What You should know about Battling Piles

Piles, or hemorrhoids, are one of the most annoying medical issues you can have. That being said, piles are far more common than most people think. Dealing with them takes time and patience, but you can definitely experience positive results in a fairly short period of time. 

Today we’ll try to summarize everything you need to know about piles, what causes them, how to treat them, and more. Let’s get started! 

What Exactly are Piles?

Our bodies are full of blood vessels, large and small. This also applies to your digestive tract. Piles or hemorrhoids represent a condition where the blood vessels located at the very rim of your rectum become swollen. 

It is important to understand that piles can be internal, which most of them are, but also external. Internal piles or hemorrhoids are contained inside the anal cavity and are generally known to produce discomfort in most cases.. 

The external hemorrhoids are the ones that can become extremely painful. As you can probably tell from their name, they appear on the outside of the anus, which makes life extremely difficult, especially when you need to spend a considerable amount of time sitting down. 

Are Piles a Serious Condition? 

In most cases, piles create little to no serious issues aside from discomfort. External piles are a slightly different story. Depending on how big they are and what form of treatment you’ve decided to follow, external piles can be very painful. 

That being said, there are several instances when you should seek medical attention. 

• If your piles are causing pain, discomfort, and bleeding in combination with increased body temperature 
• If your piles are inflamed and discharging pus. 

In these cases, you should consult with your doctor to see what’s the best course of treatment. There is a very small chance that piles or hemorrhoids become such an issue that you need to look into surgical solutions right away. In this way, you will be preventing certain complications from happening.

What Causes Piles? 

Alright, now that we have the worst case and most unlikely scenarios out of the way, let’s talk about what causes hemorrhoids. Piles, or more specifically the veins where piles tend to appear, are constantly under varying degrees of pressure. 

Your rectal area is constantly contracting and relaxing as you go about your day. The pressure that is produced by this cycle can cause piles. In fact, there has been a slight increase in pile cases ever since people started spending more time in the restroom for no reason other than to use their phones. 

Sitting for long periods of time, especially in the restroom, can build enough pressure to cause piles. 

Being obese is another massive factor and so is straining during your visit to the restroom. Generally speaking, there are many totally inconspicuous causes of piles including weightlifting. As we become older, our chances of developing piles due to any of these reasons only increase. 

How to Treat Piles? 

Constipation is a very common cause of piles. The modern diet of an average person is far from optimized. Hence, constipation runs rampant, no pun intended. 

In a way, making sure that your diet is diverse, full of fiber, and generally healthy, will reduce your chances of developing hemorrhoids in the future, but heal your hemorrhoids as soon as possible. The idea behind a balanced diet is to have your stool become slippery for the lack of a better term. You don’t want to be forcing anything while you’re doing the No.2. 

Easing the Symptoms 

Symptoms of piles are what makes them so terrible. You’ll notice itchiness, pain during wiping, pain while sitting, general discomfort, and a sensation that you didn’t unload everything you had to unload. Sometimes it might feel as if nothing can stop the suffering. Fortunately, that’s not exactly true. 

Here are a few things you can do to ease pain and discomfort: 

• Take a quick shower – There’s nothing better to soothe the itchiness and irritation caused by piles than to take a quick shower. The idea here is to wash the inflamed area, clean it up completely, and cool it off with water. A shower will provide you with an immediate sense of relief. 
• Use wet wipes – Wet wipes can make a world of difference when you need to wipe while dealing with piles. You’re essentially achieving the same effect as you did with a shower, only immediately. Just beware of alcohol-infused wipes. They will cause a bottom burn. 
• Treat pain with paracetamol – Paracetamol is an analgesic that offers pain relief in a fairly safe manner. Of course, check in with your doctor before taking any medication. 

Exercise and Hemorrhoids 

Working out and staying fit has a long-lasting positive effect on your chances of developing piles in the future. However, not all forms of working out are necessarily useful. Lifting weights, especially if you’re lifting heavy, can be detrimental to your recovery and further prevention. 

On the other hand, doing aerobic exercises where the goal is to move instead of moving weight, is helpful. Aerobic exercises such as running, fast walking and similar, will stimulate your bowel function, thus allowing you to either prevent or minimize the effects of constipation. No constipation means lower chances of hemorrhoids. 

Coffee

As we near the end of our discussion here, we need to touch upon coffee. Coffee is the fuel that runs the world. Most of us drink it, and many can’t go without it. The issue with coffee is the following — it’s can help you go in the morning, but drinking too much can cause constipation. Does this mean that you should completely forgo drinking coffee? No, not really. You should find a dose that works for you but doesn’t make you constipated. 

Long Term Solutions 

Long-term solutions for hemorrhoids do exist. Those who are dealing with this issue on a daily basis will be happy to hear that you can get rid of hemorrhoids once and for all. There are two options — laser removal (or more invasive procedures for severe cases) and a combination of diet, medications, and therapy. 

Naturally, it’s highly recommended that you start with the latter and only resort to invasive treatments if you absolutely have to. The best course of action is to live a healthy lifestyle, consult with a doctor regularly, and eat the right food always. If these things are done, you will have less to fear about battling piles.