Do you know the different Hemorrhoid treatments? Dr. Luján, expert in General Surgery and Digestive System and European specialist in Coloproctology (EBSQ-c), gives you more information about each treatment in the following article.
Hemorrhoids affect a great many people and treating them in time can prevent possible future problems. Some treatments are surgery, sclerosis or ligation of hemorrhoids, laser or anti-hemorrhoidal creams. However, not all treatments are recommended.
Hemorrhoids: what are they?
Hemorrhoids affect more than 50% of the population and are the price we have to pay for our bipedalism. They are physiological vascular structures that we all have and, when they present symptoms, it is due to blood congestion in these vascular structures. The main symptom is the appearance of blood with bowel movements, often accompanied by itching, stinging and irritation and, when advanced, prolapse occurs with bowel movements.
Prevention of hemorrhoids
The best way to prevent the appearance of hemorrhoids is to practice a diet rich in fiber and water, avoiding the abuse of spicy foods, spices and alcohol, as well as exercise, such as walking or hiking. Also, avoid spending too much time on the toilet, as this favors pelvic congestion and the appearance of hemorrhoids.
Treatment of hemorrhoids: surgery, sclerosis or ligation, laser and creams.
When symptoms occur, treatment in Coloproctology should be as early as possible, to prevent them from evolving to higher degrees. Hemorrhoids should only be treated if they show symptoms, as they are physiological structures.
The usual surgical treatment is the removal of hemorrhoids (hemorrhoidectomy), which carries a deservedly bad reputation for postoperative pain, so some patients avoid surgery and suffer in silence. However, there are other alternatives to this treatment, such as sclerosis or ligation of hemorrhoids with elastic bands. These techniques are minimally invasive and do not require hospital admission or anesthesia, in addition to being painless, so the patient can lead a normal life after treatment.
However, when hemorrhoids are very advanced, this type of treatment is not effective and conventional surgery is used. Hence the importance of treating hemorrhoids when the first symptoms appear and not waiting for them to evolve to more advanced stages.
On the other hand, there is also the laser for the treatment of hemorrhoids. They say that it causes less edema, bleeds less and the postoperative period is less painful. It should be noted that these claims are not based on scientific studies and the benefits it may produce are questioned. The fact that it is laser generates a false confidence in the patient and they ask for it with wrong ideas.
Antihemorrhoidal creams should only be used in acute episodes of hemorrhoids, because they produce symptomatic relief due to the corticosteroids they contain. On the contrary, if they are used chronically for months or years, they are harmful because they produce dermatitis in the perineal area, which aggravates the symptoms of hemorrhoids.
More information can be found at: www.clinicadecoloproctologia.es