Hemorrhoids

For a lay person:

Haemorrhoids (piles) are swollen blood vessels in and around the anus. They can cause bright red bleeding after a bowel movement, itching, discomfort or a lump.

For a trained medical person:

Vascular cushions of the anal canal; internal haemorrhoids are graded I–IV by prolapse, external ones may thrombose. Management: fibre, fluids, topical treatments, then banding, sclerotherapy or surgery.

In Chinese medicine:

Flaws and Sionneau's textbook differentiates this condition into these patterns: Dry heat; Damp-Heat; Qi and Blood Stagnation; Spleen Qi Sinking. Treatment follows the pattern a patient presents with, not the Western diagnosis alone.

When to get help: See a doctor about any rectal bleeding, especially with a change in bowel habit or weight loss, to rule out other causes.