EMN blog, The Procedural Pause. Roberts J & Roberts M - Augustt 1, 2016
"We are going to get up close and personal this month to talk about hemorrhoids. You should be familiar with these painful offenders because half to two-thirds of people between 45 and 65 will suffer from their cruelty. (Am Surg 2009;75[8]:635.) Patients may seek emergency department care if they experience bleeding or severe pain from hemorrhoids.
Hemorrhoids are highly vascular structures that are round or oval in shape. They arise from the rectal and anal canal, and sometimes appear around the anus itself. It is important to note that hemorrhoids do not have arteries and veins but special blood vessels called sinusoids, connective tissue, and smooth muscle. (Beck, DE, et al. The ASCRS Textbook of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Second Edition. New York, NY: Springer New York, 2015, p. 175.) Hemorrhoids at times can exist within the anal canal and be completely painless because sensory innervation to the rectum is primarily visceral. (Roberts JR, Hedges JR, et al. Clinical Procedures in Emergency Medicine. Elsevier, Philadelphia, PA, 2015, p. 880.)
Hemorrhoids protrude around the anus and swell, causing significant pain, when they become inflamed or irritated. The straining from constipation and poor diet choices may be the main cause of hemorrhoids, although lack of exercise, aging, pregnancy, and hereditary may also contribute to their formation. Very rarely are hemorrhoids cancerous. Fissures or tears in the skin around the rectum may occasionally accompany hemorrhoids.
Not all external hemorrhoids contain clots; some are just swollen and irritated and not amenable to incision. Some hemorrhoids are swollen, soft, and compressible, and may be tender. If the hemorrhoid is not tense or a clot is not palpated, topical corticosteroids and sitz baths are the best intervention.
Thrombosed external hemorrhoids are readily drained in the ED. Surgical intervention for internal hemorrhoids is not an outpatient procedure and usually is a last resort. Hemorrhoid surgery can be a difficult procedure for many to endure, and patients who suffer from long-term hemorrhoid complaints may benefit from a visit to a colorectal surgeon. A colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy may assist in ruling out more complicated or serious diagnoses..."