External Hemorrhoids

Irritating, painful, swollen, and possibly hard to live with, hemorrhoids affect more than half the population. It’s true, more than half of all people will at some point in life, experience the pain and discomfort brought on by hemorrhoids.

How do you find the cause if it has happened to you? There are a few things you can look at to determine the causes of external hemorrhoids in your own life:

• Evaluate your bowel habits. If you are easily constipated, experience problems with occasional diarrhea, or are just plain irregular, you may have hemorrhoids because of those things. When you have additional pressure on your rectum from having to strain, or you become irritated from having diarrhea, the veins may become irritated and swell. You may also become injured from wiping too hard or being too rough.

• Take a look at your diet. Is there enough fiber to keep things moving well and easily? Are you eating whole grains and low fat? Diet plays a bigger role in your health than many things do, including your rectum and anus. Not eating properly to maintain proper bowel movements may be one external hemorrhoids cause.

• Do you get enough exercise? If you are living a sedentary life, you may be sitting more than you should. This puts more pressure on your rectum, and may cause you to become more easily irritated down there. Exercise plays the role of increasing your circulation, through your whole body. Since hemorrhoids are from irritated and swollen veins, it only stands to reason that if you have healthy circulation you will be less likely to suffer from hemorrhoid.

• Could stress be one of the causes of external hemorrhoids for you? Sometimes stress can cause your body to react in ways you might not expect stress to cause. Getting hemorrhoids is one of those ways. Whether you have medical problems which produce stress, job related stress, or emotional reactions that are stressful, you may notice more of a problem when your stress level is high. Learning how to control stress is one way to help avoid hemorrhoid problems.

• Is it genetic? Sometimes hemorrhoid tendencies run in families. If your parents or grandparents had hemorrhoid problems, you may be more likely to be prone to them too. That would only mean that you need to keep on top of the possibility of a problem so it doesn’t become a real problem.

Whatever the external hemorrhoids cause for you, finding it should be easy once you begin to take stock of your life and be honest about possible causes. Finding a solution begins with identifying the cause. It may be as simple as taking an honest look at your life.