What is the cause of internal hemorrhoids? How does Traditional Chinese Medicine treat hemorrhoids?

Internal hemorrhoids are soft masses formed by the displacement and pathological hypertrophy of anal cushions due to the dilation of the vascular and venous plexus, relaxation and rupture of the fibrous supporting structure. So what are the causes of internal hemorrhoids? How does Traditional Chinese Medicine treat internal hemorrhoids?

1. Etiology and pathogenesis

The occurrence of hemorrhoids is often related to wind, dampness, blood stasis and qi deficiency. It is often caused by various factors such as irregular diet, irregular bowel movements, long-term sitting or standing, long-distance carrying of heavy loads, multiple pregnancies, etc., which lead to endogenous dryness and heat, which presses down on the large intestine, blocks the meridians, obstructs blood reflux, and causes the evil heat and blood stasis to stagnate and accumulate, forming hemorrhoids.

Wind injures the intestinal meridians. Wind is prone to movement and changes frequently, and is often accompanied by heat. The heat forces blood to overflow, and the blood does not flow through the meridians and overflows. The blood that flows out is bright red in color and flows out violently and in a spurt-like shape.

Damp-heat is mostly caused by improper diet, eating raw, cold, fatty and sweet foods, which damages the spleen and stomach and breeds internal dampness. Dampness and heat combine and flow down to the anus, causing local Qi and blood to crisscross and meridians to crisscross, resulting in internal hemorrhoids; excessive heat forces blood to flow abnormally, and blood cannot flow through the meridians, so it overflows and causes bloody stools; dampness and heat flow down to the large intestine, causing Qi to stagnate and meridians to be blocked, causing masses to protrude from the anus.

Qi stagnation and blood stasis Qi is the commander of blood, when Qi flows, blood flows, when Qi stagnates, blood stagnates. There is a lump protruding from the anus, causing heaviness, swelling and pain: Qi is not flowing smoothly and is unable to control it, so blood does not flow through the meridians and causes thrombosis.

Spleen deficiency and qi deficiency in the elderly, multiparous women, and children suffer from long-term diarrhea and dysentery, which can lead to spleen and stomach dysfunction. The spleen is weak and the qi is deficient, unable to absorb blood, resulting in prolapsed hemorrhoids that cannot be retracted. Qi deficiency cannot absorb blood, leading to deficiency of both qi and blood, so you can see a lot of light-colored bleeding.

2. Treatment methods:

1. Chinese patent medicine:

Chinese patent medicines mostly include Zhining tablets, Yiqing capsules, and Zhixuening mixture.

2. Western medicine:

For internal hemorrhoids with blood in the stool as the main symptom, oral drugs that can reduce capillary permeability and promote the retraction of damaged capillaries, such as sweet osmanthus fluid extract tablets, diosmin tablets, horse chestnut leaf extract, compound ginkgo extract, etc., can be taken to improve symptoms.

3. Traditional Chinese medicine method:

Various special Chinese herbal decoctions for internal or external use. Among them, fumigation and washing is the best external method, which was first seen in "Fifty-two Prescriptions for Treating Hemorrhoids" and has been used in clinical practice from ancient times to the present. It plays an important role in the treatment of hemorrhoids. Fumigation, also known as sitz bath, refers to a treatment method in which the medicine is decocted in water or soaked in boiling water, then steamed while hot, and then washed directly with the liquid medicine after it cools down. During the fumigation process, the drug can act directly on the local lesion, or it can be absorbed through the skin or wound surface to exert its therapeutic effect. At the same time, due to the effect of warm steam, the local qi and blood meridians can be warmed and unblocked, promoting local blood circulation, improving and restoring local functions, keeping the local area clean, and promoting wound healing.