More than 50 percent of people experience hemorrhoids at some point in their lives. If you are afraid that you may be part of that statistic, then the more you know about hemorrhoids, the better.
Everyone knows that hemorrhoids are located at the anal canal either on the inside or on the outside. But did you know that they can become infected, prolapsed, thrombosed, or even strangulated?
All of those things are more serious than the simple little hemorrhoid that you may have thought about when you first heard the term. If you have already experienced having hemorrhoids, you may be familiar with the symptoms. The tingling, itching, pain, constipation, and maybe even bleeding can be embarrassing to say the least.
Who would think that such a small thing could alter your life to the point of making you not want to do anything? Sitting for your job, standing in line at the grocery store, and driving long distances on vacation can all become something to dread…not to mention the embarrassment of constantly fidgeting and fighting the urge to scratch that itch.
If you have hemorrhoids so bad that you’re in pain all the time, or if you have any bleeding hemorrhoids or a strangulated hemorrhoid, then you may require a more aggressive treatment to get real, long-term relief for the problem.
Aggressive Treatments
Some of the hemorrhoid treatments that are more aggressive are less invasive and require a shorter recovery time than the others.
One such bleeding hemorrhoid treatment is PPH (Procedure for Prolapse and Hemorrhoids). It uses a stapling technique which causes the hemorrhoid to be repositioned. This makes the blood flow to the hemorrhoid less and causes the hemorrhoid to shrink over a period of about four weeks or so. With the reduced blood flow, bleeding will eventually cease. The recovery time is much shorter than for a traditional hemorrhoidectomy, and the pain is much less.
Another option for treating bleeding hemorrhoids or other serious hemorrhoid conditions is rubber band ligation. This procedure involves placing a rubber band around the hemorrhoid, causing it to have a loss of blood flow. This will make the hemorrhoid die and fall off. With this procedure, there is a chance that the rubber band could slip and not being as effective as hoped.
The overall best option to treat serious hemorrhoids is traditional hemorrhoid surgery. Though more invasive, more painful, and requiring a longer recovery time, surgery offers the benefit of having a much higher success rate than any of the other options.
There is no true cure for hemorrhoids in the sense that there is never a guarantee that you won’t ever have them again, but the options for treatments that will help raise those odds in your favor have come a long way over the years.
Bleeding hemorrhoids, prolapsed hemorrhoids, strangulated hemorrhoids, and thrombosed hemorrhoids are offered more treatments and remedies than ever. With so many things to help find relief from the pain, itching, and bleeding, taking the initiative to get hemorrhoids under control is the first step to feeling great all over.