聖誕謹防痔瘡爆發 吃好睡飽是關鍵
Piles are caused by straining the lower bowel - they often appear during pregnancy because of increased pressure on the veins, or after childbirth because of the pressure caused when pushing the baby out - and they can stay put for many years。
However, a far more common cause is straining because one is constipated - and this is where bowel habits come into the equation because to prevent constipation, you have to address diet。
痔瘡的成因是腸道末端緊張性而造成的，婦女在懷孕期間靜脈曲張，或是在分娩時推送嬰兒所造成，後遺症或延續數年。而另一更常見的誘因則是便祕，爲保持排泄暢通，飲食方面則需多加註意。
Unfortunately, over the Christmas party season you are likely to be snacking endlessly on canapes rather than eating a balanced meal for lunch or dinner and most likely drinking more alcohol than normal。
Many of my patients go to a party thinking that they will tuck into canapes as a substitute for a proper dinner。
While canapes may be tasty and those mini-hamburgers and tiny cornets of fish and chips look appealing - virtually all canapes are highly calorific and contain few nutrients。
Unless they are homemade they are likely to be processed and high in saturated fats, salt and often sugar。
Few party foods are going to be good for bowel health and - because the fibre content will be low - are more likely to put you at risk of piles。
不幸的是，在節日期間保持均衡的膳食攝取則變得越發困難。儘管派對上常見的美食看起來都非常誘人，但其實都是無一例外的都屬於高脂肪高鹽和高糖的食物，而且它們的纖維含量較低，這增加了痔瘡“爆發”的危險。
To offset this problem, try to make sure that you eat the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetable a day, preferably more, and fill up on some of these before you go to the party so you do not rely on canapes as the source of your main meal。
You should also eat high-fibre foods - for instance Weetabix or bran-based cereals - for breakfast as this will certainly help combat the negative effect of fingerfoods。
Most of us enjoy the flow of alcohol at Christmas but consume too much and you will become dehydrated and in turn constipated。
On the other hand, too much alcohol - binge-drinking in particular - can also lead to diarrhoea. I suggest to patients alternating a glass of wine, for example, with one of water or a soft drink。
This will help keep the faeces at the right consistency so as not to cause straining, which can lead to bleeding, itching or even an anal fissure (a small tear in the anus)。
It may be hard to believe, but lack of sleep from all that partying can also cause piles。爲了防止這樣的情況發生，你可以在赴約前先吃五分飽的蔬菜及水果，這樣勢必會減少你對於派對食物的需求，同時還應儘量選擇例如麥麩或粗糧等的高纖維食品。朋友之間暢飲幾杯是在所難免，但是過度飲酒會造成脫水，從而引發便祕，嚴重者或出現出血甚至肛裂的情況。
The bowel has one of the richest areas of nerve supply in the body and the brain-bowel connection - the theory that the health of the gut does seem to be directly linked to the mind - is well-established。
So, if you are overtired and cannot sleep then you could get stressed in which case there is a good chance that your bowel will not be working efficiently and you may become constipated。
Even clothing may exacerbate piles if you already have them - I've had female patients complaining that thongs and G-strings can cause pain and it is quite possible that tight undergarments, such as the currently fashionable compression underwear that pulls in the stomach and bottom, might cause problems if too tight and putting pressure on the back passage。
另外，睡眠不足也將會也將會導致便祕，因爲腸道周圍神經密集，並直接受大腦的支配，理論是上心理狀況的“晴雨表”。若你過度勞累和難以入眠，這將影響到腸胃的正常“運作”，或產生便祕的情況。甚至，不科學着裝也會加重病症，以目前流行的緊身衣便是爲例，它會對腹部中下段造成擠壓，如果過緊將造成同樣的問題。
The good news is that piles may be uncomfortable but are rarely dangerous。
However, if there are any symptoms - whether new, worrying or frequent - which persist and may not be related to piles, you should go straight to your GP who, unless there is a clear cause (such as an anal fissure)， will refer you to a specialist to exclude more serious causes including polyps, cancer and inflammatory bowel disease。
痔瘡雖然很不舒服，不過好在並非危險病症。如果有類似的症狀發生，應立即就醫，若任其發展或照成息肉，腸道炎症嚴重者或發展成癌症。
