Med. praxi. 2012;9(12):482-489

Hemorrhoids - a common and unpleasant condition - conservative treatment, surgical methods

MUDr.Jiří Korbička, Ph.D.¹, MUDr.Šťěpán Chalupník¹, MUDr.Jan Cagaš¹, prof.MUDr.Ivan Čapov, CSc.¹, PharmDr.Pavla Fuksová²

¹ I. chirurgická klinika LF MU a FN u sv. Anny v Brně

² Lékové Informační Centrum Lékárny FN u sv. Anny v Brně

Hemorrhoidal complaints very often make the patient attend a pharmacy and/or a physician. They are diverse involving not only the

area of the rectum, but also defecation. Contemporary medicine does not use the term "hemorrhoids" to refer to pathology, but only to

describe the normal anatomical structures present around the anal canal since birth. They have an indispensable function in maintaining

continence of bowel contents. Only when hemorrhoidal venous plexuses, due to their involvement, cause various, frequently nonspecific

complaints, this is referred to, technically, as "hemorrhoidal disease" (1) and requires examination and treatment. This is not only due to

the discomfort and intensity of the symptoms, but particularly due to possibly mistaking these symptoms with those of a much more severe,

life-threatening condition requiring a rapid, often surgical management. Hemorrhoids are among the so-called civilization diseases.

They affect all age groups, but occur more frequently with increasing age. Their development is certainly determined by an individual's

predisposing factors as well as by lifestyle, overeating, obesity, lack of fluid and fiber in the diet, chronic constipation, lack of exercise,

sedentary lifestyle, and numerous other factors (22) that potentiate the development of the complaints and, in acute attacks, very often

result in being confined to bed, absence from work, and even hospitalization. The rich symptomatology of the disease results in searching

for new options of treatment which, however, is always symptomatic, not causal, i. e. managing the consequences, not the cause. The

article aims at summarizing current options and trends in diagnosing and treatment, from conservative to surgical ones, and provides

an overview of therapeutic agents that are now available in pharmacies as well as of currently used semi-invasive and surgical methods.

Keywords: hemorrhoids, hemorrhoidal disease, symptoms, examination, conservative and invasive treatment principles

Published: January 1, 2013  Show citation