What Are The Symptoms Of Hemorrhoids?

Typically, hemorrhoids may be present in the body if you see bleeding during bowel movements. You may see bright red streaks on your toilet paper when you are trying to clean after a strained bowel movement.

There may be itching involved and also some pain in the rectal area when you try to clean it immediately. When you use soap during your bath to cleanse the rectal area, it may itch or hurt because of the irritation from hemorrhoids. Fifty to seventy-five percent of all Americans develop hemorrhoids at some time in their lives.

How do we know if we have hemorrhoids?

The symptoms may differ depending on the location of the hemorrhoids.

Internal hemorrhoids may be small, swollen veins in the wall of the anal canal or large veins that bulge out or protrude out of the anus. They may be very painful and you may even see mucus on the toilet tissue after a bowel movement.

External hemorrhoids may cause hard, painful lumps outside the anus. At times, there may be leakage of feces in some cases. If your symptoms include a change in bowel habits or if you have black, tarry or blood tinged stools with blood clots, this could be a sign of a more serious condition.

When do we need to see a doctor?

The best way to find out if you have hemorrhoids and how serious they are is to see a doctor.

Often, at times, the doctor gives you some laxatives and directions for a new diet and let you go home. If, after you follow the diet faithfully, things don’t improve, you have to go back to the doctor. At this time, they may take more scans to find out if there any other problems.

The doctor may perform a physical exam and decide if you do have hemorrhoids. Doctors have several ways of finding out if you do have hemorrhoids. They may use a lighted sigmoidoscope or a colonoscope to see the inside of your rectum or they may physically check your rectum for hemorrhoids using a gloved, lubricated finger.

To look for other sources of bleeding, the doctor may perform a colonoscopy (an examination of the inside of the colon) or a sigmoidoscopy (an examination of the rectum and the last part of the colon – the sigmoid colon).

What kind of questions do I ask the doctor?

Are my symptoms caused by hemorrhoids?
What type of hemorrhoid is it?

What could have caused it? – You may need to help your doctor with a description of your lifestyle including exercise, diet and habits.

What type of tests do I need? Are they covered by my insurance? If not, how much will they cost?

What type of procedure need to be done to safely remove this condition?
Do I need any changes in my diet?

What are the danger signs that I need to look out for?

If I follow your advice about lifestyle changes, how do I know that my hemorrhoid is healing?

Always being alert to changes happening in your body is a good habit. When you have a handle on this problem, you’ll find that a few consistent changes in your life may make hemorrhoids a thing of the past!

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