Consider Your Hemorrhoids. They May Be a Sign of Other Diseases!

Did you know that hemorrhoids, which are becoming more common today as poor eating habits spread and fast-food products have moved to the center of our lives, have as their most important enemy the habit of delaying a visit to a specialist for as long as possible out of embarrassment about the condition, and that they can actually be easily cured when treated in time?

Do not ignore small symptoms!

The first symptom is bright red bleeding during bowel movements. Colon and rectal cancers, colon polyps, hemorrhoidal disease, anal fissure (a tear at the anal opening), and conditions that cause rectal bleeding are the most common causes. Early detection of colorectal cancer is very important. Therefore, if you experience complaints such as bleeding from the rectum, blood streaks in the stool, changes in bowel habits, thinning of the stool, weakness, easy fatigue, and weight loss, you should definitely consult a specialist. Hemorrhoids do not turn into another disease. However, they can sometimes occur together with other diseases. For example, if a patient with rectal (the last part of the large intestine) cancer also has hemorrhoids, the patient's complaints may be confused with hemorrhoids, and the cancer may be missed while the hemorrhoids are being treated. Therefore, depending on the patient's condition, a colon examination (colonoscopy) may be required before hemorrhoid treatment.

Hemorrhoids are the loosening and downward protrusion of the venous plexus around the anus in the form of nipple-shaped nodules. The loosening and enlargement usually do not happen suddenly; they develop over time. For this reason, people with hemorrhoidal disease have often had complaints for a long time, even if they are not pronounced. Long-term constipation and straining increase pressure on the veins around the anus, causing the veins to dilate and essentially turn into a type of varicose vein. Family predisposition is also a cause. Hemorrhoids are seen more often in people whose mother or father had hemorrhoids than in others. Consuming plenty of spicy and seasoned foods is also an important cause of hemorrhoid formation, as it leads to straining and irritation during bowel movements. The symptoms of hemorrhoidal disease are bleeding, swelling, pain, itching, and discharge.

You cannot escape the hemorrhoid problem by avoiding it!

Hemorrhoid treatment is done to relieve complaints. If left untreated, the disease progresses and complaints increase. Bleeding is an important complaint in these patients. If left untreated, troublesome bleeding continues; when there is significant blood loss, anemia may develop. In untreated hemorrhoids, a severely painful swelling called strangulation (acute thrombosed hemorrhoid) may develop. This condition may also be the first symptom of hemorrhoids.

Learn the grade of your disease and start your treatment!

Hemorrhoids have four grades. In first-degree hemorrhoids, the patient experiences a small amount of bleeding during bowel movements. Hemorrhoids cannot be seen on visual examination. When the inside of the rectum is examined with an anoscope, enlarged hemorrhoidal nodules (cushions) are seen. In second-degree hemorrhoids, the nodules protrude outward during bowel movements and then go back inside on their own. Complaints such as bleeding and itching occur. In third-degree hemorrhoids, the nodules can only be pushed back inside by hand after bowel movements. Complaints such as bleeding, swelling, and itching have also increased. In fourth-degree hemorrhoids, the nodules are now completely outside and do not go back in even when pushed by hand. Bleeding, discharge, itching, discharge, and a feeling of discomfort in the anus occur. Hemorrhoidal cushions are usually located inside, but there are also vein plexuses outside the anus, at the edges. In the early stages of the disease, when internal hemorrhoids are the problem, over time, as a result of enlargement and prolapse, internal and external hemorrhoids merge and cannot be clearly separated from one another.

There are various treatments for hemorrhoids depending on their stage. For first-degree hemorrhoids, drug treatments, regulating bowel habits, avoiding spicy foods, and relieving constipation are usually sufficient. In second-degree hemorrhoids, drug treatments, infrared photocoagulation, and rubber band ligation treatments are applied. The rubber band ligation method is a very suitable method for internal hemorrhoids that have not yet reached the stage requiring surgery. It is a short, painless procedure lasting about 5-10 minutes. Normal life is resumed immediately after the procedure. In third-degree hemorrhoids, rubber band ligation and surgical treatments are applied; in fourth-degree hemorrhoids, only surgical treatments are applied. In surgery, the nodules causing the disease are removed. Among these treatments, the most effective in the long term and the method with the lowest likelihood of recurrence is still surgery. Hemorrhoids can be treated painlessly with the method called the Longo procedure. In this method, a cylindrical ring approximately 2 cm wide is removed from about 4 cm inside the anus, and the two remaining ends are joined end to end using a single-use device. In this way, the hemorrhoidal nodules are pulled back into the rectum, blood flow is interrupted, and the hemorrhoids shrink. Some pain and bleeding during the first bowel movement after surgery is normal. This decreases with subsequent bowel movements. Avoiding constipation, regular use of medications, and warm water sitz baths both relieve pain and speed up healing. After surgery, normal life is resumed after an average of one week of rest. In addition, successful results are also achieved with the technique in which hemorrhoidal vessels are ligated under Doppler ultrasound guidance. Patients who undergo surgery with this technique are sent home the same day, allowing an early return to work.