Types of Hemorrhoids – What You Need to Know About the Various Types of Piles

There are five types of hemorrhoids that people can develop. The types of hemorrhoids a person develops will depend on what caused the hemorrhoids to form in the first place; how soon the formations are identified, the lifestyle factors that have contributed to the onset of the formations, and the remedies a person chooses for getting rid of hemorrhoids.

Understanding the difference between the five types of hemorrhoids helps people to better understand hemorrhoid formations and their severity.

Know Not This Type of Type - Silly...  Type of Hemorrhoids

External Versus Internal

When a person thinks of hemorrhoids, they commonly think of external formations: these appear as swollen, sore, tender, and irritated lumps on the anus or around the peripheral areas of the anal opening. External hemorrhoids can be easily identified by their appearance whereas internal hemorrhoids may never present themselves outside the anus, that is, unless they become severe enough to prolapse.

A prolapsed hemorrhoid is one that begins inside the rectum and ends up outside the anus when pressure is applied to the anorectal region.

Pressure from pregnancy, childbirth, straining during bowel evacuation, prolonged sitting or standing, and heavy lifting can all lead to internal hemorrhoids, prolapsed hemorrhoids, and external piles.

You do also get hemorrhoids that are thrombosed with you can learn about on our thrombosed hemorrhoids page, as well as vaginal hemorrhoids.

To see photos of various types of hemorrhoids so that you can try and self diagnose you can visit our hemorrhoids pictures page. However, we do recommend that you should always visit your doctor for a full and proper diagnosis.

Types of Hemorrhoids and the Grading System

Internal formations are sometimes classified by a doctor using a grading system. The grading system is used for expressing the degree of severity of the hemorrhoids in question. The system used for grading severity of hemorrhoids consists of levels I through IV.

When grading internal piles, the severity of the formation and the degree of prolapse play a role in the grade valuation assigned to the hemorrhoid. The grade valuations indicate the following:

Exactly How Are Your Hemorrhoids Graded?

Internal Hemorrhoid Grade I:

This type of formation remains inside the rectum and no prolapsed formation is present. When it comes to internal formations, a Grade I formation is the mildest form of hemorrhoids one can develop. An individual may experience anorectal bleeding, irritation, itchiness, and mild to moderate discomfort.

Sometimes, Grade I formations will shrink without the need for any further treatment. Grade I hemorrhoids are also responsive to conservative treatments; suppositories can be inserted inside the rectum so that internal formations will eventually shrink and disappear.

Internal Hemorrhoid Grade II:

This type of formation remains inside the rectum until an individual attempts to evacuate the bowels. While evacuating the bowels, the formation will be forced outside the anus. When finished defecating, the formation will return back inside the rectum spontaneously. A person may experience anorectal bleeding, mild to moderate discomfort, burning, itchiness, and area tenderness.

Grade II hemorrhoids will often respond to conservative treatment methods, however, some individuals will have Grade II formations that become Grade III hemorrhoids.

Internal Hemorrhoid Grade III:

This type of formation is very much like a Grade II internal hemorrhoid; just like the Grade II formation, the hemorrhoid is forced out of the anal opening during the act of evacuating the bowels.

The Grade III formation differs however, in that it does not spontaneously return to its original location inside the anus, but remains prolapsed and continues to protrude outside of the anal cavity. A person can experience moderate to severe pain with a Grade III hemorrhoid formation.

The level of pain can increase if the formation becomes strangulated. This type of hemorrhoid has to be pushed back into the anal cavity and requires manual manipulation. This kind of hemroid will often bleed more than a grade I or II and they can become larger, more painful, and more inflamed.

The Grade III hemorrhoid can prove problematic: it does not always respond to conservative treatment. An individual may be forced to seek out other treatment alternatives like rubber band ligation, sclerotherapy, cyrotherapy, or laser treatments to get rid of the formation.

Internal Hemorrhoid Grade IV: 

A Grade IV prolapsed internal hemorrhoid is the worst type of hemorrhoid a person can develop. This formation begins inside the anus and is forced outside of the anus during bowel evacuation.

This type of hemorrhoid differs from a Grade III formation however, since it becomes so engorged that it cannot be manipulated manually or pushed back inside the anal cavity. This type of hemorrhoid is in danger of becoming thrombosed: prolonged strangulation of the hemorrhoid leads to blood clot formation and the hardening of the hemorrhoid.

If an individual develops a Grade IV formation, medical attention is advised. This type of formation may require surgical removal via a hemorrhoidectomy. A doctor can perform a hemorrhoidectomy that involves the removal of the hardened blood clot from the interior of the hemorrhoid and the suturing of the wound created via a small incision at the base of the formation.

How You Know if You have a Piles

We have put a detailed list of some of the signs you should be looking out for on your hemorrhoids symptoms page, but here are a few pointers to get you started.

You might experience a burning or itchy feeling after a bowel movement even after you have wiped. You may also feel an aching in the anus after a particularly painful release of feces. You might feel a lump outside or inside the anus that is hard and fleshy or you may see the bright red blood that we have mentioned.

Dealing With The Various Types of Hemorrhoids

Find the Root Cause and Exterminate it!

How you choose to deal with your hemroid problem will probably depend on exactly which Grade or type of hemorrhoids that you are suffering.

The good news is that for many people piles will go away by themselves, in due course; however for those who find that they have a persistent problem they will probably need to be more proactive.

Some people prefer to look for at home remedies for hemorrhoids while others prefer the more conventional hemorrhoid treatments. Whatever the case may be for you, and know matter what type of hemorrhoids you have, if the problem is persistent, unless you want surgery, you are going to want to get to the bottom of what is causing the root problem and deal with that first.