While some hemorrhoids remain unnoticed and disappear without intervention or treatment, some persistent hemorrhoids become unbearable. These hemorrhoids make daily activities such as walking, sleeping, or sitting painful and can affect mental health.
A hemorrhoid bump sometimes gets filled with too much blood, causing a blood clot inside the bump. Such hemorrhoids are called thrombosed hemorrhoids. These hemorrhoids are at risk of bursting and bleeding. Blood loss can cause a person to feel dizzy and nauseous.
Moreover, the open wound can lead to the hemorrhoid bump getting infected. If left untreated, these hemorrhoid bumps can become fatal. Surgical severe intervention may then be the only possible treatment.
Keep reading below to learn in-depth about why hemorrhoids burst and what can be done to avoid this.
Why Do Some Hemorrhoids Burst?
Hemorrhoids are skin pouches that are filled with the blood of broken vessels. If too many blood vessels break at once, too much blood fills the hemorrhoid pouch.
Many people will then feel both the internal and external hemorrhoids due totheir enlarged size.
When a thick clot of blood forms inside hemorrhoid, it is called a thrombosed hemorrhoid. These hemorrhoids are usually formed inside the rectum and can cause severe pain during bowel movements. Due to this pain, many people try to delay using the bathroom and get more constipated.
Increased pressure can cause the thrombosed hemorrhoid to burst. The bursting will cause. The pressure on hemorrhoid could increase for many reasons.
Being Overweight or Obese
When a person is obese or overweight, their rectum and anus remain under unhealthy pressure. This pressure is itself a major cause of hemorrhoid forming.
A thrombosed hemorrhoid’s skin gets thinner as more blood fills it up. When an overweight person develops a thrombosed hemorrhoid, the high body weight causes the hemorrhoid to be squeezed. As a result, the thin lining of the hemorrhoid ruptures and blood leaks out.
The blood is sometimes enough to turn the toilet red and cause severe dizziness.
Heavy Weight Lifting
Although overweight people need to hit the gym to avoid getting hemorrhoids, excessive weight lifting is also bad.
When a person lifts heavy weights frequently, it adds unhealthy pressure on their rectum and anus. This added pressure can cause hemorrhoids to form and existing ones to enlarge.
As a result, the thrombosed hemorrhoid filled with too much blood bursts.
Being Pregnant
A study showed that nearly 43% of women out of a total 280 suffered from hemorrhoids in their final trimester and after giving birth.
When a woman is pregnant for more than six months, the weight of her abdomen significantly increases due to the fetus. This increased weight squeezes and crushes the rectum and anus, causing vessels to rupture and form hemorrhoids.
When the pressure increases, more blood fills up the hemorrhoid pouches, and its lining gets thinner. As a result, a hemorrhoid can burst.
Giving Birth
Unfortunately, hemorrhoid problems continue to affect a woman even after giving birth.
When a woman is in labor, she is required to exert force to push the baby out. That force can often be directed at the rectum and anus, causing hemorrhoids to form.
If a woman already has hemorrhoids, then the chances are that more blood vessels would break and more blood would fill the hemorrhoid bumps. Continuous pushing could easily crush a thrombosed hemorrhoid, and cause it to bleed.
Prolonged Sitting
People who have to remain seated for multiple hours due to the nature of their work or occupation often complain about having thrombosed hemorrhoids.
Sitting for prolonged hours can cause blood to accumulate in the vessels surrounding the anus and rectum. The accumulated blood exerts pressure on the vessel walls, causing them to rupture and form a hemorrhoid. The hemorrhoids keep filling up with more blood and clots with time. When the bump gets too big, it bursts.
Moreover, sitting for too long leads to the buttocks and body weight crushing the hemorrhoids. This often also leads to a hemorrhoid bursting.
Poor Dietary Choices
Hemorrhoids are primarily caused due to a chronically constipated digestive system. When a person relies mainly on processed foods with high oil and sodium content, and offer no fiber, their stools harden. When hard stools are forced out of the anus, hemorrhoids form.
If a person already has thrombosed hemorrhoids in their rectum or anus, then passing of the hard stools could cause the hemorrhoids to burst and bleed.
How to know Your Hemorrhoid Has Burst?
When a person experiences sever pain and bleeding from the anus, they should know that their hemorrhoid has burst.
The bleeding and pain could happen while using the bathroom, passing gas, or even sitting or walking. Bright red blood in the stools and the toilet bowl is a clear indication of a hemorrhoid rupturing.
How to Care for a Hemorrhoid That Has Burst?
Ruptured hemorrhoids can catch infections that could become fatal. Hence, care for a ruptured hemorrhoid is critical.
A person who experiences pain and blood coming out of the anus should:
- Immediately visit the doctor and allow professional medical intervention;
- Take some laxatives to make their stools thinner and softer for easy expulsion;
- Consume a high fiber diet or take fiber supplements;
- Drink a lot of water to soften the stool;
- Take a pain killer to soothe down the pain;
- Press a cold compress to an external thrombosed hemorrhoid to shrink their size and reduce pain and itchiness;
- Lose weight;
- Avoid sitting for prolonged hours and take frequent breaks in between;
- Take medication to improve healing and avoid infection.
Final Thoughts
Hemorrhoids that fill up with too much blood and clots are at risk of bursting. Excessive body weight, certain exercises, poor diet, and prolonged sitting can cause hemorrhoids to burst. In case the person experiences pain and blood in their stools, they should immediately consult a doctor.
For more information regarding thrombosed hemorrhoids and hemorrhoid relief, click here
