Hemorrhoids are one of the most common benign anal diseases, and although many people suffer from them, they don’t understand them. The lack of common knowledge about the differential diagnosis and treatment of hemorrhoids, and the shyness to consult the doctor because of the privacy of the diseased area, often delaying treatment, eventually leading to long-term recurrent attacks, seriously affecting the quality of life, and even inducing other diseases. 1.What are hemorrhoids? Hemorrhoids are venous masses formed by varicose and stagnant plexus under the mucous membrane at the end of the rectum and the skin of the anal canal, or local skin growths; including internal, external and mixed hemorrhoids. It’s a common occurrence in people who stand or sit for a long time, people who are often constipated or have diarrhea, and pregnant women. 2.How can I diagnose myself with hemorrhoids? Usually, self-diagnosis of hemorrhoids can be judged by the following symptoms. External hemorrhoids: you can usually feel the swelling growing around the anus; it rarely bleeds, but it can be painful, especially after a long period of friction or sitting, and there is also local dampness, itching, and swelling. Internal hemorrhoid: internal hemorrhoid grows in the anus, and there is no feeling in the early stage, but it can develop into a small amount of fresh blood when defecating, or blood spraying when constipated, and in serious cases, pink or dark red mucosa-like tissue can be seen outside the anus, and in a few patients, it can be prolapsed and cannot be returned to the anus and “stuck in the main”, leading to ischemic necrosis and ulceration of the internal hemorrhoid, at which time The pain is severe. The actual hemorrhoids can be a combination of all the symptoms of internal and external hemorrhoids. 3. How to distinguish hemorrhoids from rectal cancer and anal fissures? Hemorrhoids are usually bright red blood, without mucus and pus secretions, and dripping or spraying blood when defecating. Differentiation between hemorrhoids and anal fissures: Both have the same symptoms of bleeding and pain, but bleeding from anal fissures is usually in the form of dripping or blood on the stool paper, accompanied by severe tearing-like pain, which is often relieved gradually only after half an hour to an hour after defecation, while bleeding from hemorrhoids is often painless. Anal fissures and hemorrhoids can exist at the same time. 4.How to prevent hemorrhoids? Preventing hemorrhoids is all about a reasonable diet, avoiding constipation, using more vegetables, fruits, beans and other diets that contain more vitamins and fiber, and less spicy and stimulating foods: such as chili, mustard, ginger, etc.; drink more water and do proper physical exercise, thus helping to promote intestinal peristalsis and improve sleep quality; avoid squatting for a long time, and special occupations such as drivers and salesmen should change their position regularly and perform anal lift training to In addition to this, you should ensure that the anal area is dry and clean, change your underwear regularly and wash your anus with warm water daily. 5.What other diseases can hemorrhoids induce? First of all, hemorrhoids can induce anemia due to long-term blood in the stool, and patients often appear pale, weak, dizzy, drowsy and other symptoms; secondly, anal pain and blood in the stool can lead to fear of defecation and constipation, which can induce constipation, which can aggravate hemorrhoids and eventually enter a vicious circle; hemorrhoids can also induce a variety of anal diseases, such as anal papilloma, anal fissure, anal sinusitis, etc., which eventually lead to the coexistence of multiple diseases and increase the difficulty of treatment. Hemorrhoids can also lead to perianal dampness and bacterial growth, inducing local skin diseases and gynecological diseases, manifesting as local itching, dampness, and increased vaginal discharge in women. 6.How to treat hemorrhoids? The treatment of hemorrhoids can be divided into conservative treatment and surgical treatment depending on the severity of the condition. Conservative treatment of hemorrhoids is often based on oral medication and local anal medication, oral medication is often based on laxatives to relieve constipation, local medication is based on the application of suppositories in the anus and external fumigation with lotions, the purpose is to reduce inflammation, swelling, pain and bleeding; at this time, dietary adjustments, good lifestyle and relief of psychological stress are also extremely important for the relief of hemorrhoid symptoms. If the hemorrhoid condition is serious and medication cannot effectively relieve the symptoms, surgery is needed to achieve good results. 7.What is minimally invasive surgical treatment for hemorrhoids? Minimally invasive surgery for hemorrhoids has the characteristics of small wound, less bleeding during surgery, less post-operative patient pain, quick recovery, and small and beautiful surgical scar compared to traditional surgery. Therefore, it has become more and more popular among doctors and patients in recent years. At present, the main minimally invasive treatment techniques for hemorrhoids are automatic ligation, suprahemorrhoidal mucosal resection and stapling, ultrasound-guided suprahemorrhoidal artery ligation, internal hemorrhoid sclerotherapy injection, ultrasound knife, etc. Specialists with extensive experience choose one or more surgical techniques to apply to a patient’s hemorrhoid surgery according to the patient’s condition and systemic status, in order to achieve the best surgical results, minimize the incision, reduce bleeding The procedure can be performed in a way that minimizes the incision, reduces bleeding, avoids pain, and shortens the duration of surgery and hospitalization while achieving the best possible results. As a result, hemorrhoid surgery has gradually become more acceptable to the majority of patients. 8.Will I have difficulty defecating or become incontinent after hemorrhoid surgery? Difficulty in defecation and fecal incontinence are the more serious surgical sequelae after hemorrhoid surgery. Difficulty in defecation can be caused by insufficient preservation of the skin of the anal canal during surgery or post-operative trauma infection leading to anal stenosis, or post-operative pain leading to spasm of the anal sphincter; fecal incontinence is mainly due to large damage to the anal sphincter during surgery and excessive removal of the hemorrhoid nucleus. Therefore, patients should choose the surgery and post-operative treatment by an anorectal specialist in a regular medical institution to avoid the possibility of difficult defecation and fecal incontinence after hemorrhoid surgery. As with most diseases, hemorrhoids are still a matter of prevention, not treatment! If you have symptoms such as blood in the stool, prolapse, or pain, you should first identify them with other diseases, especially rectal cancer; secondly, choose a reasonable stepwise and comprehensive treatment; if surgery is needed, you should choose the surgical method scientifically according to your condition and systemic status so that you can cure your hemorrhoids painlessly or with minimal pain! It is important to note that hemorrhoid surgery is not a radical surgery and there is still a possibility of recurrence if you do not pay attention to your lifestyle and bowel habits!