When you have hemorrhoids, you may believe that you can treat them simply by getting some cream and applying it to the affected area a few times a day. If your hemorrhoids are not severe, you likely can. If, however, you have a serious case of hemorrhoids, such as internal hemorrhoids that have prolapsed, you may need surgical intervention. There is one hemorrhoid treatment option that has become a favorite recently due to its overwhelming success and low evidence of side effects. This treatment, while it has only gained favor recently, actually has a very long history attached to it.
What Is A Prolapsed Hemorrhoid?
Many people don’t know what a prolapsed hemorrhoid is. A prolapsed hemorrhoid is what it is called when an internal hemorrhoid comes out through the anus. Sometimes it comes out when you’re having a bowel movement, and then goes right back in, but occasionally it gets bad enough that the hemorrhoid will not go back in where it is supposed to go, causing it to hang out and to be extremely painful indeed.
The common treatment for prolapsed hemorrhoids is to have a hemorrhoidectomy. A Hemorrhoidectomy, however, is not only extremely painful, but it also has a great deal of side effects associated with it. Many people who had a hemorrhoidectomy complain about having problems with incontinence after the surgery and as they grow older, making it a hemorrhoid treatment that you should only choose when you have no other option.
About Rubber Band Ligation
A rubber band ligation, however, is an outpatient treatment that can cure second degree hemorrhoids without much pain or side effects. In order to do the procedure, a small rubber band is put onto the base of the hemorrhoid. This stops the blood supply from going to the hemorrhoid, cutting off its life force, so to speak. As the hemorrhoid loses its blood flow, the hemorrhoids will shrivel up and dry out and will “die” within anywhere from two to seven days, depending on how severe the hemorrhoids were before treatment.
The success rate is between 60-80%, and is considered to be much less painful than any surgical treatment for hemorrhoids. It began being used back in 460, when a physician talked about using threads to cut off the blood supply to hemorrhoids.
A rubber band ligation is the best hemorrhoid treatment option for those who have second degree internal hemorrhoids; it is not only much less invasive than a hemorrhoidectomy, it also has a greater chance for success and less instances of side effects, allowing you to get your hemorrhoids treated and gone in as short an amount of time as possible.
I had rubber band ligation procedure done yesterday. The doctor also performed cryosurgery after banding to freeze the internal hemorrhoid. I had a lot of discomfort in the anus area for the first 5 hours after the procedure but later subsided. Today is the second day, I have already had 3 bowel movements with some blood on toilet paper and in the bowl. I continue to have the urge to have bowel movements. I feel pressure and discomfort around the anus and inside. Are these symptoms normal?
Thanks!