Understanding Hernia..

Presenting the storyline of Hernia, which scientifically connotes when an internal organ of the body such as intestines pushes through an opening or weak spot in a surrounding muscle that normally holds it. I know you didn’t get it, Right! By the way don’t go with its name it can affect both male and female.

Better, understand that when an organ or it’s tissues budges from its normal position to the other position which most of the times can be accessed by yourself as a bulge or lump in the affected area especially when you are standing, coughing, bending down etc, like in Inguinal Type Hernia (most common).

Hernia are not life threatening but they have to be treated as they cannot go away by their own but if you left it untreated then they can cause too much pressure to nearby tissues which can further cause swelling, pain in the surrounding area or may trap your intestines and don’t let enough blood supply to it which actually leads to a worrisome situation. According to Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons, hernia get misdiagnosed in women’s with the ovarian cysts, endometriosis or other abdominal issues.

So it requires careful examination by your doctor where they gonna first do some physical examination to find out the bulge with list of questionaries to actually know the exact cause with proceeding further to some clinical investigation like abdominal ultrasound, CT scan, MRI scan etc. The diagnosis for Hernia varies with its type (which am gonna tell you shortly) for eg: in case of Hiatal hernia your doctor may provide you OTC medications for relieving you from the stomach acid discomfort etc while to the other type where the bulge or lump may be treated with medications or if not then your practitioner decides which type of surgery is best to operate for your condition on the basis of size of lump and severity of symptom.

There are many types of Hernia and some of them discussed below:

• Inguinal Hernia: It is the most common types with 75-80% chances of happenings in abdomen (the belly) where your intestines pushes through a weak spot near groin area (area between where your upper thigh and lower abdomen meets). You may notice a lump there which may give you bit discomfort or pain while coughing or while lifting heavy objects or sometimes painless too.
• Hiatal Hernia: It occurs when the upper part of your stomach protrudes up through the diaphragm and into chest region with some specific symptoms like: Heart burn, nausea, throat irritation, chest pain, trouble swallowing etc . It is most common in people over 50 years old.
• Umbilical Hernia: It’s prevalence ratio can lie in between 3-10% commonly in children and babies where you may notice a bulge near your child’s belly button as they cry and can be painless but needs a proper attention when there is a pain, swelling or vomiting. This type can disappear away by itself because the abdominal muscles get stronger as the child grows if not, then surgery can be used.
• Ventral Hernia: There is 2% chance for this type to occur which can be present either by birth or get acquired up at some point in lifetime like: obesity, any strenuous activity, pregnancy, at the site of surgical incisions. It can occur at any location on your abdominal wall with some discomfort while lifting heavy objects, sitting/standing for long time or strain during urination or bowel movements etc.
• Femoral Hernia: It includes a lump in the groin or inner thigh region with some nausea, stomach pain or vomiting in severe cases.

Now let’s begin with question how it is caused? Well there are many underlying causes that weakens the muscle or build up the strain, like: condition by birth (congenital condition), family history of Hernia, age, strenuous exercise or lifting heavy weights, pregnancy, constipation, obesity, smoking etc.

As I mentioned above that it can cause complications so an early medical care and some lifestyle changes can ease your symptoms like:

• Maintain a healthy diet which includes whole grain foods, fruits, vegetables. Eat rich food in smaller quantities don’t over feed yourself.
• Avoid citrus and acidic fruits- oranges, lemons, cranberry, lemonades etc .
• Limit high fat dairy products, butter, creams sauces, confectioneries, sugary items.
• Avoid processed flesh foods, red meat, fried meat etc.
• Drink plenty of water, aloevera juice, vegetable juice to reduce incidence of acid reflux and bloating.
• For immediate relief use ice packs which help to reduce the inflammation, pain, swelling in abdomen or groin area.
• Avoid lying down or going to sleep immediately after your meals.
• Maintain healthy weight.
• Do not smoke.
• Perform some yoga asanas and core exercises helps in strengthening the weak abdominal muscles. Care must be taken to avoid any type of exercise which includes heavy weight lifting as it may increase the pressure at the site of your hernia.

So if you sense of having hernia then it would be better to contact your doctor as many people wait until they experience pain or discomfort or the increase in lump size etc which actually gets worse and many times one is left with surgery as the only option.