Clinical Trial Finder Team
Keywords: Hemorrhoids, Hemorrhoid Symptoms, Clinical Trials for Hemorrhoids
Quick Links:
- What are Hemorrhoids?
- Symptoms of Hemorrhoids
- Causes of Hemorrhoids
- Risk Factors for Hemorrhoids
- Treatments for Hemorrhoids
- When to see a doctor
- Prevention of Hemorrhoids
- MedBuzz Recent Clinical Trial Findings
What are Hemorrhoids?
Hemorrhoids, or piles, are swollen and enlarged veins in or around the anus. The hemorrhoidal tissue is made up of blood vessels, veins and some muscle that lies beneath the lining in the rectum and anus, and are ‘pillow-like’ shapes. They are very important for proper bowel and anus blood supply. The condition develops when these ‘pillows’ become swollen and distended.
As you age, developing piles becomes more common; the exact cause is generally unknown but can be due to a number of factors. Some factors include straining to lift heavy objects, pushing during pregnancy, and being overweight. Of the factors, the most common is excessive strain during bowel movements. Over 50% of people over 50 have experienced hemorrhoids in their lives.
Symptoms of Hemorrhoids
There are three types of hemorrhoids: internal, external and thrombosed. Symptoms differ depending on the type you experience.
Internal: These occur inside the rectum. You usually can’t see them and they generally don’t cause pain, but may hurt passing stool or straining. Symptoms may include:
- Blood in the stool: Bright red blood either on the stool or on the tissue
- A distended or protruding hemorrhoid at the anal opening: This can cause pain and irritation.
External: These develop under the skin on the outside of the anus. They’re often uncomfortable and painful. Symptoms may include:
- Itching and irritation around the area
- Pain
- Swelling
- Bleeding
Thrombosed: These occur when a blood clot forms within external hemorrhoids, usually taking the form of a hard lump. Symptoms may include:
- Severe ongoing pain
- Pressure
- Swelling
- Inflammation
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Causes of Hemorrhoids
There are several factors that can cause piles. Being aware of them can help reduce your chance of developing them or making your current condition worse.
These factors include:
- Chronic constipation or diarrhea: Piles can develop from consistent straining and struggle to pass stools, often experienced with chronic constipation.
- Sitting for long periods on the toilet
- Straining during bowel movements
- Having anal intercourse: additional pressure or movement within the anal tract can cause hemorrhoids
- Genetics or family history of hemorrhoids
- Regular heavy lifting or weight lifting: weight lifting results in enormous pressure in your veins, and can affect those in your rectum or anus
A major factor associated with the cause of hemorrhoids is the change in blood flow in the rectum and anus. When blood doesn’t move naturally, pooling can result in vessels causing hemorrhoids.
Risk Factors for Hemorrhoids
Risk factors that may increase your risk of developing hemorrhoids include:
- Low fiber diets: These often cause constipation
- Being overweight: Excessive fat on the body can put pressure on the hemorrhoidal tissue
- Age: Connective tissues in the rectum and anus become weaker as we age
- Pregnancy: During pregnancy, there is increased pressure in the abdomen, which may cause the veins in the rectum and anus to become enlarged and be more prone to hemorrhoids. These usually go away after pregnancy. Additionally, during pushing during birth, hemorrhoids might occur.
- Standing occupations: Standing for long periods can increase your risk
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Treatments for Hemorrhoids
For smaller hemorrhoids, they can usually be treated with lifestyle changes, home remedies or over-the-counter medication. These include:
- Fiber: in order to soften the stool and reduce the amount of straining during bowl movements, eating a higher-fiber diet can help.
- Warm baths: Soaking the anal area in warm water can relieve some symptoms
- Ice the area
- Maintaining a clean anus: this will reduce the risk of infection of increased inflammation around the hemorrhoid
- Avoid hard seats: Sitting on soft, cushioned surfaces rather than hard ones might help reduce swelling and prevent irritation
- Over the counter medications: Cream or suppositories can be easy to apply and result in hemorrhoid reduction
- Pain relief: If your hemorrhoids are causing paid during the treatment or recovery process, you can complement your treatment with regular pain medications such as Tylenol, Advil or Paracetamol
Treatment of minor hemorrhoids should take between 1-2 weeks. If symptoms persist, speak with your GP.
Severe Cases
For more severe or persistent cases, other treatments for hemorrhoid removal might be necessary.
- External hemorrhoid thrombectomy: For thrombosed hemorrhoids, your doctor can remove the hemorrhoid under local anesthesia.
- Rubber band ligation: For more severe internal hemorrhoids, doctors can use a small instrument to place one or two tight rubber bands around the base of hemorrhoids to cut of circulation. The body then naturally drops the dead hemorrhoid within a week and is usually passed in a stool.
- Sclerotherapy injection: For internal or external hemorrhoids, you can receive an injection that causes the tissue to shrink.
- Coagulation: For internal hemorrhoids, coagulation uses heat, infrared light or a laster to harden and shrivel the hemorrhoid, causing it to and drop off.
- Hemorrhoid stapling or hemorrhoidopexy: For internal hemorrhoids, this procedure blocks blood flow to the hemorrhoidal tissue by stapling the hemorrhoid back into position.
- Hemorrhoidectomy: For more severe cases of both internal and external hemorrhoids, a hemorrhoidectomy might be required which involves removing hemorrhoid and surrounding tissue via a small incision. This is performed by a surgeon under local, general or spinal anesthesia.
Prevention of Hemorrhoids
Among the best ways to prevent hemorrhoids include keeping soft stools, good circulation and taking care of your digestion. There’s no way to completely ensure you won’t develop this condition in the future but following these guidelines will minimise your risk.
- Keep hydrated: Try to drink between 6 – 8 glasses of water per day in order to help keep your stools soft
- High-fiber diet: Keeping a high-fiber diet, which includes 2-3 servings of vegetables, fruits and whole grains a day, softens the stool and allows your body to pass it easier. If you’re unable to get enough fiber in your diet from your foods, you can take fiber supplements to support healthy bowel movements.
- Avoid straining when you’re passing stool: Resist from holding your breath, pushing hard or straining when passing stools. You can make larger bowel movements easier by placing a step or box under your feet while on the toilet
- Avoid waiting once you feel the urge: Avoiding passing bowel movements could wrestling in drier stools, making it harder for you to pass.
- Maintain a good exercise routine: Exercise improves circulation, prevents constipation and reduces pressure on veins when stationary for too long. Additionally, it can assist in weight loss that might also be increasing your risk of developing hemorrhoids.
- Avoid sitting for long periods on the toilet: This can increase pressure on the veins in the anus
When to see a doctor
Passing blood in your stool can mean a number of other things including colon or anal cancer, so it’s important to speak to your GP as soon as you notice it, especially if this is in combination with a change in bowel habits, colour or consistency.
If you have hemorrhoids that don’t improve after treatment, speak to your doctor about other options. If you start losing large amounts of blood through your anus, or begin to feel lightheaded or dizzy, seek immediate medical care
During your examination, your GP will ask you to describe your symptoms so it is best to keep a note of the details of your bowel movements leading up to your visit. Diagnosis of this condition usually includes a physical exam of the anal area, collection of stool samples, and a rectal exam. Other tests might be required to rule out other causes of blood in the stool.
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MedBuzz Clinical Trial Findings
We do the research so you can be better informed!
The majority of clinical trials for hemorrhoids is based on comparing the success of one surgical treatment to the other, and as such, there has been little explored in the treatment of hemorrhoids. Below is the current exploration of clinical trials for this condition:
- Leek (Allium iranicum (Wendelbo)) leaves extract cream: In a study of 80 patients with symptomatic hemorrhoids, those who received the leak cream experienced a significant reduction in bleeding severity, anal pain and itching, and discomfort whilst passing stool compared to those who took placebo.
Sources:
EverydayHealth.com
Mayoclinic.org
Health.harvard.edu
Healthline.com
