Sales of hemorrhoid cream tripled after the holidays! "Youth with hemorrhoids", look here: Is it effective to treat hemorrhoids with only ointment?

Author: Sun Yifei, Director of the Medical Education History Research Office, Hebei Medical University

Reviewer: Tang Qin, Director of the Science Popularization Department of the Chinese Medical Association

gossip

If you suffer from hemorrhoids, you can first use ointment to control them.

analyze

Let me first state the conclusion. Whether hemorrhoid ointment is effective or not depends on the specific situation. In most cases, using only ointment is not enough.

Every Spring Festival is a good opportunity for everyone to let go of themselves. Staying up late to watch TV and play mahjong are all popular. As a result, hemorrhoids often come unexpectedly after the Spring Festival, becoming a stumbling block to a smooth return to work. This year's Spring Festival is no exception. As the holiday comes to an end, the sales of hemorrhoid creams are also rising.

Image source: Weibo screenshot

On the bright side, this means that people are taking hemorrhoids seriously and are trying to control them. On the negative side, this means that some people are probably planning to "make do" with hemorrhoid cream. However, for the prevention and treatment of hemorrhoids, relying solely on hemorrhoid cream is far from enough. Making do may delay the disease. Next, let's discuss how to properly deal with hemorrhoids from the perspectives of prevention and treatment.

How to prevent it?

Generally speaking, if you want to know how to prevent hemorrhoids, you must first know the cause of hemorrhoids, and then eliminate the cause, and you can naturally achieve the effect of prevention. So how do hemorrhoids occur? I don't know...

Although hemorrhoids are such a common disease, the pathogenesis of this disease has not been fully determined until now. However, according to the current more authoritative theory, hemorrhoids occur because of the downward movement of the anal cushions, which is caused by increased rectal pressure. The root cause of increased rectal pressure is upright walking.

In short: Being a human being, it is difficult to avoid the pain of hemorrhoids.

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Of course, it is not completely impossible. At least avoiding standing or sitting for long periods of time can play a certain role, which is also the advice given by every anorectal doctor. However, for hard-working workers, avoiding standing or sitting for long periods of time seems to be a luxury, so they can only settle for the second best. Every time they work for a period of time, they must stand up and move around.

In addition to standing or sitting for long periods of time, there is another daily behavior that will greatly increase the pressure in the rectal cavity, that is, defecation. As the saying goes, everyone has a bowel movement, but each has his or her own tricks. Mastering the correct bowel movement technique will put you far ahead.

1. Never bring your cell phone, book, or iPad into the toilet. It is hard to find a theoretical basis for the appropriate time for defecation. But there is no doubt that the pressure in the rectum is very high during the entire defecation process, so it may be important to shorten the time. In other words, anything that makes you linger in the toilet is the root of trouble.

2. Although toilets are good, you should use them in moderation. The structure and function of the human body are mutually unified. Simply put, for millions of years, our ancestors squatted to defecate, and our body structure is particularly suitable for this posture, so try to squat when you can.

3. Never squat on the toilet. The toilet is designed for people to sit on, not to be stepped on. If you squat on the toilet, it will get angry and the consequences will be serious. If this thing breaks, it will bring very bloody consequences.

4. Try to use wet toilet paper to wipe your butt. If you have hemorrhoids, it is not easy to wipe your butt clean. The ingredients in the stool will irritate the anus and cause various discomforts. Of course, you can wash your butt every time you defecate, if conditions permit. If this is not possible, then using wet toilet paper is also a very good choice.

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5. Put a bottle of nitroglycerin in the toilet. For patients with coronary heart disease, this can save lives! For the elderly, the incidence of coronary heart disease is very high, and dry stools are also common. Straining to defecate is an important cause of angina pectoris and myocardial infarction. What's more dangerous is that very few people need to dress neatly and bring their belongings with them when going to the toilet at home, so it is very dangerous to have no medicine on hand when the disease occurs. Keeping a bottle of nitroglycerin in the toilet is definitely a great choice to save a life for a few dollars.

How to treat it?

As mentioned before, the root cause of hemorrhoids is walking upright, so even if we take all precautions, hemorrhoids will always come to us, so it is still necessary to understand how to treat hemorrhoids. Here are three very important and easily overlooked pieces of knowledge.

1. Medicines cannot get rid of hemorrhoids. If the condition is not too serious, you can indeed choose drug treatment: for example, there is blood in the stool, which comes out during defecation, but stops bleeding after defecation; after defecation, hemorrhoids come out of the anus, but they shrink back by themselves after defecation. In this case, you can follow the doctor's advice to take drug treatment. There are many such drugs in the pharmacy. Whether it is hemorrhoid cream or hemorrhoid suppository, it is easy to buy and convenient to use.

This standard is easy to grasp, but remember! Bleeding from benign diseases such as hemorrhoids and anal fissures is fresh blood, bright red, and only occurs during bowel movements, not after defecation. If there is old blood in the stool, that is, dark red, or if the stool turns all black, then it is caused by other reasons. Do not hesitate, go to the hospital as soon as possible! This situation may be a small matter or a big matter, but you will definitely not be able to distinguish it at home, and you will not be able to judge it by calling a doctor. You must go to the hospital for a doctor's examination, so that you can be at ease.

2. Surgery is still necessary. Drug treatment has its limitations. You must go to the hospital in the following cases to let the doctor determine whether surgery is needed: the hemorrhoids protrude from the anus after defecation, and cannot retract by themselves after defecation, and need to be supported by hand to go back, or even severe edema, and can't be inserted. Such a situation requires a doctor to judge. As for whether surgery is needed, everyone's situation is different, so you still need to let the doctor see it to know.

3. Be careful in extreme cases. If you feel hemorrhoids in your anus, which are very painful and lasting, and you can feel that the hemorrhoids are hard and round like a small ball, then it is most likely a thrombosed external hemorrhoid. In this case, topical medications are useless, so go to the hospital and ask a doctor to check it out. Surgery is often the best option.

If the hemorrhoids are protruding from the anus and cannot be pushed back in, and the swelling is getting worse and worse, causing continuous pain, then this is more consistent with the symptoms of incarcerated hemorrhoids. There is only one way to deal with it, which is to have surgery as soon as possible.

In addition, if the pain around the anus is very severe, continuous, and the pain range is quite large, and the skin feels hot when touched, then it is very likely to be an anal abscess. Although this disease is different from hemorrhoids, people occasionally make the mistake. If an anal abscess is confirmed, the patient should put down everything in his hands without hesitation and have surgery immediately without any delay. This disease is a serious mixed infection. If the surgery is delayed for one day, the recovery after the operation will take a long time.

in conclusion

The above long paragraph is not to encourage you to treat yourself as a doctor, but to emphasize that hemorrhoids are very complicated. Don't just apply hemorrhoid ointment on your own. If you have any questions, it's always a good idea to go to the hospital for a check-up.

In the case of severe pain around the anus, the condition is likely to be serious, and going to the hospital as soon as it occurs is the best option.

Editor-in-charge｜Liu Yantong (internship)

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