You should take the following credo to heart: Any irregularity you detect in or on or coming out of your body that does not go away for good, pretty much by itself and fairly quickly, should be checked out by a doctor.
The symptoms of hemorrhoids can very easily be mistaken for other, much more serious illnesses such as colon or rectal cancer, which if left untreated can be fatal. That being said here's what to watch out for in the case of hemorrhoids:
Any bleeding from the rectum before, during or after a bowel movement and especially any bleeding in the absence of a bowel movement.
Any noticeable change in the size, shape or color of your stools especially thin stools no wider than a pencil which would indicate a blockage or a forming block in the large intestine, or stools that are unusually dark and claylike.
Anything oozing out of your anus that shouldn't be - which is pretty much anything other than fecal matter.
Any fever combined with any gastrointestinal or other bowel movement irregularity.
Recurring diarrhea or constipation with abdominal bloating which cannot be controlled easily and quickly by a diet change or over the counter medicines.
Any lumps, bulges, rashes or sore spots in the area of the anus that do not completely disappear in a few days.
Any pain or swelling from the rectal area that does not disappear quickly and easily and can not be attributed to a physical injury.
Any tissue that bulges from the anus and does not return to its normal size and its normal place after a few days.
Any mysterious lump in the rectal area that you detect that does not disappear quickly and completely in a few days.
Hemorrhoids Info provides detailed information about the causes, symptoms, and treatment of internal, external, and bleedings hemorrhoids. Hemorrhoids Info is the sister site of Warts Web.
Internal Hemorrhoids
There are two kinds of hemorrhoids: internal and external. Internal hemorrhoids are those which can only be examined by a doctor. Internal hemorrhoids are caused when the tissue supporting the veins in the anal canal weakens, and the swollen veins and tissue can bulge into the anal canal. Symptoms of internal hemorrhoids include bleeding during or after bowel movements, itching or a burning sensation in the anus and rectal pain before, during or after bowel movements.
In summary, the symptoms of internal hemorrhoids include the following:
Rectal bleeding. Like external hemorrhoids, bright red spots of blood may appear on toilet paper after a bowel movement. Unlike, external hemorrhoids, blood spots may appear on toilet paper if one wipes the anus before a bowel movement and in addition, blood may appear on individual pieces of stool. Because the bleeding takes place internally, small amounts of blood may leak from the anus even in the absence of a bowel movement and there is the possibility that the stool will pick up small amounts of blood on its way out of the large intestine.
An itching sensation inside the anal canal. This is a different form of itching commonly associated with hemorrhoids. Because these hemorrhoids are internal, they sometimes leak mucus as the body attempts to heal them. It is the leaking mucus which causes the itching sensation, not the small ruptures in the walls of the veins. Should this mucus leak through the anus, it may cause irritation on the outside of the body as well as the inside.
A constant feeling of needing a bowel movement even after completing one. The reason you go to the bathroom is because you have the feeling in your anus that stool is ready to come out. This feeling is caused, in part, by the swelling of the anal cushions that help the stool emerge from the large intestine. If you have bulging internal hemorrhoids that intrude into the end portion of the large intestine, this will mimic the feeling of needing to eliminate and will not disappear. The larger the internal hemorrhoid, the more intense the feeling of needing to eliminate.
A painful feeling in the anal canal. In most cases, internal hemorrhoids are not painful. As described above, they exhibit other symptoms. However, if the hemorrhoids are large enough and begin to protrude through the anus, they can become quite painful if they are squeezed during bowel movements by the sphincter muscles in the anus during the course of elimination. If this pain should become unbearable, it may indicate that the blood supply to the hemorrhoid is being severely restricted by the sphincter muscles in which case the hemorrhoid is literally being strangled. Should this be the case, emergency treatment is highly recommended.
Hemorrhoids Info provides detailed information about the causes, symptoms, and treatment of internal, external, and bleedings hemorrhoids. Hemorrhoids Info is the sister site of Warts Web.
External Hemorrhoids: An Overview
Simply stated, there are two kinds of hemorrhoids – the external type which can be seen with the naked eye and the internal type which can only be examined by a doctor. If the tissue that supports the veins in the anal canal weakens, the swollen veins and tissue can bulge into the anal canal (internal hemorrhoids) or under the skin surrounding the anus (external hemorrhoids). Both conditions are identical in nature, in treatment and they share common symptoms which include bleeding during or after bowel movements, itching or a burning sensation in the anus and rectal pain before, during or after bowel movements.
External hemorrhoids are the hemorrhoids visible to the naked eye. They most commonly appear as a cluster of grape-like, discolored skin surrounding the anus. While irritating and unsightly, this form of onset is the easiest to treat and is usually not the precursor to more serious conditions. However, rectal pain occurs mainly with this form of hemorrhoid outbreak. Also, because the swollen veins are on the outside of the anus, bright red blood streaks will appear on toilet paper after, and usually only after, a bowel movement. Blood spotting before a bowel movement would indicate that the patient is suffering from either internal hemorrhoids or both internal and external hemorrhoids, a rare but not impossible scenario.
In some cases of people suffering from external hemorrhoids, there is the possibility that a vein inside one of the external protrusions may break. In this instance, blood can possibly collect under the skin and may form a hard, painful lump. This lump is called a thrombosed, or clotted hemorrhoid. If this is present, the thrombosed needs to be shrunk or drained quickly to avoid further complications.
Hemorrhoids Info provides detailed information about the causes, symptoms, and treatment of internal, external, and bleedings hemorrhoids. Hemorrhoids Info is the sister site of Warts Web.
