| Piles |
The good news - bleeding from the bottom is common, natural - especially in younger people - and most diagnoses of "piles" probably aren't piles at all!
If we do go to the doctor/specialist with bleeding from the bottom, we're often told "it's probably piles."
Doctors think this reassures us but many people don’t like the idea of having "piles", believing they must have done something wrong (bad diet, bad habits, straining etc) to get them
Bleeding affects one in five of us in any year and can continue on and off throughout our lives.
The bleeding, usually short bursts for a few days at a time, comes from "cushions" around the anus - natural spongy bulges of tissue and blood vessels which close the anal canal to hold in gases.
Pass a hard motion or strain and they can bleed easily, especially when we're younger.
Bleeding for no reason is uncommon. It usually goes away with no treatment.
Perhaps the word "piles" should be kept for patients whose "cushions" are so large they come through the anal canal and the patient has to push them back (prolapsed piles). These may need surgical treatment.
If you are straining and grape like little lumps appear around the anus, disappearing when you stop straining, they're normal too. Occasionally a painful clot can form in one of them - that's known as a thrombosed pile.
What can be done to control bleeding?
- Change your diet to eat more fibre so that the motions are softer and easier to pass.
- Straining a lot is an important cause of piles - some straining to start the bowels working is normal but try to avoid excessive straining.
- Try buying products at the chemists - though, as bleeding tends to come and go, it can be hard to know if the product has worked or not.
- If the bleeding is a nuisance and you are referred to hospital, injections or rubber banding can control in the short term.
Many patients get bleeding on and off in early adult life, whatever is done to them. All hospital treatments involve some discomfort but this usually settles down quickly.
- Larger piles - banding with a rubber band to shrink them. Quick but does not always work.
- Really large piles - usually surgery is the only option but last resort. Recovery can be painful for a couple of weeks, especially when going to the toilet.
- Laser, infra-red and cryotherapy treatments have been tried in the past but are not usual treaments at the moment.
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| Women between 20-40 are most likely to have bleeding from the bottom, usually after having a baby. Young men also commonly bleed, but this happens less as we get older |
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