How to Prevent Hemorrhoids
`Having a healthy bowl habit` is as important as eating and sleeping well. It is, therefore, considered one of the three indicators that show how healthy a person is. The bathroom has changed from filthy and tabooed space into a pleasant and comfortable place where people evacuate their bowls. Modern-day people leading a busy life need to take a pause to find out whether they have healthy bowl habits.
Here are some tips to prevent constipation and hemorrhoids.
▽Healthy bowl movement= You must develop a habit of going to bathroom regularly every day. Its good to evacuate your bowls after breakfast. Your bowls are programmed to grow big as your stomach expands after having a meal, which signals it is time to go to bathroom.
If you have difficulties getting the thing done quickly, you can train yourself to get accustomed to the new habit by sitting on the toilet for about five minutes at a certain time of a day.
You have to note, however, that you might develop constipation or inflammation of the bladder if you try to ignore an immediate sign to wait until the specific time. The time you spend in bathroom must not exceed 5 to 10 minutes.
If it takes too long, blood vessels around the anus are enlarged because blood stay there for long. If the anus enlargement continues for some time, it develops into a hemorrhoid.
Daehang Clinic, which specializes in hemorrhoid treatment, recently conducted a survey among 200 adults who are suffering from hemorrhoids and another 200 who are not. According to the survey, 32% of people spending more than 10 minutes evacuating their bowls have hemorrhoids, compared to 8% reported by those spending less than 10 minutes.
▽Exercise related to bowel movement= Massaging abdomen while sitting or lying down helps intestine movement and prevents constipation. Press abdomen, starting from lower right abdomen to left abdomen in clockwise rotation as much as it aches. Perform it for 10 minutes at one time twice a day. Rub weakly at the beginning, gradually giving strength until hard part in the lower abdomen disappears.
Preventive exercise for hemorrhoids is tightening the anus by puckering it up and pulling it upwards towards abdomen. If it is performed while evacuating the bowels or after a bowel movement, anus tissue returns to normal. Repeat the exercise of tightening and pulling the anus 10 times.
On the other hand, exercising the whole body helps intestine movement. It eliminates waste matter or poison, which worsens intestines function, from the system. Exercise increases movement of intestine so that excreta can come out well.
▽Clean the anus= Carry out hip bath so that the anus dips in warm water of 40 degrees for 5~10 minutes. Hip bath ▽ reduces pain and inflammation by promoting blood circulation ▽ cleans the anus ▽ loosens muscle of the anus and ▽ prevents other anus disease.
A person who needs hipbath is one who has pain, swelling, or blood in the anus. If a person has these symptoms, he/she should hipbath 2,3 times. And he who gets anus operated should perform it three times a day. It is good after bowel movement, too. For hipbath, boiling water isnt needed, but mixed hot and cold water will do and there is no need for adding any disinfectant or salt.
A patient in the early stages of hemorrhoids will have better results if he continues hipbath steadily.
(Advice= Kang Yun-sik, chief of Daehang Clinic, Lee Dong-geun, chief of Hansol Clinic, Yang Hyung-gyu, chief of Yang Clinic, Namyangju)
Jin-Han Lee likeday@donga.com
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