If I had an open wound on my body, I would imagine rubbing excrement in it would cause infection. For hemorrhoids, it is often the excrement that causes the bleeding as it rubs itself on the wound. How are hemorrhoids so common but infection from them not?
In: Biology
Infections of surface level wounds are not super severe or high risk.
Not all hemeroids burst open. And there is no guarantee waste is smeared over one that is burst
Hopefully people are taking some extra precautions in the clean up phase….even a non medicated wet wipe can remove contaminants
I asked this same question to my doctor years ago. He indicated that certain parts of body have more capillaries and thus higher/faster immune response. This being one of them. I imagine minor infections get wiped out all the time and you never know.
The rectum/poop chute also has special powers to fight infection. Considering a bad hemorrhoid is open wound that poop gets rubbed over, realize that the mouth and anus are magical places with superhero capability to fight infection. They have an amazingly good blood supply (a good blood supply means that white blood cell soldiers can be efficiently delivered to the battlefront in cases of early infection), and an ability to heal very very very quickly (think about the last time you bit your cheek. By the following day it was healed). Finally the mouth and the anus have a special type of antibiotic in it that has a “glycoprotein” structure that has very special infection fighting capabilities, pretty much only found in those “high bacteria areas”.
You are right. If you had a similar problem in another poopy area like the right colon (found way up inside your belly cavity) that had the same rough open inflamed structure as a hemorrhoid you might die in a few days.
i asked a proctologist about this: “isnt it dangerous to get fecal matter in the blood?”
he said something like “not down there, and we dont know why exactly”
Get a bidet, get yourself some Balneol cleansing lotion and if you’re feeling froggy some Calmoseptine diaper rash cream. It has a mint or something tingly aspect that feels quite nice.
Source: was once heavily pregnant with twins and my butthole has been changed for life.
I always think back to my medical school textbook which described the anus/rectum as being so well-perfused that it usually “heals beautifully” (their words, not mine).
Is gravity and pressure a friend here as well?
Yes, there is an open wound that is bleeding. Yes, the bleeding was caused by abrasion from the excrement. But the blood is going to follow the path of least resistance, taking debris/foreign bodies with it as it flows.
Just thinking out loud, but v interesting question.
Hemorrhoids are not dangerous because they are simply swollen veins in the rectal area and are not prone to infections. Although they can cause bleeding, the blood loss is usually minimal and does not pose a threat to overall health. Furthermore, the rectal area is typically well-equipped to handle bacteria and other germs, reducing the risk of infection.
Apparently there is a medical condition called an anal fistula which is basically an infection that leads to a tunnel from deep inside your rectum to an outside spot somewhere near your rectum (but could be somewhere further too). The procedure to resolve this is called a fistulectomy which involves having the surgeon just opening up that tunnel and leaving the wound fully exposed until it heals on its own.
Imagine your rectum having a deep surgical cut that’s just left open until your body does its magic.
I always wondered this when I was spraying blood on the back of the toilet seat…good question. At age 5-all should know it’s fine to drop a liter of big red down the toilet 3-6 times a day. It saves water too.
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