After some time, tissue necrosis occurs, which can cause heavy bleeding. Constant blood loss leads to anemia. If a woman is pregnant, the child will also suffer.

Without proper treatment, the disease will progress and cause new problems. Other unpleasant consequences of hemorrhoids include inflammation of the rectum and even cancer.

Treatment of hemorrhoids

Treatment of hemorrhoids in nursing women should exclude all substances that can harm the baby. During pregnancy, the range of approved drugs is even narrower. Traditional medicine is also not completely safe. Even when the third or fourth stage is advanced, they try to delay surgical intervention as much as possible. Therefore, self-medication is extremely dangerous. A doctor should prescribe medications and monitor the situation. With drug treatment, the doctor prescribes suppositories, ointments, tablets that relieve inflammation, strengthen the walls of blood vessels and relieve pain. Sometimes, at the initial stage of hemorrhoids, a pregnant woman is not treated at all, but is only prescribed diets and mild laxatives.

Prevention of hemorrhoids before and after childbirth

Undoubtedly, hemorrhoids are much easier to prevent than to cure. To prevent this disease from tormenting you after childbirth, you need to take care of your health during pregnancy and even before it. Physical exercises that strengthen the pelvic muscles are effective. Here are some of them:

Kegel exercises. They consist of squeezing the muscles of the perineum and sphincter. It's better to do them before pregnancy. This will help avoid not only hemorrhoids, but also ruptures during childbirth.
Walking during pregnancy will help supply the baby with oxygen and prevent blood from stagnating in the vessels.
Exercises “scissors” and “bicycle”, lying on your back.
Lying on your back, lift your pelvis, resting on your shoulders and feet. Pause briefly at the top point. This exercise not only strengthens the walls of blood vessels, but helps young mothers cope with excess weight and cellulite, tightening the muscles of the buttocks.
Sometimes forced inactivity leads to constipation and hemorrhoids. If there is a threat of miscarriage, the pregnant woman is prescribed bed rest. Of course, in these cases, exercise and long walks are excluded, but this does not mean that you need to stop moving completely. When the critical period has passed, you can slowly begin five-minute walks. They must be stopped when unpleasant sensations appear.
Don't forget about hygiene. After childbirth, you need to be especially careful about the cleanliness of your genitals, wash yourself after bowel movements if possible, and give up toilet paper in favor of wet wipes.
It is important to drink enough water, 1.5-2 liters per day. Precisely water, purified and unboiled. This amount does not include soups, juices, tea, coffee, and dairy products. Sometimes pregnant women limit the amount of water they drink due to possible swelling. But 2 liters of water per day is an acceptable amount in the absence of other liquids. It is also necessary to reduce the amount of salt in food, as it retains water, which increases the risk of edema.
Proper nutrition will help prevent the formation of hemorrhoids. However, it does not mean a strict diet. It is extremely undesirable for lactating and pregnant women to refuse proper nutrition. It is enough to reduce the consumption of sweets, flour, spicy, smoked and fried foods, as well as rice, cabbage, legumes (reduce, but not eliminate).
Add fresh fruits, cereals, bran bread (if there is no heartburn), fish, meat, vegetables, salads with vegetable oil, honey (if there is no allergy) to the diet. It is better to avoid strong tea, coffee, cocoa, and chocolate, as they provoke constipation and, as a result, hemorrhoids.
If constipation cannot be avoided, there is no need to constantly use laxatives. You can use mild laxatives or fiber-based drugs that normalize intestinal function. Decoctions of prunes and dried apricots are also useful.
Glycerin suppositories often help relieve constipation, but their constant use can lead to disruption of intestinal motility.

Pregnancy and hemorrhoids. How to avoid? You can find out the answer to this question from the video:

Medications

The initial stages of therapy require adjustments in nutrition and increased physical activity. If the pathology worsens or symptoms of the disease appear at 38 weeks of gestation or later, urgent measures must be taken.

The choice of medicines remains with the proctologist - he decides which of them will not harm the body of the mother and fetus. Self-medication and arbitrary purchases of medications at the pharmacy will not bring the expected result; they can provoke a deterioration in the general condition and further development of hemorrhoids. If the annotation for the drug states that it can be used in pregnant women, then you should not rely on the manufacturer’s recommendations. Let the obstetrician-gynecologist leading the pregnancy deal with the issue.

Approved medications during pregnancy include medications consisting of natural ingredients. The list includes ointments, gels, rectal suppositories designed to suppress inflammation, obsessive itching, burning and other clinical manifestations.

Medicines recommended for pregnant women include:

Troxevasin;
Relief;
Heparin ointment;
Fleming's ointment.

The component composition of these drugs has an analgesic, anti-inflammatory spectrum of action, and suppresses the symptoms of the disease. Creams and gels are successfully used in the fight against hemorrhoids; pregnant women are often prescribed Hepatrombin G. It helps stabilize local blood circulation and improve tissue metabolism.

In acute cases of the disease, patients are prescribed venotonic tablets. They have a positive effect on the functioning of the immune system and accelerate the recovery of damaged cells. Popular options include Phlebodia 600, Detralex, Venarus, etc.

The drugs have a complex spectrum of action, due to which there is an improvement in the elasticity of blood vessels, a decrease in pain and tissue swelling. All medications are taken under the constant supervision of medical professionals and only after they have been prescribed by the attending physician.

Rectal suppositories will help cope with the clinical manifestations of the pathological process. Approved medications are:

papaverine and ichthyol suppositories;
Relief;
Natalsid.

In some cases, women are prescribed rectal suppositories based on sea buckthorn. Treatment is prescribed to women who are not allergic to any of the components. Sea buckthorn not only suppresses the inflammatory process, but also has a number of protective properties. It activates tissue regeneration at the cellular level and healing processes occur faster. In the acute phase of the disease, suppositories help to quickly cope with the problem of pain, spontaneous bleeding and discomfort due to the sensation of a foreign body in the problem area.

The use of medications allows you to cope with the clinical manifestations of the disease and prevent its further progression. The choice of appropriate medications should only be made by the attending physician, otherwise the therapy will not have the expected result and may cause the development of unknown reactions to the component composition. Medicines cannot be replaced, even if the pharmacy offers an analogue - synonyms and generics do not always have all the qualities of the original.