Why do other people's hemorrhoids get better on their own when left alone, but mine are getting worse?

It is said that nine out of ten people have hemorrhoids. When it comes to hemorrhoids, I guess many people are miserable. If you go to see a doctor, you will feel embarrassed, but if you don't go to see a doctor, you will really have trouble sleeping and eating. It is really too painful...

Is it possible for hemorrhoids to heal on their own? Today, let’s talk about this embarrassing issue of hemorrhoids.

01. The difference between self-healing and cure

Self-healing and cure are two different concepts . Self-healing relies on the body's self-healing power to naturally eliminate discomfort and disease and eventually recover; cure, of course, as many people know, is recovery after treatment.

When the human body is injured, each of us has a self-recovery and regulation mechanism. Our self-healing system repairs the damage and returns to a healthy state. However, sometimes when the damage is too great, the body's self-healing ability is limited, and the speed of self-healing is far behind the speed of loss. This is a big problem, and external intervention is necessary. Some people also believe that medicine exists to assist the body in self-healing and treating diseases.

Just like a common cold, generally speaking, it only takes seven days for the body to heal itself, but something unexpected may happen during this process, and the condition may become more and more serious, so you can only seek help from a doctor and take medicine. Therefore, whether it is self-healing or being cured, the ultimate goal is health, but the means are different.

Back to the question, let me first state the conclusion: hemorrhoids can heal themselves, but it varies from person to person.

The first group of people are pregnant women. Most of them will heal their hemorrhoids after giving birth. This is because the formation of hemorrhoids in pregnant women is caused by the fetus and the hormonal changes of the pregnant woman, not the woman's own problems. The fetus puts a lot of pressure on the pregnant woman's abdomen (delivery also causes increased intra-abdominal pressure), and the hormonal changes lead to enlarged hemorrhoid blood vessels and the appearance of hemorrhoid symptoms.

The second type is a small number of people who suddenly develop hemorrhoids because of "seeking death". At this time, they only need to follow a healthy diet and lifestyle, such as taking more dietary fiber and supplementing fluids, and avoiding spicy food. Hemorrhoid symptoms usually improve and heal on their own.

Everyone's self-healing ability is different. People with strong self-healing abilities are more likely to recover faster. Immunity is also a kind of self-healing ability. When many people talk about improving immunity, they are actually improving the body's self-healing ability.

02. How do hemorrhoids come about?

In addition to knowing the facts, we also need to know the reasons. Let me first share some scientific knowledge about hemorrhoids. Which part of the human body is affected by hemorrhoids? Many people may associate hemorrhoids with hemorrhoids, or "change color when talking about hemorrhoids". In fact, hemorrhoids themselves are not a bad thing. They are a basic part of the human body:

Hemorrhoids are vascular tissue located in the anal canal. Under normal circumstances, they can help control bowel movements, but when the hemorrhoids swell or become inflamed, hemorrhoids appear. It is consistent with the view proposed by Thomson in 1975 that the anal cushions at the lower end of the rectum have pathological hypertrophy.

Therefore, hemorrhoids are a part of the body. They are the anal cushion tissue of the lower end of the rectum and the rich venous plexus in the anal canal. They have the function of preventing the leakage of stool and waste gas. They are necessary, but the "sores" that appear when this part is diseased are what we do not want .

Regarding hemorrhoids, the general view in China is that hemorrhoids can be divided into three types: internal hemorrhoids, external hemorrhoids, and mixed hemorrhoids. The above picture also shows why. Each of these three conditions has its own pain. When internal hemorrhoids are mild, there are no symptoms, but when they gradually become serious, there will be bleeding (fresh blood after defecation) and prolapse problems, and pain will be felt when thrombosis and infection occur; the symptoms of external hemorrhoids include pain when going to the toilet, frequent anal itching, etc. When both occur at the same time, you can imagine how troublesome the "chrysanthemum pain" is.

03. Why do hemorrhoids occur?

Although hemorrhoids are a common condition, unfortunately, there is no clear cause for them, but some factors that increase abdominal pressure (for example, pregnancy) may increase the risk of hemorrhoids. Many people have summarized the factors that increase the risk of hemorrhoids:

-Irregular bowel movements (constipation or diarrhea);

- Lack of exercise;

- Low-fiber diet;

- Excessive intra-abdominal pressure (e.g., prolonged exertion, ascites, intra-abdominal mass, or pregnancy);

- Heredity;

-No valves in the hemorrhoidal veins;

-Increasing age;

Other causes include obesity, long periods of sitting, chronic cough, and pelvic floor dysfunction.

To reiterate, there is no clear cause of hemorrhoids yet, but the factors summarized above may increase the risk of hemorrhoids!

There are currently two explanations for the cause, but they have not yet been confirmed by the mainstream medical community. Controversy is inevitable, after all, the causes of hemorrhoids are too complicated. I will post them here for reference only.

(1) Varicose vein theory. As mentioned earlier, hemorrhoids are formed in the anal cushion tissue composed of the rich venous plexus in the lower end of the rectum and the anal canal, and the venous plexus is the main structure. The varicose vein theory advocates that the formation of hemorrhoids is caused by the pathological expansion of the venous plexus and thrombosis. The occurrence of hemorrhoids is related to the compression of the hemorrhoidal veins, the poor reflux and external stimulation. The various factors summarized above may cause the problem of obstructed rectal venous reflux.

(2) Anal cushion downward movement theory. According to the data, under normal circumstances, the anal cushions are loosely attached to the anal canal muscle wall. When defecating, they are pushed downward by the downward pressure. After defecation, they shrink back into the anal canal with the help of their own contraction. When the elastic retraction ability of the anal cushions weakens, the anal cushions will move downward and become congested, forming hemorrhoids.

04. Self-healing or cure?

Whether hemorrhoids heal on their own or are cured can be determined from the following two points: the first is the cause of hemorrhoids, and the second is the severity of the symptoms.

Let’s talk about the cause first, and reflect on what are the triggers for the formation of hemorrhoids. If it is due to pregnancy, or unhealthy diet and lifestyle for a period of time (diarrhea, spicy food, sitting for a long time, etc.), then this type of hemorrhoids is often short-term and easy to heal on its own.

Besides, the severity of the symptoms, trust your body, and do not feel any discomfort. Hemorrhoids without symptoms do not need treatment, but if you find that you have hemorrhoids, you should adjust your lifestyle, so that the possibility of self-healing is relatively higher.

If the cause of hemorrhoids involves genetic problems, long-term constipation, and age problems, then it is often long-term and the possibility of self-healing is very low. If the symptoms are unbearable and severe itching, blood in the stool, and other symptoms have appeared, then you should seek medical attention in time. Many people have misunderstandings about the treatment of hemorrhoids. The following summarizes the principles that need to be followed in the treatment of hemorrhoids:

1. Asymptomatic hemorrhoids do not need treatment (but if you find that you have hemorrhoids, you should reflect on the causes of hemorrhoids and adjust your lifestyle);

2. The standard of treatment for hemorrhoids is not to eliminate the hemorrhoids themselves, but to eliminate the symptoms;

3. Conservative treatment is preferred;

4. The purpose of surgery is to remove the lesion, eliminate symptoms, and protect healthy tissues. Strictly control the surgical indications, do not arbitrarily expand the scope of surgery, and preserve the anal cushion as much as possible (the anal cushion has the function of preventing stool and waste gas from leaking);

5. Follow the principle of individualized treatment.

When mild symptoms cause some distress to the patient, you can consult a doctor and try to change your lifestyle to improve your self-healing ability, with self-healing as the primary goal. Let me say it again: the treatment standard for hemorrhoids is to eliminate the symptoms of discomfort, not to completely eliminate the hemorrhoids themselves!

Treatment of hemorrhoids requires a combination of causal treatment and symptomatic treatment, treating both the symptoms and the root cause. Symptomatic treatment is important, after all, all the pain of the patient comes from the symptoms themselves, but remember that treating the symptoms does not cure the root cause. The importance of finding the cause of the disease was mentioned earlier, because if the cause is not clear, even if the patient recovers in the short term through treatment, once the cause is not found, there is a high possibility that hemorrhoids will grow again in the future.

Finally, if the symptoms are severe and continue to be unresolved, causing a lot of trouble, then, under the doctor's advice, surgery can be considered for cure. At the same time, it is very important to reflect on your own problems, find out the cause of hemorrhoids, and prevent the problem of hemorrhoids growing again after surgical removal.