Piles

Piles or haemorrhoids is one of the most common ailments today. It is a varicose and often inflamed condition of the veins, inside or just outside the rectum. In external piles, there is a lot of pain but not much bleeding. In the case of internal piles, there is discharge of dark blood. In some cases the veins burst and this results in what is known as bleeding piles.

Causes and Symptoms

Pain at passing stools, slight bleeding in the case of internal trouble, and feeling of soreness and irritation after passing a stool are the usual symptoms of piles. The pat ent cannot sit comfortably due to itching, discomfort, and pain in the rectal region.

The primary cause of piles is chronic constipation and other bowel disorders. The straining in order to evacuate the constipated bowels, and the pressure thus caused on the surrounding veins leads to piles. Piles are more common during pregnancy and in conditions affecting the liver and upper bowel. Other causes are prolonged periods of standing or sitting, strenuous work, obesity, general weakness of the tissues of the body, mental tension, and heredity.

Remedies

Dry Figs: The use of dry figs is one of the most effective home remedies for piles. Three or four figs should be soaked overnight in water after being cleaned thoroughly in hot water. They should be taken first thing in the morning along with the water in which they were soaked. They should also be taken in ^ evening in a similar manner. This treatment should be continued for three or four weeks. The tiny seeds of the fruit possess an excellent quality of stimulating peristaltic movements of the intestines. This facilitates easy evacuation of faces and keeps the alimentary canal clean. The pressure on the anus thus being relieved, the hemorrhoids also contract.

Mango Seeds: Mango seeds are an effective remedy for bleeding piles. The seeds should be collected during the mango season, dried in the shade, powdered, and kept stored for use as medicine. This powder should be given in doses of about one and a half to two grams with or without honey, twice daily.

Jambul Fruit: The jambul fruit is another effective remedy for bleeding piles. The fruit should be taken with salt every morning for two or three months during its season. The use of the fruit in this manner during every season will effect a complete cure and save the user from bleeding piles for his entire life.

Radish: White radish is considered highly valuable in piles; 100 mg of grated radish mixed with a teaspoon of honey may be taken twice daily in treating this condition. This vegetable can also be taken in the form of juice mixed with a pinch of salt It should be given in doses of 60 to 90 ml, morning and evening. White radish, well ground into a paste in milk, can also be applied over inflamed pile masses to relieve pain and swelling.

Turnip: The leaves of turnip have been found useful in this disease. The juice of these leaves should be extracted and 150 ml given to the patient. It is, however, necessary to take a proper diet of raw fruits and vegetables while taking this juice. For better results, 50 ml of the juice should be mixed with equal quantities of juices of watercress, spinach, and carrots.

Bitter Gourd: The juice of the fresh leaves of bitter gourd is also valuable in piles. Three teaspoons of the leaf juice, mixed with a glass of buttermilk, should be taken every morning for treating this condition. A paste of the roots of the bitter gourd plant can also be applied over piles with beneficial results.

Ginger: Ginger is also useful in this disease. Half a teaspoon of fresh ginger juice, mixed with one teaspoon each of fresh lime juice and fresh mint juice, and a tablespoon of honey, constitutes an effective medicine for piles.

Onion: Onions are valuable in bleeding piles. About thirty grams of this vegetable should be finely rubbed in water and sixty grams of sugar added to it It should be taken twice daily by the patient It will bring relief within a few days. Onion is also useful in the treatment of dry piles. A crushed onion, skinned and roasted in aches, may be applied with beneficial results.

Rice: Rice has a very low fibre content and is, therefore, extremely soothing to the digestive system. A thick gruel of rice, mixed with a glass of buttermilk and a ripe banana, given twice a day, is a very nutritious diet for a patient with piles.

Wheat Grass: Wheat grass juice used as an enema helps detoxify the walls of the piles. The general procedure is to give an enema with lukewarm or neem water. After waiting for twenty minutes, 90 to 120 ml of the wheat grass juice enema is given. This should be retained for fifteen minutes.

Sesame Seeds: Sesame seeds are also valuable in piles. They can be taken in the form of a decoction by boiling twenty grams of seeds in 500 ml of water till it is reduced by one-third, or as sweetmeats. Ground to paste with water, they can be given with butter for bleeding piles.

Chebulic Myroblan: The herb chebulic myroblan is a popular remedy for piles. It is very effective as a laxative and is highly astringent. The fruit should be roasted to a brown colour in cluster oil, and then powdered and stored. Half a teaspoon of this powder at bedtime will bring about normal bowel movements in the morning, and the astringent property of the fruit will heal •he pile masses. A decoction of the herb prepared by boiling six to seven dry fruits in half a litre of water should be used for washing bleeding piles. The paste of the fruit mixed in a bland oil is good an external application.

Dietary Considerations

The treatment of the basic cause, namely, chronic constipation, ls the only way to get rid of the trouble. To begin with, the entire digestive tract must be given a complete rest for a few days and the intestines thoroughly cleansed. For this purpose, the patient should adopt an all-fruit diet for, at least, seven days. Thereafter “»ay adopt a diet of natural foods aimed at securing soft stools.

Other Measures

A patient with piles must make an all-out effort to tone up the pntire system. Exercise plays an important corrective role in this c”nditi()n Movements which exercise the abdominal muscles will aprove circulation in the rectal region and relieve congestion.

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