How to prepare for an examination by a proctologist?

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A proctologist is a highly specialized doctor who specializes in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of proctological diseases. We are talking about problems associated with the large intestine and pararectal area. A medical professional treats pathologies such as:

• benign and malignant neoplasms;
• fistulas and growths;
• hemorrhoids of any stage;
• ulcerative colitis;
• Crohn's disease;
• chronic and acute proctitis;
• dysbacteriosis;

Proctologists treat infectious and inflammatory processes, lesions of the colon, and gastrointestinal disorders. According to medical statistics, patients are sent for diagnostic tests and an appointment with a proctologist when the pain is unbearable and their condition worsens significantly. In the early stages, most patients self-medicate, thereby worsening the condition and aggravating the disease.

People believe that their illness is shameful, but this opinion is wrong. The later the patient seeks qualified help, the longer and more difficult the treatment will be . Every day the condition worsens, even if the person does not physically feel it. The intestinal walls become thinner, the mucous membrane becomes irritated. An infection spreads in the body and affects other internal organs.

If the first symptoms appear, immediately seek help from a proctologist. The attending physician will examine the affected area, conduct an examination with palpation, thereby determining the presence of tumors, anal fissures, infectious and inflammatory processes. After this, the patient is sent for laboratory tests. These include a general blood test, urine and stool tests. In some cases, an occult blood test will be required.

After laboratory diagnostics, the results are sent to the patient’s attending physician. The proctologist analyzes the results and sends the patient for instrumental diagnostic examinations, such as endoscopy, ultrasound, computed tomography. Modern technology and equipment make it possible to establish an accurate diagnosis at an early stage of the disease. The final stage of consultation with a proctologist is the drawing up of an individual treatment plan. For each patient, a plan is drawn up individually and treatment methods are selected.

During the treatment and rehabilitation period, the patient regularly visits the attending physician, who monitors the condition, monitors improvements and deteriorations.

When should you visit a proctologist?

According to medical statistics, hemorrhoids are diagnosed in 80% of people of working age. In most patients, the disease is just beginning to develop, so there are no symptoms. In some patients, symptoms begin to appear, but the person is in no hurry to see a doctor because of embarrassment. When the pain intensifies, the patient still goes for an appointment. When should you contact a proctologist ?

Pay attention to symptoms such as trauma to the anus, hemorrhoids, and the appearance of hemorrhoids of any size. A signal that indicates impaired functioning of the body is nausea and vomiting after eating, flatulence and bloating. Gastrointestinal disorders have a negative impact on the intestines. With persistent diarrhea, the mucous membrane becomes irritated and the anus becomes red and swollen. Chronic constipation, in turn, provokes injury to the intestinal walls and the appearance of anal fissures.

You should also visit a proctologist if the following symptoms are present:

• fistulas and polyps;
• pain in the anus;
• oncology;
• impurities of blood, pus and mucus in the stool;
• bloating;
• sharp pain in the lower abdomen;
• anemia or anemia;

Lack of appetite, insomnia and constant fatigue also indicate the development of a pathological process.

Preparing for examination by a proctologist

Before visiting a proctologist, certain preparations should be made. When visiting specialists of a narrow profile, preparation must be thorough. Take care of your diet. You should eat 5 times a day in small portions. A balanced diet has a positive effect on the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and normalizes stool. Eliminate legumes, flour, confectionery, and cabbage from your diet. It is strictly forbidden to consume foods high in fiber, fatty and smoked. Such products cause gas formation and disrupt bowel movements.

It is advisable to exclude raw fruits and vegetables and sugar from the diet. Include porridges and broths, fermented milk products, rye bread, and plenty of fluids in your diet. It is prohibited to consume alcoholic and carbonated drinks, juices with pulp. It is recommended to eat no later than an hour and a half before visiting the proctologist. If bloating is observed, you can take the drug Espumisan.

Take care of hygiene. Rinse the anus with warm water and chamomile infusion. This way the affected area will be disinfected. Intestinal cleansing should be done. There are two ways to do this:

• mechanical rinsing using an enema;
• use of laxatives;

If the patient has acute pain in the intestines before taking it, you should not cleanse the body yourself. It is better to go to a doctor who will examine the patient in a state where the disease is progressing and prescribe painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs. After pain relief, diagnostic and laboratory tests will be performed.

Why is a colon cleanse performed?

As you know, it is impossible to conduct an examination without a cleansing enema. Cleansing the intestines is necessary in order to make an accurate diagnosis and analyze the patient’s condition as much as possible. Visual and hardware inspections will not bring problems or inconvenience; the procedure will be as informative as possible. The cleansing procedure is performed two hours before visiting the doctor. In this case, the patient is given two cleansing enemas, with a break between them of half an hour.

It is recommended to cleanse the body using the drug Microlax. Please read the instructions first to determine the indications and contraindications for the components of the drug. The drug has a double effect. Microlax normalizes metabolism, simplifies bowel movements and softens stool. In addition, the components increase fluid in the intestines. There are no contraindications other than individual intolerance to the drug.

How to use Microlax before taking it? The use of the product is considered convenient and does not cause discomfort. The effect of the medicine is gentle and effective at the same time. You should open the tube with Microlax, press and lubricate the tip. After this, insert the tip into the anus to its full length. Inject the medication into the anus and then remove the tip. The body will be cleansed within a few minutes after administration of the product. Cleansing the body should be carried out three hours before visiting the proctologist.

Enema at home

Pour up to one and a half liters of drinking water at room temperature (26-28 degrees) into Esmarch’s mug, raise it to a height of 1-1.5 m and release a small amount of water (and air along with it). You need to lie on your left side with your legs bent and pulled towards your stomach. Lubricate the tip with vegetable oil or baby cream. Immediately insert the tip (3-4 cm) towards the navel, the rest - parallel to the tailbone. Open the tap. Almost immediately the urge to stool will appear. Reduce the speed of water supply, you can stroke the stomach in a circular motion. It is advisable to hold the water for about 10 minutes. Be sure to take a break of at least 35 minutes between two enemas. After each enema, make sure that the water containing any remaining stool comes out.

How is a proctologist examined?

Initially, the attending physician gets to know the patient, analyzes the complaints and symptoms that worry the patient. After this, the proctologist answers questions, clarifies the nature and intensity of pain. We are talking about appetite, bowel movements, frequency of bowel movements, and the presence of acute pain. Attention is paid to the presence of mucus impurities. Blood or pus in the stool. The proctologist also clarifies information regarding dietary habits, general health, weakness or headaches.

The doctor must clarify whether the patient was self-medicating before the appointment. After this, an initial examination and palpation of the anus is carried out. The patient is sent to the examination room, where he is given disposable medical underwear. The underwear has an incision in the anus area. It is necessary to remove clothes to the waist and lie in a lying position on your side, pressing your knees to your chest.

A visual examination includes assessing the severity of the condition and diagnosing neoplasms. The proctologist performs a digital examination. Before this, the medical worker must treat his hands with antiseptics and apply an anesthetic to the anus to eliminate pain during the examination. The attending physician evaluates the condition of the muscles and mucous membranes and detects the presence of a pathological process. Palpation is necessary in order to determine the presence of contraindications when performing an endoscopic examination.

Reasons for visiting a doctor

The diseases that a proctologist treats are quite common. This is due to the very cause of many diseases, these include sexually transmitted infections; bad habits; obesity; poor nutrition; hard physical labor, etc.

For most patients, going to such a doctor is associated with unpleasant associations, sometimes shame.

In view of this, people often postpone consultation and resort to traditional methods of treatment or simply medicines from advertising. Such unconscious actions lead to serious complications, including colon cancer.

If you pay attention to dangerous symptoms in time and do not delay the examination, you can avoid the disease altogether, reducing the time and costs of treatment in the future.

Therefore, it is worth familiarizing yourself with the reasons for visiting a coloproctologist:

• frequent loose stools may indicate intestinal irritation, ulcerative colitis, proctitis;
• discharge of mucus, blood or pus from the anus;
• tenesmus – false urge to defecate without further bowel movements;
• constipation is rarely considered a serious problem, but it is necessary to treat it with a specialist, since feces can accumulate in the intestines;
• anal itching sometimes indicates parasites, infection, fissure, psoriasis;
• change in stool over the past 6 months.

Such symptoms are typical for both adults and children. If even one sign appears in an adult or child, you should seek help. In addition, there are a number of cases when a visit to a proctologist is mandatory, even if there are no noticeable symptoms. This includes pregnant women in the last trimester, since the fetus and amniotic fluid create pressure on the pelvic part. After giving birth, a woman should definitely consult a specialist, since tissue rupture also leads to a number of similar problems.

Preventive examinations are recommended: during menopause, people with sedentary work, those who are overweight, and after illnesses of a similar nature. People who have one or more relatives with colorectal cancer should undergo periodic consultations, especially after 40 years of age.

Diagnosis of proctological diseases

What diagnostic methods are used to identify proctological pathologies? The most popular method is anoscopy. This is a procedure that examines the rectum and anus using an anoscope. The manipulation does not cause discomfort to the patient. If discomfort is still present, the doctor applies an anesthetic gel to the affected area.

Colonoscopy is often performed in medical practice. The colonoscope is inserted into the anus, after which the condition of the mucous membrane and all parts of the intestine is demonstrated on a special screen. The colonoscope tube contains a small camera that helps visualize the internal organs.

Colonoscopy is considered a low-traumatic diagnostic method. The duration of the procedure is forty minutes. Recovery after manipulation is not long. The patient recovers from anesthesia, comes to his senses, and then returns to his usual lifestyle. It is imperative to cleanse the intestines before the procedure. It is worth cleaning the intestines as much as possible. If feces and food remain in the body, visibility will become difficult. The results of the study will not be as accurate.

For each patient, a strict diet is drawn up individually and a preparation plan is drawn up. We are talking about giving up certain foods and taking medications. It is advisable to exclude raw fruits and vegetables, milk, baked goods and high-fiber foods from the diet. It is difficult to see the intestines when consuming confectionery, carbonated drinks, salty and fried foods.

Diagnosis of proctological pathologies includes laboratory tests, for example, testing blood, urine and feces for occult blood. First of all, you should contact a proctologist, who will refer the patient for the necessary studies.

What to expect at your appointment

If this is a planned first visit to a coloproctologist without visible symptoms, then the appointment will not take much time. If the patient has complaints, the examination will require a more detailed diagnosis. First of all, the doctor will interview the patient and study his medical history, if any. The initial examination consists of palpation of the intestine and manual examination of the intestine.

Anoscopy is also considered a mandatory method of examination. This procedure is carried out using a special device - an anoscope.

This is a small tube that is inserted into the colon for a more detailed examination. Such measures allow you to thoroughly examine the intestinal walls, check for cracks, neoplasms, tumors, etc. During anoscopy, the doctor can take material for a biopsy.

If the initial examination and collection of patient complaints suggest a suspicion of a more serious problem, a colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy may be necessary. All of them are performed with the help of special devices, and are not always painful. Colonoscopy is used for a complete examination of the colon; today this procedure is considered the most informative among other diagnostic options. Almost all procedures that may be accompanied by pain are performed under local or general anesthesia.

After collecting all the necessary information and biomaterial, the proctologist can refer the patient for additional blood, stool and urine tests. This is necessary to check for the presence of fungi, viruses, determine tumor markers, and more. The specialist will make an accurate diagnosis after the picture of the disease is completely formed. You may also need to consult with doctors from other specialties if problems with bowel movements or anal itching are the causes of certain ailments.

After this, there may be two options for events: the doctor will say that everything is in order (if this is a preventive examination) and will advise preventive measures; The doctor will establish a diagnosis and treatment options. Management of such patients does not always require surgery; in many cases, diet and drug therapy are sufficient. In addition, many situations that were previously solved surgically can now be eliminated using gentle methods, for example, using a laser.