Suffering through the pain, irritation, burning and itching sensations that are commonly associated with hemorrhoids is now a thing of the past. New techniques in treatment that can be completed in your specialist or doctor’s office in just a few minutes are highly effective in treating this condition for the vast majority of patients.
Diagnosis of Hemorrhoids
The first thing that your doctor or specialist will do is to determine the type of hemorrhoids that you have. This could be either internal or external, based on the location of the hemorrhoid in the anal canal. Internal hemorrhoids occur in the lower part of the rectum but not external to the body. In some situations the internal hemorrhoid can swell and protrude through the anus, a painful condition known as a prolapsed hemorrhoid.
External hemorrhoids are around the anus and just below the surface of the skin. However, they too can swell when a blood clot forms internally, resulting in a bump or larger lump that is very painful. This is known as a thrombosed hemorrhoid.
The symptoms of both can include bleeding and pain, although most internal hemorrhoids will not be painful. Lumps that remain around the anus from external hemorrhoids or lumps that retract with internal hemorrhoids can also be signs of both types.
Diagnosis is fairly simple for either option and may include a physical examination and a rectal exam as well as an anoscopy or proctoscopy to allow the doctor to view the tissue inside of the rectum. For internal hemorrhoids another scope, known as a sigmoidoscopy, can be used to confirm a diagnosis.
Treatment Options
Unless the hemorrhoids are significant and severe, your doctor may recommend changes in diet, soaking in a warm bath and using a variety of different treatment options such as a zinc oxide cream. He or she may also recommend a high fiber diet and talk to you about changing your bathroom habits to include going to the bathroom when you feel the urge and treating any chronic or occasional constipation and diarrhea.
However, when there is significant pain and a clot within a thrombosed hemorrhoid non-invasive or minimally invasive medical procedures are now available. These can be completed in your doctor’s office and typically require no change in your daily routine before or after the procedure.
For thrombosed hemorrhoids, a small incision is made in the vein and the clot is removed, also allowing the additional blood to drain at the same time. This eliminates swelling, pain and discomfort and allows the vein to naturally retract into the body.
For internal hemorrhoids, a small laser is used to pulse warm light at the top of the swollen blood vessel. This creates coagulation, preventing blood flow to the vein and reducing swelling in a very short period of time without any pain and without any down time.
To learn more about the treatment options for hemorrhoids visit us online. We are easy to find at www.chicagohemorrhoid.com.
