They are one of those health problems which no one likes to talk about.
Hemorrhoids cause not only physical discomfort, but social discomfort as well.
They're unpleasant on every level, but they are also a very common problem which affects over 50% of people at one time or another.
If you have hemorrhoids, you're hardly alone.
While they're embarrassing and painful, they are thankfully easy to diagnose, since hemorrhoid symptoms, as unpleasant as they are, are difficult to miss.
So what exactly is a hemorrhoid? These are veins in the anal region which have become irritated and inflamed along with the surrounding tissue.
Hemorrhoids are of two basic kinds: external hemorrhoids and internal hemorrhoids.
Both kinds of hemorrhoid symptoms share some similarities and you may have one type or the other or if you are especially unfortunate, you may even have both! The most common of the two are external hemorrhoids, In these cases, the inflamed veins and tissue are on the outer part of the anus.
External hemorrhoid symptoms tend to be less severe than those of internal hemorrhoids and commonly include pain and itching in the region due to the irritation of these delicate tissues.
In some people, external hemorrhoids can cause difficulty with bowel movements and there may be small amounts of blood in the region which will usually be noticed when wiping.
There is sometimes a swollen, stiff "knot" in the affected area.
Internal hemorrhoid symptoms are usually more severe, with the pain and itching being more intense than that experienced by people with external hemorrhoids.
There can be a significant amount of blood when having a bowel movement and the feeling that one needs to move one's bowels constantly.
This is one of the most inconvenient and uncomfortable of hemorrhoid symptoms and is due to the inflamed tissues being located just inside the anus.
Other internal hemorrhoid symptoms include irregularity as well as an increased incidence of constipation, diarrhea or both of these conditions.
Taking care of your health is an important part of life and to take better care of yourself, you'll want to be able to know when you have a problem which requires treatment.
Hemorrhoid symptoms are among those things you need to recognize when they happen so that you can take steps to treat them.
Hemorrhoids may be due to any number of different causes, among them genetic factors.
If you have a hereditary disposition to this uncomfortable and embarrassing problem, you may not be able to reliably prevent them, but there are some things you can do to make them come along less often.
A healthy diet which is high in fiber and meets all of your nutritional requirements can help.
So can regular exercise and generally being in good shape; when you're overweight, you have a significantly higher risk of hemorrhoids.
Pregnant women are also at an increased risk of developing hemorrhoids and should make sure to eat well, get regular low impact exercise such as walking and everyone can lower their risk by keeping their anal regions clean to prevent inflammation and infection.
When you can recognize hemorrhoid symptoms, you'll be able to identify and treat the problem sooner so that you can get the relief you need from the pain and itching of hemorrhoids.