Hemorrhoids Differential Diagnosis: What Else Could It Be?
Approximately 10 million Americans deal with hemorrhoids each year, so if you're experiencing anorectal symptoms, it's safe to assume that they are caused by hemorrhoids, right? Wrong!
In fact, assuming that you have hemorrhoids could be quite hazardous to your health. Improperly treating your anal troubles could prolong your healing process or even allow time for serious cancers to progress.
Instead of self-diagnosing hemorrhoids, you should always consult a medical professional who can conduct hemorrhoids differential diagnosis to ensure that that you will receive appropriate treatment for your condition.
Similar Symptoms, Different Causes
One of the primary symptoms of hemorrhoids is rectal bleeding. You might notice blood in the toilet or on your toilet paper. Also known as piles, hemorrhoids are swollen veins that can cause itching, pain or discomfort in addition to bleeding.
What other conditions share symptoms with hemorrhoids? As you can see from the following hemorrhoids differential diagnosis list, there are multiple conditions that have similar symptoms.
Skin Tags
What seems like an external hemorrhoid or a prolapsed internal hemorrhoid could actually be a skin tag. This is a small growth in the rectal region, and it is typically harmless. However, an anal skin tag can be an impediment to proper hygiene, so you may want to have it removed.
Anal Fissures
If your symptoms are accompanied by pain, there's a good chance that they are caused by anal fissures, not hemorrhoids. These are small skin tears that often result from troublesome bowel movements, such as constipation or diarrhea. Like hemorrhoids, anal fissures can cause your rectal region to itch, and you may notice blood on the toilet paper when you wipe.
Anal Abscesses
Pockets of infection in the anal region can sometimes be confused with hemorrhoids because both can cause swollen lumps. However, an abscess is the result of an infected gland. The infection causes the tissue to swell and become filled with pus. Unlike many hemorrhoids, abscesses can be painful.
Especially when symptoms are experienced by young men, anal abscesses should always be considered as a cause for anorectal discomfort. This condition primarily affects people between the ages of 20 and 40, and it is more prevalent in males than females.
Anal Fistula
Also known as fistula in ano, anal fistulas are unnatural tracts that lead through rectal tissue to the outer layer of skin, and they are often associated with anal abscesses.
Anal fistulas may be mistaken for for hemorrhoids because they can leak pus or blood. The condition can also cause swelling, pain and irritation.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease and other inflammatory bowel issues can present like hemorrhoids. These diseases can cause sores in the colorectal system. Other symptoms include pain and bleeding. People with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) can go through periods in which symptoms flare up and periods in which they subside.
IBD symptoms can mimic hemorrhoids, but to complicate matters, IBD can also contribute to hemorrhoids. Many people with an inflammatory disease also experience additional colorectal conditions, such as hemorrhoids, fissures and abscesses. Treatment for these conditions is often complicated by the presence of IBD, so proper diagnosis is critical.
Therefore, if your hemorrhoid symptoms are accompanied by diarrhea, cramping, fever or unexplained weight loss, it is particularly recommended to seek medical intervention.
Genital Warts
Growths caused by human papillomavirus are known as genital warts or anal warts. This is a common sexually transmitted disease that is passed from person to person through unsafe sex.
As with hemorrhoids, you may feel a swollen mass in your rectal region. Although genital warts don't usually cause pain, they may itch or bleed.
Tumors
Tumors in the colon, rectum or anus can mimic symptoms of hemorrhoids. Sometimes these tumors are benign, but they can also be malignant. Therefore, proper diagnosis is critical.
Symptoms of early colorectal and anal cancers can easily be confused with hemorrhoid symptoms. Anal cancer, for example, can present with itching, bleeding, a swollen lump, pain or discomfort.
Patients have been known to mistake cancer for hemorrhoids in 80 percent of colon cancer cases. Hear that statistic and other important facts in the video How to Identify Hemorrhoids.
Tests Before Treatment
Because the differential diagnosis for hemorrhoids includes serious conditions like colon and rectal cancer, it is essential that you have your symptoms checked out by a doctor.
There are lifestyle adjustments that you can make at home to try treating low-grade hemorrhoids before resorting to surgical treatment options. However, instead of jumping right into home remedies, you should make sure that your hemorrhoids are, indeed, hemorrhoids.
A doctor can diagnose hemorrhoids in the office using the following methods:
Although after hemorrhoids differential diagnosis it may, in fact, turn out that you do have hemorrhoids, you won't know for sure without an examination. Besides, the sooner that you get help for hemorrhoids, the easier they will be to treat through at-home remedies, rubber band ligation or other minimally invasive procedures.
