Bleeding Hemorrhoids - Symptoms & Diagnosis
Why do hemorrhoids bleed?
When you have hemorrhoids, the swollen vein makes you to have difficulty passing your stool. So when you strain more to release a stool from your rectal column through your anus, the surface of the hemorrhoid tissue can be damaged because of the hardened stool and causing it to bleed. The blood from hemorrhoids looks bright red. You can notice it in the toilet paper or the toilet bowl.
Symptoms of Bleeding Hemorrhoids
Hemorrhoids, or piles, are swollen veins inside your anus for the rectal column. Sometimes you will experience symptoms with your hemorrhoids like pain discomfort, itching bleeding and also burning sensation while you are sitting down or during your bowel movement. If your hemorrhoids are very mild, you may not experience any symptoms.
- Itchy skin around the anus
- Bumps or lumps are formed after the bowel movement (can feel the lump while cleaning yourself after the bowel movement)
- Mucous discharge along with the blood stool
- Painful discharge during the bowel movement
- Bright red, bleeding.
- Irritation while walking, standing, and sitting.
- The stool is stuck inside the anus and difficulty in bowel
- Difficult to clean up after the bowel movement
- Irritated skin, slightly inflamed skin after the bowel (mild burning)
How long does it take to stop bleeding?
Smaller hemorrhoids can be treated within three days, during which time strenuous activities should be avoided. If bleeding persists beyond three days, medical attention is necessary. Visit a physician or make an online inquiry for guidance.
How do you treat bleeding hemorrhoids?
There are few home remedies you can do by grabbing a few items from the kitchen and bathroom to stop bleeding hemorrhoids:
Sitz baths (Not just soaking in your bath tub)
Taking a warm sitz bath is one of the many immediate ways to stop and control the bleeding. Fill a Sitz Bath available at any pharmacy and add lots of Epsom salts (no flavors or essential oils, as they may further irritate the skin). Slide-in till your anal area is covered and enjoy the warmth without feeling the pressure.
Moist Wipes
The anus area is slightly inflamed and might cause pain while wiping after your toileting. To avoid this pain, use moist wipes to clean. Moist wipes without any essential oils or perfumes are good because they might irritate the skin.
Cold Pack
Apply an ice cube directly to the affected and irritated skin
Don’t Strain Your Anus
During defecation avoid straining.
Over-the-counter Drugs
You can also apply OTC drugs that are available for hemorrhoids. You can try a medicated suppositories once or twice per day. The drugs usually carry ingredients such as antinfectives, anti inflammatory like hydrocortisone, and anesthetics like lidocaine.
Try fiber-rich food
High fiber softens the stool and reduces the straining during bowel movements and passes the stool without pressure.
Minimally Invasive Treatment Procedures For Bleeding Hemorrhoids
Smaller hemorrhoids can be treated within three days, during which time strenuous activities should be avoided. If bleeding persists beyond three days, medical attention is necessary. Visit a physician or make an online inquiry for guidance.
The doctor will tie a rubber band to the base of the internal hemorrhoid tissue and restrict the blood flow to that tissue. This causes the tissue to shrink the hemorrhoids.
The hemorrhoid that was treated, hopefully will swell, the band will eventually fall off and the hemorrhoid will scar down. This works fairly well to effectively treat your symptomatic hemorrhoids; you may require multiple treatments as your hemorrhoids are on both sides and sometimes go all the way around.
Complications:
– This technique as all techniques are prone to recurrence and tends to treat the whole problem only partially. You likely will need more than one treatment or perhaps surgery to try and fix your problem more permanently in about 20-50% of cases.
– Extremely rarely you may get very sick and require hospitalization, to treat infection like fistula or abscess either to help to urinate or bleeding
– Infrequently you may have mild to moderate and very rarely severe or prolonged pain, bleeding and swelling of your anal tissues after such procedures.
– No surgical procedure is perfect, unfortunately and regrowing hemorrhoids rates are high.
– You will have a twinge of pain sometimes when this is treated.
We can treat your hemorrhoids conservatively too by using an advanced operation that is significantly less painful, ENDOSCOPIC HEMORRHOIDECTOMY (EH):
This is one where we, through an endoscope cut and remove hemorrhoids:
We recently presented this ground breaking technique at the European Society of Coloproctology 2022:
complications:- This technique as all techniques are prone to recurrence and suffers from same problems with most techniques like RBL and cutting surgery; it only partially treats the whole problem; It only partially treats the whole problem. You likely will need more than one treatment and perhaps more removal or other surgery to try and fix your problem more permanently.- Extremely rarely you may get very sick and require hospitalization, to treat infection like fistula or abscess either to help to urinate or with infection or bleeding.- Infrequently you may have mild to moderate and very rarely severe or prolonged pain, bleeding and swelling of your anal tissues after such procedures.- No surgical procedure is perfect, unfortunately you may need further treatment. We are repeating ourselves here for emphasis!- You will have some slight burning pain and discomfort usually afterwards when hemorrhoids are treated in this way.
Preventive Measures For Bleeding Hemorrhoids
A balanced lifestyle with proper food, sleep, and physical activity can prevent bleeding hemorrhoids. Straining during bowel movements causes hemorrhoids by swelling the veins in the rectal column and anus. Preventing stool hardening can prevent hemorrhoids.
1. Eat fiber foods everyday like banana, guava, pears, strawberries, beets, artichokes, Brussel sprouts, quinoa, almonds, and chia seeds
2. Exercise every morning. Walking, jogging or yoga in the morning can ease up bowel movement. You can have pressure-free restroom time.
3. Take steam or hot showers occasionally, especially when you feel bloated or constipated. This can help you relieve the hardened stool and help your anus to open up gradually for the stool to pass without straining.
4. Use a small stool as a prop to help your intestines to push out the feces easily. Bending the knee with help of a stool can allow your stool to pass without straining.
5. After each bowel movement, wash your anus in the shower and use moist wipes without any essential oils or perfumes.
When to see a doctor?
If your hemorrhoids are lasting more than 3 days, and the bleeding doesn’t stop even after all of your home remedies, or if your discomfort is high and you can not bear your irritation in the anus skin, please contact us to book an appointment.