A high-fiber diet including the use of natural plant fibers such as pectin (fruit fiber) and psyllium have been shown to effectively prevent hemorrhoids. Now a study reports that symptomatic hemorrhoids should be treated with a fiber and water diet before ligation surgery.
The study, published in the journal Rev Esp Enferm Dig (2005, vol. 97, no. 1), investigated if symptomatic hemorrhoids should be treated with rubber band ligation or a fiber and water diet at the first visit. Spanish researchers at Hospital General Universitario, in Valencia, Spain administered ligation technique of Barron to 181 patients with symptomatic hemorrhoids or a rich fiber and water diet to 80 patients with symptomatic hemorrhoids, from September 1997 to December 2001. The most common hemorrhoidal symptom was rectal bleeding. Anuscopy was performed, revealing hemorrhoidal disease in all the participants. Out of the 181 ligation patients, 19.33% were hemorrhoids degree I, 51.93% degree II and 29.83% degree III. A total of 287 ligation sessions were performed, with approximately 2.45 ligations per patient.
The researchers found that 32 percent of the ligation participants had referred pain after ligation. Findings also revealed that there was a 74 percent success in treating hemorrhoids degree III with Barron technique ligation. "Symptomatic hemorrhoids degree I and II with a short clinical history should be treated initially with a rich fiber and water diet," the study authors conclude.
Posted by Kristopher Foster on May 4, 2006 02:49 PM
