Thrombosed Hemroids - definition, causes, symptoms and treatments.

Thrombosed hemroids are a normally an extremely painful codition of hemroids, which also results in much swelling of the hemroids so affected. Thrombosed hemroids can also be an extremely dangerous condition in some instances:  Gangrene or rampant infection, to name but two, can occur in conjunction with a thrombosed hemroid.

1... Definition of thrombosed hemroids

In some cases, a hemroid may become compacted with blood, blood goes in, but not as much can get out, causing massive swelling and pain in the end.  If a blood clot then forms in the hemroid, then this is what is defined as a " thrombosed hemroid ".

Thrombosis literally means blood clot. 

When you get a thrombosed hemroid, you have a clot of blood stuck in the hemroid itself, and it can either partially OR completely block blood flow both in and out.

 A thrombosis (blood clot) can happen anywhere blood flows, which means it can affect both internal and external hemorrhoids. 

2... Thrombosed hemroids and their dangerous side effects

If blood flow is completely blocked then yes, this can develop gangrene apparently in a small number of instances.

In addition, there are many micro-blood vessels throughout the tissue of a hemorrhoid.  If the hemroid develops a thrombosis, it is normally taken to mean that the main blood vessel, that has become the hemroid, has developed the blood clot.  The other micro-blood vessels are often enough to temporarily save the tissue from cell death.

What I was saying about multiple blood vessels is that there are millions of microvesicules throughout any blood-fed tissue anywhere in the body, including the tissue in hemroids, thrombosed or not. 

If the main vein is clogged by a clot, there are still thousands of microscopic capillaries feeding into and out of the area.  These capillaries are not sufficient to keep the area going alone, but can keep it going long enough to get the thrombosed hemroid taken care of. 

If these did not exist, the tissue in the thrombosed hemroid would be dead and rotting within twelve hours.  Cell death from oxygen deprivation starts in a matter of minutes.  However, can a thrombosed hemroid eventually get gangrenous if the clot is allowed to sit there long enough?  Oh, yes, it can.  However, that's a rather rare happenstance, but if it happens to you, then it being a rare event is no consolation. 

What is far more likely is that the clot will eventually escape from the thrombosed hemroid and either dissolve back into the body, or migrate somewhere else within it, which can be equally damaging.  An infarction is the clogging up of a blood system that feeds a muscle, which leads to muscle death. 

Myocardial infarction = heart attack = blood-flow blocking clot in one of the main blood vessels that feed the heart.  While that particular  instance involves a fairly big clot, it can happen anywhere else in the body as well.

  If the thrombosed hemroid is only partially blocked, then enough oxygen may get through to keep things going, but it's not pleasant and, it is certainly ripe for infection in apparently a small number of cases. 

A thrombosed hemroid is part of a vicious cycle

Here's the crunch though, the thrombosed hemroid mainly occurs due to reduced blood flow through the hemroid, but the thrombosis - blood clot - that forms in the hemroid restricts blood flow even further, potentially causing much severer symptoms and potential consequences - hence they often get our attention very well.

3... Thrombosed hemroids and their causes

The big cause of thrombosed hemroids appears to be reduced blood flow, as the reduced blood flow allows the blood flow to slow and or be still for a while, which is conducive to clotting occurring.

Another reason is that the hemroid vein wall has become damaged, which can be evidenced by bleeding, and the body's natural reaction to a damaged blood vessel wall is to create a healing blood clot - in hemroids I wouldn't think this would be the type NOT to cause a blockage, because normally this type of blood vessel repair only creates a normal blood clot to seal the area, only becoming dangerous when the blood vessel has been narrowed by another condition, such as cholesterol.

As hemroids represent areas where blood vessels have expanded in size, not narrowed, the chance of this type of healing thrombosis - healing blood clot - on it's own, causing the typically diagnosed "thrombosed hemroid", appears remote.  That's my reasoning anyway.

4... Prolapsed thrombosed hemroids

A prolapse of any kind involves a tissue collapse, sometimes but not always outside the body. 

A prolapsed hemroid can start to prolapse long before it is seen at the anal sphincter, as it's in the process of pulling wall tissue with it - medically speaking, a stage 1 (aka grade 1) hemroid.  When it appears at the anal sphincter during a bowel movement, it's a stage II internal hemroid.  A doctor needs to see it because it can be difficult to tell the difference between a prolapsed hemroid and a prolapsing rectum, so while the doc may tell you to go sit in a sitz bath, a medical person needs to be involved in the diagnosis according to the writing I've read on the subject thus far.

If a prolapsed hemorrhoid gets to stage IV, it is outside the body all the time.  If it is outside the body all the time, the muscular action of the anal sphincter can be enough to cut off ALL blood flow whatsoever by pinching off all of the blood vessels at the same time.  In fact, all stage 4 hemroids are likely to eventually turn into thrombosed hemroids.  Gangrene, infection, and septicemia, at that point, may eventuate, albeit apparently in a small number of people.

5... Strangulated hemroids

Strangulated hemroids are normally prolapsed hemroids that are normally permanently showing through the anus.  The clamping of the anus, on occasions, may clamp the blood flow off - stopping blood from going in or out of the hemroid.  This is referred to as strangulated hemroids.  Strangulated hemroids normally either rectify, like from sitting in a Sitz bath or, turn into thrombosed hemroids as a result of the reduce blood flow.

6... External Thrombosed hemroids

External thrombosed hemroids normally appear as a tight, smallish, bluish lump in or near the anal opening, which is very painful to the touch.  Still researching the causes of external thrombosed hemroids.

7... Thrombosed hemroids symptoms

With thrombosed hemroids symptoms, the hemroid , whether internal or external, has the following symptoms:  Normally very swollen, extremely painful, and blue or purple like in color.

A severe case of thrombosed hemroids appears to be shown in this real hemroid photo.  The thrombosed hemroid looks real nasty though, so don't look if you are at all squeamish.  I assume the person kind enough to have the photo of the thrombosed hemroid taken, must have been in enormous pain and suffering at the time.

8... Thrombosed hemroids treatment and surgery

Thrombosed hemroids may require immediate minor surgery: A local anesthetic - which stings at first - is injected into the thrombosed hemroid, the thrombosed hemroid is then sliced open and the contents squeezed out. You normally walk out the door with some oral pain killers, feeling much relieved.

I know I did and the doctor who sliced my thrombosed hemroid said it was the worst thrombosed hemroid he'd seen in his many years of practice - in and out of hospital.

You should have seen the nurses face, she looked at me somewhat stunned that I was not in any pain while the doctor squeezed and squeezed that thrombosed hemroid over and over and over again - if done right, you shouldn't experience any more pain that I did - which was only when the thrombosed hemroid was being injected with adrenaline to completely clot the hemroid.

The inject, slice and squeeze procedure for thrombosed hemroids has been found by research to be the best procedure for them, as there is very little risk the hemroid will thromboses again. 

Using home remedies does not do anything long term to the hemroids, so recurrences of the thrombosed hemroid is to be anticipated. Short term herbal hemroid treatments are about the same effectiveness for stopping recurrences as the home remedies.

If the thrombosed hemroid does NOT require surgery, the doctor may send you home to take a sitz bath ( described on our popular home remedies page ) to try and help the bottom to relax and restore the blood flow out of the hemroid.

Also, Vitamin E, 400IU 3 times a day may help dilate the thrombosed hemroid allowing the blood to flow more easily through it. 

Due to the nature of the thrombosed hemroid, the pain is normally so severe that you wouldn't even consider an online alternative medicine, because of the time it would take to reach you and because they are not really designed to handle thrombosed hemroids.

Of course, cutting the hemroid out, or even a hemorrhoidectomy or a medical treatment to decrease the size of the hemroid that has thrombosed, are other options to consider.

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Good luck in your endeavors for hemroid relief and hemorroid prevention.

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