How to prevent hemorrhoids
Most people are unaware of this fact but hemorrhoids are a very common ailment that affects more than half the population in a given moment of their lives. The truth about prevention is that people do not think of it until the moment they start suffering from hemorrhoids.
This is when they start thinking about what to do to prevent them form reappearing. So the most important part in the prevention of hemorrhoids is played by our lifestyles. Our daily habits are crucial in the appearance (or not) of hemorrhoids and, therefore, when it comes to developing a program to prevent them.
But you’ve got nothing to worry about. In this section we will provide a series of useful tips to prevent the appearance of annoying, painful hemorrhoids.
Tricks and tips to prevent hemorrhoids
First of all, a healthy diet. It plays a very important role to prevent hemorrhoids or avoid their worsening. A bad diet is one of the main causes of constipation, which is in turn one of the most frequent causes of hemorrhoids, besides making them more painful.
Working out is one of the most recommended things to prevent hemorrhoids, but you must know which exercises are good and which aren’t.
Next, we provide an analysis of these and other tips you will find very useful not to suffer from hemorrhoids in the future.
A High fiber diet
The main purpose of a high fiber diet is to prevent constipation in people who are prone to getting hemorrhoids since constipation makes the feces come out hard, which causes irritation and swelling on the walls of the anal duct. Besides, defecation problems cause a person to try harder and harder to get the feces out and this causes the hemorrhoids to prolapsed (come out).
Fibers resist digestion and get mostly intact to the large intestine. Once there, they facilitate the passage of fecal matter through the intestine which reduces the effort made while defecating. Fibers also help retaining water which increases the softness and weight of the feces and that also helps minimizing the effort.
Increasing the amount of liquid on a diet is highly recommendable because they contribute to the softening of feces. Vitamins are also recommendable, since they strengthen the anal tissues and blood vessels (vitamins A, B, B6 y C, especially).
Next, we provide what food is recommended and what food you should avoid in order to have a balanced diet and prevent hemorrhoids:
Recommended food
- Liquids, at least 2 liters per day.
- Cereals:Rice, corn, oats, wheat, whole wheat bread, etc.
- Legumes:Lentil, peas, beans, chickpeas, soy, etc.
- Fruits:Apple, fig, strawberry, banana, pear, orange, etc.
- Vegetables:Carrot, spinach, potatoes, etc.
Not recommended food
- Non whole meal cereals:flour products, pies, cookies, rice, bread, etc.
- Meat, cold meat, cheese and milk
- Sugar and products containing sugar
- Spicy food
- Excessively salty food. Also avoid eating too many olives, canned sardines, anchovy, mackerel, etc.
- Coffee and alcohol
Exercise
Physical exercise is very recommendable to avoid hemorrhoids since it prevents constipation and improves the circulation avoiding the accumulation of venous blood in the legs. Walking and swimming are two of the most advisable exercises.
Besides, exercise is very good to lose weight. Obesity leads to exert excessive pressure on the lower part of your body which paves the way for hemorrhoids.
But be careful. Not every sport or exercise is good. We must avoid excessive physical effort such as lifting heavy objects since it could lead to a swelling of the anal veins. The same applies to sports such as cycling, horseback riding and similar since they involve too much pressure on the anal area. Being standing or sitting for rather long periods of time is also prejudicial.
Other tips
- Avoid scratching the anal area because this may cause injuries.
- No introducir objetos por el ano, pues puede dañar la musculatura anal.
- In case the hemorrhoids come out of the rectum (prolapsed), we recommend putting them back in applying little pressure into the rectum.
- Do not introduce any objects in your anus because this may cause injuries in the anal muscles.
- During pregnancy there is an increase of pressure on the veins of the anal area which results in a poor circulation. In order to avoid this, we recommend lying on one side every four hours.
- Take sitz baths three or four times a day with warm water in order to relax the anal muscles and reduce pain and inflammation.
- Do not repress at any time the natural urge to defecate.
- Try going to the bathroom always around the same time and avoid exerting too much pressure.
- Avoid toilet seats that are too hard or too soft.
- Control stress and anxiety because they contract the anal sphincter.
- The ideal position to re-educate the bowel is to squat on the floor so you can exert abdominal pressure without any risks of injuring the abdominal wall.
- Avoid tobacco.
As you can see, dear reader, with a little care and a good will you can fight the annoying, painful hemorrhoids yourself. All you have to do is strictly follow the tips we’ve given you on this e-book and you won’t have any more problems.
