In this post, we’ll take you through everything that you need to know about hernias, including what causes them, how you can know you have one, and what the possible treatments might be. Understanding all of this should be a huge help should you have one in the future, or even just be worried about having one.
What Is A Hernia?
First and foremost, what exactly is a hernia? In simple terms, a hernia is just when the intestine pushes through a weak spot in the lower abdomen. When this happens, it causes a physical and visible lump on the outside of the body, which is usually accompanied by a strong degree of pain. There can also be hernias that cause other symptoms such as chest pain, trouble swallowing, or even heartburn, although not with all kinds of hernias. There are also hernias that may cause no symptoms whatsoever, although these tend to be somewhat rarer.
Who Can Get A Hernia?
A hernia can happen to anyone at any age - it can even occur in newborn babies in some rare cases. They are slightly more common amongst the male population - in fact, around a quarter of men develop a groin hernia at some point in their lifetime. It is more likely, however, amongst those who have some family history of hernias, although having such a history is not necessary for a hernia to appear.The Symptoms
So what are the symptoms of a hernia? There are several, including some that we have looked at briefly above. The main symptoms you are likely to notice if you have a hernia are pain and the swollen lump itself. However, it’s important to bear in mind that a hernia very often goes without any symptoms at all, and in fact, it might not be noticed at all until a doctor is examining you for a different reason altogether. When there is pain and a lot of swelling, that is often because the hernia has progressed quite a lot, so that is something to bear in mind too.
However, you may experience swelling and pain, and these might occur especially after some physical exertion. You might also find it is worse at the end of the day, or that it disappears altogether when you are lying down. If you notice any of these symptoms, you should get them checked out as soon as possible.
Diagnosis
You might be wondering how a hernia is normally diagnosed, especially if it often comes without symptoms at all. In fact, this is usually made quite easily by your doctor or GP, and they should be able to tell just by looking at and feeling the lump itself. If it is a rare case where the lump is not easy to detect, however, then it might be necessary for you to undergo a scan such as an MRI to help detect the hernia. In general, however, they are quite easy to diagnose.Treatment
The most important thing of all is knowing how they are treated. The good news here is that hernias are usually not hard to treat, but they do often require an operation to get rid of them. However, this is a kind of surgery that can be very simple and straightforward, and rarely has too many complications associated with it.Most hernias are fixed by placing a small sheet of mesh over them in the muscle affected. This can be very effective, although there are times when you might find that they cause unnecessary damage - as you can find out if you take a look at this page from Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers. In general, however, hernia treatment goes pretty well without too much of a hitch.
Most of the time, you will find that recovery from hernia surgery only takes a day or so. This means that you should be able to return to work before too long, and to other activities too - although it might take a week or more before you can get back to doing anything strenuous.
Remember to contact your doctor if you think you might have a hernia.
