What Are Piles?
Piles or haemorrhoids are swellings around the anus caused by enlarged or engorged veins.
Piles Symptoms
Piles may present as a lump at the anus or the lump may come out only when passing motion. Piles may also cause bleeding, typically dripping into the toilet bowl after opening the bowels. If the piles prolapse out and the blood inside clots, the piles become very painful. Patients may have difficulty sitting down. Not all of the above symptoms are caused by piles. I have personally seen many cases where the cause of the lump or bleeding is something else. Common examples include:
- anal fissures
- anal polyps
- mucosal prolapse
- perianal fistula
- cancer
What Causes Piles?
Piles are most commonly caused by constipation. When your stools are hard, you have to strain hard during bowel movement. This increases the pressure inside your abdomen and also in the veins. Over time, your veins become swollen and engorged. Sometimes, when the veins get very large, they may prolapse or slip out through the anus. Chronic laxative abuse can also cause excessive straining. Pregnancy causes piles too. As your baby presses on your pelvic veins, this partially obstructs the flow of blood back to your heart and results in rising pressure in your pelvic veins, including the veins around the anus. Piles can also be caused by liver disease like cirrhosis, tumours in the pelvis and abnormal vessels around the anus.
Types of Piles
There are two types of piles: external and internal piles. External piles appear as a bluish lump at the anus. If a clot forms inside, it can become sensitive & painful. Internal piles are usually not visible. They often cause bleeding especially when opening bowels. If they get very large, they can prolapse or slip out as a lump at the anus. When this happens, the piles can become very painful. Often there is a combination of internal and external piles.
Treatment for Piles
If you have been told you have piles, do not delay in seeing a doctor. If you come to me for a check-up, I will conduct a detailed examination to make sure it is really piles and not something else. You’d also be advised in terms of treatment. You can then decide exactly how far you want to go and which treatment to opt for.
4 Common Ways To Treat Piles
If your piles are small and do not cause much trouble, they can be left alone. Small piles which bleed can be helped with medication. This includes medication to deal with constipation if you suffer from constipation. In terms of larger piles, they can be “banded” which means placing a small tight rubber band at the base of the pile. This stops blood flow into the pile so that the pile can shrink down. Later, the rubber band will fall off on its own. Another way to treat piles is by injection. This method has become less and less popular because it causes bleeding and discomfort. If you have very large or multiple piles, I suggest you remove them using surgery.
Using Surgery To Treat Piles
Many people are now opting for stapled haemorrhoidectomy (PPH haemorrhoidectomy) as a treatment method. In this treatment, we use a circular stapler to excise and staple the piles. As the operation is carried out on the inside, you won’t see any visible scars. There is considerably less pain using this method and healing is also faster compared to conventional surgery. However, not everyone can be treated this way. If your piles are not suitable for this method, you can still have them removed using conventional surgery, that is, removing the piles and then suturing the wound. You then have to wash twice daily with salt baths until the wounds heal, which takes about 3 to 4 weeks. Alternatives to stapling include ultrasound guided suture ligation of the piles as well as laser haemorrhoidectomy. Each method has its strengths and weaknesses.