What should a pregnant woman do if she has bleeding hemorrhoids?

Written by Zhao Li Li
Obstetrics
Updated on February 20, 2025
00:00
00:00

Due to the impact of hormone levels during pregnancy, pregnant women are easily prone to significantly slower gastrointestinal motility, which can lead to constipation. Frequent constipation can persistently irritate the local area around the anus, easily causing hemorrhoids. Therefore, it is essential to have a nutritious diet that is light and includes plenty of coarse fibrous vegetables and fresh fruits during pregnancy, as these can promote gastrointestinal motility and alleviate symptoms of constipation. If there is bleeding at the site of anal hemorrhoids after defecation, it is necessary to seek medical attention promptly for examination, hemostasis, anti-inflammatory treatment, and symptomatic treatment.

Other Voices

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhang Lu
Obstetrics
48sec home-news-image

What are the symptoms of hemorrhoids in pregnant women?

After pregnancy, the volume of the female uterus increases, and in late pregnancy, the fetus descends into the pelvis. These factors can compress the veins in the pelvic area, obstructing blood flow around the anus, causing venous blood stagnation around the anus, and making it easy for pregnant women to develop hemorrhoids or for pre-existing hemorrhoids to worsen during pregnancy. The symptoms of hemorrhoids in pregnant women include the following aspects: first, you can feel polyp-like tissue outside the anus with your hand. Second, when hemorrhoids are severe, they can cause the prolapse of hemorrhoidal tissue or be accompanied by anal bleeding. Third, hemorrhoids can sometimes be accompanied by constipation, and hemorrhoids during pregnancy should be treated through diet, exercise, and medication.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Chen Tian Jing
Colorectal Surgery
58sec home-news-image

What's causing hemorrhoids to itch?

Hemorrhoids cause secretions to flow out from within the anal canal, particularly in the case of internal hemorrhoids. When severe, these secretions can flow outside the anus due to changes in the position of the anus or the patient's body, irritating the local skin and mucosa around the anus, thus leading to symptoms of itching. Additionally, with repeated prolapse of internal hemorrhoids, the mucosa may get trapped at the anal opening and cannot retract normally, also causing irritating itching and possibly even pain and bleeding due to repeated friction. To treat the itching from hemorrhoids, it is first necessary to alleviate the increased secretion from internal hemorrhoids. Options include using anti-inflammatory suppositories or gels, and washing the anal area with saline water or herbal washes that have antipruritic effects.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Yu Xu Chao
Colorectal Surgery
1min 5sec home-news-image

How to quickly reduce hemorrhoid swelling

Inflammatory edema in hemorrhoids can lead to anal distension and pain in patients. Clinically, for the reduction of hemorrhoid swelling, options such as anal cleansing agents or potassium permanganate solutions can be used for sitz baths. The duration of the sitz bath should be controlled between five to six minutes, which can help in reducing swelling and relieving pain. After the sitz bath, applying Golden Ointment externally can also help in reducing swelling and relieving pain. Additionally, patients need to take oral Diosmin tablets to improve local blood circulation and prevent exacerbation of local swelling. Furthermore, patients should ensure smooth bowel movements, avoiding dry and hard stools to prevent irritation of the swollen hemorrhoids, thus worsening anal pain. They should also visit the hospital's proctology department as soon as possible for manual repositioning of the prolapsed hemorrhoids back into the anus. If repositioning is not possible, then surgical intervention, such as hemorrhoidectomy, must be considered promptly.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhang Da Wei
General Surgery
48sec home-news-image

What should be avoided in the diet for hemorrhoids with bleeding?

Hemorrhoids presenting with rectal bleeding is a rather typical symptom. This condition definitely requires dietary restrictions because dietary irritants can potentially worsen bleeding. Thus, it's essential to avoid certain foods both during an episode and as a precautionary measure. It is generally advised to steer clear of cold and spicy foods, as these can stimulate the intestines and potentially exacerbate bleeding. In cases where bleeding is more pronounced, a bland diet is usually recommended. Other stimulating foods should also be avoided to prevent aggravating the condition. Of course, dietary restrictions are not only essential during symptomatic periods but also as a preventive measure regularly to effectively prevent recurrent episodes of hemorrhoids.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Chen Tian Jing
Colorectal Surgery
59sec home-news-image

Do hemorrhoids require surgery?

When severe hemorrhoids are in an acute attack phase, it is necessary to undergo surgical treatment as soon as possible. Besides surgery, treatment options for hemorrhoids also include conservative medication to alleviate symptoms. For mild hemorrhoids, or those that flare up less frequently, the primary treatment is conservative topical medication. However, when hemorrhoids repeatedly prolapse, cause pain, and result in significant rectal bleeding, affecting the normal functioning of the patient’s body, it is advised to promptly proceed with hemorrhoidectomy surgery. This helps avoid complications such as severe pain that interferes with normal living, or significant bleeding that could lead to anemia in patients, thereby worsening the condition and increasing the difficulty of future treatments. (Please use medication under the guidance of a professional physician, and do not self-medicate.)