How to distinguish external hemorrhoids from internal hemorrhoids

External hemorrhoids and internal hemorrhoids are two common symptoms. We can judge them from their growth locations. Internal hemorrhoids appear on the dentate line of the anal canal, and internal hemorrhoids generally do not cause pain. External hemorrhoids mainly grow outside the anus, which can cause anal pain and restlessness. However, both of these can cause patients to experience symptoms of bloody stools, and both require timely drug treatment.

1. The difference between internal hemorrhoids and external hemorrhoids

Internal hemorrhoids usually appear above the dentate line of the anal canal, mainly due to the expansion of the supramolecular venous plexus under the mucosa, forming a soft venous mass. Patients with internal hemorrhoids usually do not feel pain because they are located above the dentate line, which is mainly controlled by the autonomic nerves and is generally insensitive to pain. The main symptoms of internal hemorrhoids are blood in the stool and prolapsed hemorrhoids. There may also be symptoms such as difficulty in defecation, poor cleanup after defecation, and a feeling of heaviness and distension. In addition, internal hemorrhoids also bleed, and the amount of bleeding is relatively large. The blood is bright red in color, sometimes it drips, and sometimes it spurts. In severe cases, the patient may start coughing and be unable to defecate on his own.

Compared with internal hemorrhoids that appear above the dentate line, external hemorrhoids mainly appear below the dentate line. External hemorrhoids themselves are a lump, which is formed due to varicose veins of the external hemorrhoidal plexus or inflammation of the skin in the anal folds, etc. Because they appear below the dentate line, external hemorrhoids are not like internal hemorrhoids and they can cause noticeable pain. In addition to this, another difference between external hemorrhoids and internal hemorrhoids is that they do not cause bleeding. Their main symptoms are pain and perianal lumps.

2. Treatment of internal hemorrhoids

There are two methods for treating internal hemorrhoids: internal treatment and external treatment. For internal treatment, you must first distinguish whether it is wind damage, damp heat or spleen deficiency and qi deficiency, and then prescribe the right medicine. External treatment also depends on the situation. There are three specific methods: fumigation is mainly used to remove internal hemorrhoids, medication is mainly used to reduce swelling after surgery, and another method is suppository, which also has the effect of reducing swelling and stopping bleeding.

3. Treatment of external hemorrhoids

The treatment of external hemorrhoids is different from that of internal hemorrhoids. It is divided into conservative treatment and surgical treatment. Conservative treatment, as the name suggests, is to treat hemorrhoids with oral medication, external application of medication, or other methods without undergoing surgery. Surgical treatment mainly refers to methods such as injection of drugs, excision, laser, etc. to treat hemorrhoids.

As can be seen from the above, the most important differences between internal hemorrhoids and external hemorrhoids are two points: external hemorrhoids will cause obvious pain and will not bleed, while internal hemorrhoids are just the opposite. Because of the obvious differences, there are also obvious differences in treatment for the two. So when you encounter this situation, you should first go to the hospital to check which one it is before taking any medication.