Piles (haemorrhoids) are enlarged blood vessels that you can get inside or around your anus. They’re usually small, round, discoloured lumps. You might be able to feel them on your anus or hanging down from your anal canal. Your anal canal is the short, muscular tube with blood vessels that connects your rectum (back passage) with your anus.
It’s completely normal to have blood vessels in your anus they have an important role to play in incontinence. But piles are when they get enlarged, which can cause symptoms. Anyone can get piles, but they are more common as you get older. They are also more common if you often get constipated, or find you are spending long periods of time in the toilet, straining to open your bowels.
It’s difficult to know exactly how many people get piles as many people don’t go and see their doctor about them. Piles are also common during and after pregnancy. They may develop due to changes in your hormones and the higher pressure in your tummy (abdomen) when you’re pregnant. They usually get better once your baby is born.
Types of Piles:
Internal piles start inside your anal canal, but they might hang down and come out of your anus. They’re graded according to whether they come out, and if so, how far they come out – this is a general classification and the symptoms can vary between individuals.
- First degree piles may bleed but don’t come out of your anus.
- Second-degree piles come out of your anus when you have a bowel movement but go back inside on their own afterwards.
- Third-degree piles come out of your anus and only go back inside if you physically push them back in.
- Fourth-degree piles always hang down from your anus and you can’t push them back in. They can become very swollen and painful if the blood inside them clots.
External piles are swellings that develop further down your anal canal, closer to your anus. They can be really painful, especially if they have a blood clot in them. It’s possible to have both internal and external piles at the same time.
Symptoms of piles:
Piles don’t always cause pain or other symptoms, but if you do have symptoms, they might include:
- Bleeding when you have a bowel movement – you may see blood (usually bright red) on toilet paper or drips in the toilet or on the surface of your poo
- A lump in or around your anus
- A slimy discharge of mucus from your anus
- A feeling of ‘fullness’ and discomfort in your anus, or a feeling that your bowels haven’t completely emptied after going to the toilet
- Itchy or sore skin around your anus
- Pain and discomfort after you go to the toilet
These symptoms can vary a lot between individuals. They may also be caused by problems other than piles, such as inflammatory bowel disease, anal cancer, bowel cancer and an anal fissure (tear). So if you have any of these symptoms, contact your GP for advice – don’t just assume they’re being caused by piles.
