Types of Hemorrhoids - External and Internal

There are two basic types of hemorrhoids.  They are internal hemorrhoids and external hemorrhoids.  Both can be a real pain but there are various ways of treating them.  There are also varying degrees of severity among the two types of hemorrhoids and they will be explained in this section.

Being small and inside the rectal wall, internal hemorrhoids are not usually noticeable.  The most common way of figuring out if you have hemorrhoids is to look for blood in the stool or when you wipe yourself.

It’s natural to panic when one sees blood in ones stool.  But there isn’t really too much to worry about.  Sometimes the internal hemorrhoids may prolapse and protrude out of the anus.  If this is the case, you may need to push them back in.

Degrees of Internal Hemorrhoids

Internal hemorrhoids are classified into four different degrees depending on the severity.  Here they are.

• First degree - These type of internal hemorrhoids often comes out when a person is straining to have a bowel movement.  There is mostly blood but little to no pain.

• Second degree - This type will come out of the anus during a bowel movement but will retract by itself.

• Third degree - Like the second degree, it will bulge out but it will not retract by itself.  Instead, you will have to push it back in.

• Fourth degree - The fourth degree consists of protruding hemorrhoids that do not retract by themselves and cannot be pushed back in.  These can be rather painful and most likely a surgery will have to be performed for relief.

Types of External Hemorrhoids

External hemorrhoids are itchy and can come with a burning sensation.  These are the ones the form just around the outside of the anus.  Sufferers may feel a crackling and bleeding sensation.  There will be bleeding when going to the bathroom and you can see it when you wipe yourself or in your underwear.

How Do I Know if I Have Hemorrhoids

Although you will rarely know if you have hemorrhoids there are some symptoms you can look for in order to find out.  After a bowel movement, you can experience an itchy or burning feeling even after wiping yourself.  If you had a painful release of feces, you may feel aching in the anus afterwards.  Other things to look for are blood as mentioned earlier, and you might feel a lump just outside or inside the anus.

The common way to prevent these types of hemorrhoids is to simply drink sufficient amounts of water and exercise regularly.  Have softer bowel movements by adding fresh fruits and vegetables to your diet.