Every now and again in our lives, we may find ourselves going to the bathroom often. Too often. Or maybe not enough. Diarrhea and constipation – neither matter is pleasant to think about, much less experience. Besides, they couldn’t get any worse, could they? The sad fact is that yes, both those experiences can lead to yet another problem, a hemorrhoid one.
That’s always the last thing you want to hear. Not only do you find yourself faced with a “going” problem, but now you have to deal with pain and discomfort off the toilet? Not a good time. Most people assume that only those of a certain medical condition or age will develop hemorrhoids. This is not true. Nearly everybody can develop them, and already has, sometime in their life. When diarrhea and constipation enter the picture, your chances jump with a sudden increased risk of developing them, as both bowel problems act as causes of bleeding hemorrhoids.
You may be sitting there finding it strange that two problems on such opposite ends can lead to the same issue. With diarrhea, you feel the need to have bowel movements more often, whether or not there are any actual bowels to be had. On the other hand, if you are stuck with constipation, you are simply having trouble passing any stool at all. So what do these have in common?
Straining. Indeed, it is not the bowels themselves that cause the pain and itching, but rather the pressure you are placing upon your rectal area that leads to these things. Diarrhea and constipation are both causes of bleeding hemorrhoids because every time you take a seat in the bathroom, you probably find yourself pushing and straining to empty your bowels, even if there is very little there. You feel the need, so you oblige. However, your body normally acts on its own, but when these problems crop up, that normal reaction is a little off-kilter so you make up for it yourself. All this extra pressure only serves to engorge the blood vessels in or around the anus. They swell and can become aggravated, leaving you to deal with the burning and discomfort.
Talking to your doctor or pharmacist about all these problems will offer up some solutions. If you haven’t developed any problems yet, but still suffer from either diarrhea or constipation, avoid extra strain. Instead, seek out possible treatments for your respective difficulty. Find out the cause of your diarrhea and take any necessary medication or eat foods that can help firm up your stool. Likewise with constipation, medication can also help, or perhaps the simple answer is that you need more fiber in your diet.
Once these problems have abated, do what you can to avoid them in the future. Eat healthy foods, exercise on a regular basis, and let your body do what it does naturally when you use the bathroom. If you can solve your “going” dilemma, there’s no need to strain yourself at other times. You’ll only irritate your blood vessels and develop the very thing you wanted to avoid in the first place.