Piles - Busting The Myths & Facts About It!

Hemorrhoids, popularly called ‘piles’, refers to the swollen, inflamed tissue that accumulates in the anal canal. These tissues consist of muscles, elastic fibers, support tissues and blood vessels.

As piles is a disease with conspicuous symptoms (bloody stools, anal rashes and reddening), and extremely common (more than 75% of the population will suffer once in their lifetime), there are numerous myths surrounding the diagnosis and treatment of this disease. If you want to separate your facts from the chaff, this article will help you to do just that.

1) Myth: The probability of getting piles increases with age.

Fact: This isn’t necessarily the case. Piles is caused due to strain and pressure applied on the area of the anus. This strain can come from a variety of sources, including diseases (diarrhea), physiological conditions (constipation) and unrelated processes (pregnancy).

2) Myth: Eating hot, spicy things like green chili will increase your chances of piles or exacerbate its symptoms.

Fact: Piles occurs due to strain on the anus, more specifically on the blood vessels near that area. This happens due to the body’s blood pressure (BP) being unusually high, and not due to digestion/diet specialties.

3) Myth: Your diet has absolutely nothing to do with your piles risk.

Fact: Piles has many factors that are either directly causal or increase the risk of it substantially in a person. Among them, constipation is an ever-present entity. Therefore, a diet rich in food that fights constipation is beneficial in combating/reducing risk for piles. Such a diet comprises high fiber (skins of fruits etc.) content, high levels of hydration and low calorie/fat intake.

4) Myth: You are more likely to have piles if you are exposed to the cold.

Fact: There is no scientific evidence to support this claim, even though it has gained popularity with time. To the contrary, application of cold materials on the surface can help relieve pain and irritation related to piles. You can apply cold compresses on the surface of the buttocks to relieve itch, pain and burning sensations from the piles rashes.

5) Myth: You should not work out when you have been diagnosed with piles.

Fact: This claim is also an unfounded one, and you definitely shouldn’t freak out if you’re a fitness freak. There are only some variants of exercise that can exacerbate your piles – like if you’re lifting too-heavy weights, twisting your body, or are holding your breath while lifting weights. Apart from that, exercise also helps reduce the risk of piles by help you lose weight and facilitating smooth bowel movement.

6) Myth: Piles is a recurrent disease. Recurrence of piles is known to happen but now good painless treatment options are available.

Piles or hemorrhoids are the formation of dense tissue in the anal canal, which causes obvious and painful symptoms. However, you should not lose your sleep over piles – it is treatable and easily diagnosable.