Welcome to Hemorrhoid Help. This site has been developed as a hemorrhoids information resource to help the millions of hemorrhoid sufferers who do so in silence.

What Are Hemorrhoids?

Hemorrhoids can be described as clumps or cushions of tissue that are located in the anal canal. The anal canal is the last four centimeters of the large intestine. It is the final area that stool passes through before exiting the anal opening. These cushions of tissue in the anal canal contain blood vessels with the surrounding supporting tissue being comprised of muscle and elastic fibers. Everyone has hemorrhoidal tissue lining the anal canal. As you consider what are hemorrhoids be aware that increased pressure on the anal canal will cause the hemorrhoidal tissue to enlarge and bulge, which can cause problems.

The symptoms of hemorrhoids vary, and they may range in severity from person to person. In general, an individual may suffer from pain in the rectal area. Occasionally bleeding may be present with the passage of stool. Anal itching is another symptom of hemorrhoids but not as common.

The best way to learn more about what are hemorrhoids is to become familiar with the various types of hemorrhoids. Hemorrhoids can be categorized by their location in the anal canal. The dentate line divides the upper 2/3rds and the lower 1/3rd of the anal canal. Internal hemorrhoids originate from the upper part of the anal canal above the dentate line. These types of hemorrhoids are usually painless. It is only when the internal hemorrhoid begins to enlarge that symptoms may become present.

If the hemorrhoids develop below the dentate line they are considered external hemorrhoids. These types of hemorrhoids bulge from the anal canal. You may be surprised to learn that not all external hemorrhoids cause symptoms. It is only when these hemorrhoids develop blood clots inside them that symptoms occur.

Thrombosed hemorrhoids is the technical term for hemorrhoids that contain blood clots. These types of hemorrhoids can become quite painful as the pressure from the blood clots presses on the somatic nerves. Sometimes thrombosed hemorrhoids will become so severe they will require medical intervention. However, scar tissue may be left behind that protrudes from the anal opening. This can make proper anal hygiene difficult.

So what are hemorrhoids that bleed? Bleeding hemorrhoids can happen with any type of hemorrhoid. Internal hemorrhoids can bleed as hard stool in combination with straining to have a bowel movement causes blood to ooze from the hemorrhoidal tissue. This is also the case when bleeding hemorrhoids are associated with external hemorrhoids. In fact, a lot of times this is the only indication that an individual has hemorrhoids.

So what are hemorrhoids? In a nutshell, they are cushions of tissue that line the anal canal. These cushions of tissue will become noticeable when pressure to pelvic veins will cause them to enlarge and bulge out from the walls of the anal canal. The leading cause of this pressure is constipation. Straining to pass a hard stool can produce enough pressure to create bulging hemorrhoids. Luckily, hemorrhoids can be easily treated and are not usually life threatening.