“I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy. Even if I don’t like somebody I wouldn’t want them to go through this pain I feeling. It not easy at all,” she told me, gasping as she spoke; she was in pain.
“This thing start just so and before I never hear about it but now is like it want to live with me because when it here, I can’t hardly do anything else and I can’t even go nowhere,” she added.
This sister, in her early forties, suffers from hemorrhoids, also called piles. According to the Mayo Clinic hemorrhoids are swollen veins in the anus and lower rectum, similar to varicose veins. Hemorrhoids can develop inside the rectum (internal hemorrhoids) or under the skin around the anus (external hemorrhoids). It notes that effective options are available to treat hemorrhoids. Many people get relief with home treatments and lifestyle changes.
From all indications, this sister has internal hemorrhoids, which have been troubling her for years. It is believed that nearly three out of four adults will have hemorrhoids from time to time. Hemorrhoids have a number of causes, but often the cause is unknown.
“I just telling you about this because sometimes I feel that we women can’t catch a break. It is always something or the other. Is after I done get children I get this thing. I remember I just started feeling so much pain down there and I could not sit down or anything. At first I did want to know what was happening but is then somebody had to tell me what it was, never hear about it before,” the sister told me.
“The pain was like worse than baby pain. You know they say when you getting baby that is the worst pain? Well for me that pain worse and I does feel like screaming.
“When it come, like I don’t want eat or anything because I don’t want go to the toilet because when you go to defecate the pain does get worse. So I would be hungry but I not eating because I don’t want my bowel to move.
“I would sometimes get some home remedy and try to see if it would work but in the end, is pain tablets I have to drink to deal with the pain. I try not to strain or anything because they say that is how it does come down. The only thing I thankful for is that I don’t bleed really. I know this man who when he get it, is just like if he seeing he period because he bleeding so much. I couldn’t deal with period and then that kind of bleeding.
“And you know what is hurtful too is that my daughters have it too. One does get worse than the other. I don’t understand it at all. They are young but both of them have children and is after that they have it. I does feel so sorry because I know how they does feel. You have to deal with painful periods and then this.
“Sometimes it does feel like if it is a heart beating there and when you walk it is like needles sticking you. It is horrible, really horrible. All I could advise that if you get it and it come down just try not to “move-move” too much and drink you pain tablet and hope that it would go away fast.
“Sometimes I would just say it is all a part of life and you have to find a way to deal with it. Even though sometimes when the pain come I does be like going mad I does just be thinking that ‘This too shall pass; It is not here forever,’” she added.
I have known this sister for many years and we have long conversations from time to time. For her it is just an opportunity to offload and even though there are times I am busy I find the time because I know how important it is for all of us to offload. As the saying goes, no man is an island and we all need someone.
I decided to share this part of our recent conversation just to illustrate that with all that is happening as it relates to COVID-19 there is so much more that people are dealing with everyday. I am sure that there are so many other sisters who are dealing with this very issue and some are also ashamed to speak about it.
As I have always advocated in this space, lend a listening ear when you can as you never know how impactful it can be. At times we just want someone to listen and not all of us are fortunate enough to have a friend, so if the need arises, just listen.
Some of the symptoms of hemorrhoids include:
· bright red blood after you poop.
· an itchy anus.
· feeling like you still need to poop after going to the toilet.
· slimy mucus in your underwear or on toilet paper after wiping your
bottom.
· lumps around your anus.
· pain around your anus.
The Mayo Clinic further explains that the veins around your anus tend to stretch under pressure and may bulge or swell. Hemorrhoids can develop from increased pressure in the lower rectum due to:
· Straining during bowel movements
· Sitting for long periods of time on the toilet
· Having chronic diarrhoea or constipation
· Being obese
· Being pregnant
· Having anal intercourse
· Eating a low-fibre diet
· Regular heavy lifting
When to see a doctor
If you have bleeding during bowel movements or you have hemorrhoids that don’t improve after a week of home care, talk to your doctor.
Don’t assume rectal bleeding is due to hemorrhoids, especially if you have changes in bowel habits or if your stools change in colour or consistency. Rectal bleeding can occur with other diseases, including colorectal cancer and anal cancer.
Seek emergency care if you have large amounts of rectal bleeding, lightheadedness, dizziness or faintness.