Hernia can cause big problems, don't ignore the bulge in your lower abdomen!!

When organs and tissues in the body leave their original positions and enter another part through surrounding defects, gaps or weak points, it is called "hernia". So what is a bilateral hernia?

How does a hernia come about?

Hernias often occur in the abdomen, and the most common one is extra-abdominal hernia, which is formed when the intestines, fat, etc. in the abdomen, together with the peritoneum, protrude to the outside of the body through weak points or holes in the abdominal wall.

Touch your belly and feel that the skin and flesh are evenly distributed. But in fact, inside the stomach, the muscles and fascia on the abdominal wall are not uniform, but thin and thick, and there are some naturally formed holes in some places.

When the abdominal wall loses strength due to muscle degeneration, or when the intra-abdominal pressure increases due to actions such as coughing hard, constipation, or lifting heavy objects, organ tissues may be squeezed toward nearby weak areas.

These organs and tissues bulge through the weak abdominal wall to form a sac, which is a hernia.

Types of extraabdominal hernia

Common hernias include inguinal hernia, femoral hernia, and umbilical hernia.

1. Inguinal hernia

The groin is the two triangular areas where the lower abdomen and the thigh roots meet. A hernia that occurs in this area is called an inguinal hernia.

Inguinal hernia is divided into indirect hernia and direct hernia, and indirect hernia is the most common. Due to physiological reasons, it occurs more often on the right side than on the left side, and in men than in women.

Doctors have a simple method to initially distinguish between these two types of hernias: first carefully put the bulging mass back, then press the middle and slightly upper part of the groin with your fingers, and then cough hard. If the hernia mass no longer protrudes, it is an indirect hernia, otherwise it is a direct hernia. In addition, indirect hernias will enter the scrotum, while direct hernias generally do not enter the scrotum.

2. Femoral hernia

At the base of the thigh, there is an anatomical structure called the "femoral canal", which is a weak point in the abdominal wall. If the opening of the femoral canal relaxes and the surrounding muscles and ligaments weaken further, the intestine and some fat will easily bulge out from here, forming a femoral hernia.

Femoral hernias are more common in women over 40 years old. In addition, the increased intra-abdominal pressure caused by pregnancy also increases the risk of femoral hernia formation.

Femoral hernias are often not large and usually have no obvious symptoms at first, so most of them are discovered by accident, and are less likely to be detected in people with a fatter body.

3. Umbilical hernia

As the name suggests, it is a hernia that protrudes through the umbilical ring.

Umbilical hernia is rare in adults and mostly occurs in middle-aged multiparous women. Because the entrance of the hernia sac is narrow, umbilical hernia has a higher chance of becoming incarcerated and requires special attention.