Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
14772 Managing and Preventing Piles H: Lis Speight, Host
A: Dr Christian Jessen, Health Expert B: Elaine Regan, a patient with personal experience
of the problem
H: If you’re more likely to get piles again, how do you manage the condition? How do you
stop yourself getting them again? A: Well, how do you stop getting them is a
good question and really it’s all those causes that I listed before, in other words,
keeping your weight down, making sure you’re drinking plenty of water to keep your bowels
regular, getting plenty of fibre, insoluble fibre, in your diet. That’s the, sort of
roughage, cereals, vegetables, you know the stalks and leaves and bran and that sort of
thing. It’s really important because that all keeps the bowels moving regularly, stops
you getting bunged up and constipated. Do some regular exercise, because exercise doesn’t
just make you fit it actually improves your bowel health as well.
H: Yes, it’s interesting that isn’t it. It just keeps your body moving doesn’t it,
inside and out. A: It does, it’s sort of a clichéd expression
but it really does and exercise will also keep you regular. Avoid piling on the weight
round the middle. Obviously you can’t avoid pregnancy and unfortunately piles in pregnancy
are one of those but the fitter and healthier you are, the better your diet is, the more
exercise you do actually the less likely you are to get them.
H: And also, go to the loo when you need to go. I think women are really bad at that aren’t
they, sort of holding on to it until I get home.
A: And also not sitting on the loo for too long so go when you need to go and don’t
hold it in and don’t sit there for hours reading the papers, which I think is more
the men’s domain but that’s the other thing and it’s what I said before about
the floor of gravity, if you just sit there gravity does it’s job and these things come
out so avoid all of those things and actually, you can avoid getting piles.
H: What about sitting on a cold floor? My gym teacher would used to say ‘Girls don’t
sit on the concrete floor.’ Will that give you piles?
A: You’re going to love this, your gym teacher was absolutely wrong!
H: I knew it. A: No, not at all. I mean, they will if you
have piles, make them more uncomfortable because, obviously, sitting on a cold floor is hard
and unpleasant but they wont give you piles, it’s a bit of a myth that one.
H: And how would your GP handle it if you came in and said that you’ve got piles?
Elaine, you never quite made it to your GP but they used to dealing with these things,
aren’t they. A: It’s probably one of the commonest things
that we see, I have to say. Your GP will not bat an eyelid. I can quite understand your
embarrassment, but you have to remember that we do this sort of thing all day long, poor
us! So either they will just talk to you about your symptoms, and if it is as clear as mud
they will just say this is what you’ve got off you go, going and get some this, that
or the other from your pharmacy. They may decide to have a quick look and what I would
say is that if you are older, if you are 45, 50 or older and you’re getting any bleeding
from your bottom I would always go and see your GP first. 95% of the time it will be
something like a little tear or it will be piles. Ever so rarely it could be something
a little bit more serious and I would never ignore it, always ask your GP but most of
the time it will be straight forward and an over the counter remedy will sort you out.
H: Well Christian and Elaine thanks so much for coming in and talking to us about this.
Thanks for watching, we’ll see you next time. Bye bye.