Large numbers of people suffer from the debilitating effects of hemorrhoids every year.
While not usually life-threatening, hemorrhoids can cause pain, discomfort, and can even cause mild disability. Many people choose to put up with their conditions and fight through the agony, but things don't have to be this way.
- Modern medicine offers many effective and quick treatments for hemorrhoids.
- At our medical facility, our highly trained, caring doctors are eager to apply state-of-the-art technologies in order to help.
What Are External Hemorrhoids?
The human digestive system contains many miles of blood vessels, and they perform many important functions. Some of these blood vessels are located in the rectum and in the anus, and they have the important jobs of helping your body to contain waste products without leakage.
Due to one of many factors, these blood vessels may become swollen and fragile. These distended blood vessels are called hemorrhoids, and they can occur both inside the rectum and on the outside of the anus. Hemorrhoids located on or around the anus are called external hemorrhoids.
What Causes External Hemorrhoids?
Hemorrhoids arise in the body for many reasons, but poor diet, low activity levels, constipation, and constant abdominal pressure are some common causes.
Once they form, hemorrhoids tend to exhibit similar symptoms. These can include:
- Bloody discharge
- Pain
- Severe itching
- Inflammation
Diagnosing Hemorrhoids
Hemorrhoids are fairly easy for proctologists to diagnose, given that they are physically prominent. Doctors use special instruments that include anoscopes and colonoscopes to view and diagnose internal hemorrhoids, but they can usually spot external hemorrhoids with simple visual exams.
How Do Medical Professionals Treat Hemorrhoids?
The kind of treatment that doctors prescribe for external hemorrhoids depends on the severity of the case. Some external hemorrhoids contain blood clots or damaged blood vessels, and these kinds of hemorrhoids may require more aggressive treatments. Other external hemorrhoids contain only regular blood, and may be treated by using more topical treatment methods.
Some common treatments for serious cases include:
- Banding: This method of treatment uses special rubberized bands to constrict blood flow to hemorrhoids, thus shrinking and eliminating them.
- Cryotherapy: This treatment method uses ultra-cold temperatures to freeze and then remove hemorrhoidal tissues.
- Infrared Coagulation: Infrared coagulationuses infrared light sources to heat and shrink hemorrhoids.
- Anal Dilation: Also called the Lord's Stretch, this method uses manual manipulation to ease hemorrhoidal symptoms.
- Transanal Hemorrhoidal Dearterialization: This is a no-incision surgical technique that cuts off blood flow to hemorrhoids.