Internal Hemorrhoids

Internal hemorrhoids generally are painless but can cause bleeding. Colo-rectal cancer can also cause rectal bleeding, so you need to see your doctor to rule out cancer or other serious causes of rectal bleeding.

Internal hemorrhoids involve the veins inside the rectum. A prolapsed hemorrhoid is an internal hemorrhoid which stretches down and out of the anus. Internal hemorrhoids, unless they are severe, cannot be seen or felt. There is however, a discharge of dark blood. Internal hemorrhoids and external hemorrhoids result in swollen or inflamed veins in the rectum.

External hemorrhoids can often be protruding from the anal canal, in this case the look like a lump or mound of skin covered flesh. Internal hemorrhoids are located above the dentate line and are lined by rectal mucosa. Hemorrhoids typically occur in the right anterior, right posterior, and left lateral zones. They can classified by the degree of prolapse.

Grade I internal hemorrhoids don’t prolapse at all. They can cause bleeding or they may push out of (prolapse) the anal opening when they become quite large. They are assessed and treated according to how bad they are and involve the veins inside your rectum. You can’t feel pain on the inside of your rectum, so you may not feel pain from an internal hemorrhoid.

Therefore since there  are no symptoms from the outside, they are harder to identify. One way to get a suspicion of those is from the bleeding that may come while passing stool.

Internal hemorrhoids lack nerves and are painless. When they bleed, the blood is usually bright red and seen on the outer part of stools after defecation.