For a diagnosis of Hemorrhoids, the following list of conditions have been mentioned in sources as possible alternative diagnoses to consider during the diagnostic process for Hemorrhoids:
The other diseases for which Hemorrhoids is listed as a possible alternative diagnosis in their lists include:
Causes of Hemorrhoids may include these medical conditions:
Commonly undiagnosed conditions in related areas may include:
Many anorectal problems, including fissures, fistulae, abscesses, or irritation and itching (pruritus ani), have similar symptoms and are incorrectly referred to as hemorrhoids. (Source: excerpt from Hemorrhoids: NIDDK)
Chronic digestive conditions often misdiagnosed: When diagnosing chronic symptoms of the digestive tract, there are a variety of conditions that may be misdiagnosed. The best known, irritable bowel syndrome, is over-diagnosed, whereas other causes that are less known may be overlooked or misdiagnosed: celiac disease, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis (both are called inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)), diabetic gastroparesis, diabetic diarrhea. Other possibilities include giardia, colon cancer, or other chronic infections.
Intestinal bacteria disorder may be hidden cause: One of the lesser known causes of diarrhea is an imbalance of bacterial in the gut, sometimes called intestinal imbalance. The digestive system contains a variety of "good" bacteria that aid digestion, and they can decline for various reasons, leading to digestive symptoms such as diarrhea. The main treatment is to eat foods containing probiotics, typically yoghurt cultures. See intestinal imbalance and probiotics.
Antibiotics often causes diarrhea: The use of antibiotics are very likely to cause some level of diarrhea in patients. The reason is that antibiotics kill off not only "bad" bacteria, but can also kill the "good" bacteria in the gut. This leads to "digestive imbalance" where there are too few remaining "good" bacteria in the digestive system. The treatment is typically to use "probiotics", such as by eating yoghurt cultures containing more of the good bacteria. See digestive imbalance and probiotics.
Food poisoning may actually be an infectious disease: Many people who come down with "stomach symptoms" like diarrhea assume that it's "something I ate" (i.e. food poisoning). In fact, it's more likely to be an infectious diarrheal illness (i.e. infectious diarrhea), that has been caught from another person. Such conditions may be transmitted via the fecal-oral route.
Mesenteric adenitis misdiagnosed as appendicitis in children: Because appendicitis is one of the more feared conditions for a child with abdominal pain, it can be over-diagnosed (it can, of course, also fail to be diagnosed with fatal effect). One of the most common misdiagnosed is for children with mesenteric adenitis to be misdiagnosed as appendicitis. Fortunately, thus misdiagnosis is usually less serious than the reverse failure to diagnose appendicitis.
Celiac disease often fails to be diagnosed cause of chronic digestive symptoms: One of the most common chronic digestive conditions is celiac disease, a malabsorption disorder with a variety of symptoms (see symptoms of celiac disease). A variety of other chronic digestive disorders tend to be diagnosed rather than this condition. See introduction to celiac disease or misdiagnosis of celiac disease.
Chronic digestive diseases hard to diagnose: There is an inherent difficulty in diagnosing the various types of chronic digestive diseases. Some of the better known possibilities are peptic ulcer, colon cancer, irritable bowel syndrome, or GERD. Other sometimes overlooked possibilities include Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, chronic appendicitis, Celiac disease, Carcinoid syndrome, gastroparesis, and others. See all types of chronic digestive diseases.
Painful anorectal conditions: Anorectal problems are common and tend to cause serious anxiety in the patient due to its alarming symptoms like extreme pain, discharge, bleeding, pruritus and lumps. Some of the conditions to be kept in mind in order not to miss out on correct condition would include anal fissure, haemorrhoids, perianal abscess and solitary rectal ulcer. Anal fissure can be extremely painful and a careful inspection alone must be done to come to a diagnosis. Perianal abscess presents with throbbing pain, fever and tender swelling can be felt. Look for evidence of a fistula. Bleeding is the main and only symptom in case of haemorrhoids. In solitary ulcer, sigmoidoscopy helps. Management is difficult and a chronic course is common.
Rare types of medical disorders and diseases in related medical areas:
The following medical news items are relevant to misdiagnosis of Hemorrhoids:
Read these general articles with an overview of misdiagnosis issues.
When checking for a misdiagnosis of Hemorrhoids or confirming a diagnosis of Hemorrhoids, it is useful to consider what other medical conditions might be possible misdiagnoses or other alternative conditions relevant to diagnosis. These alternate diagnoses of Hemorrhoids may already have been considered by your doctor or may need to be considered as possible alternative diagnoses or candidates for misdiagnosis of Hemorrhoids. For a general overview of misdiagnosis issues for all diseases, see Overview of Misdiagnosis.
What do you think about the features of this website? Take our user survey and have your say:
Next articles:
Tools & Services:
Medical Articles:
Search Specialists by State and City
By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use. Information provided on this site is for informational purposes only; it is not intended as a substitute for advice from your own medical team. The information on this site is not to be used for diagnosing or treating any health concerns you may have - please contact your physician or health care professional for all your medical needs. Please see our Terms of Use.
Copyright © 2009 Health Grades Inc. All rights reserved.
Whenever you go to a hospital or clinic for a major procedure or diagnostic test, one of the many forms you are given to sign is an "informed...
Germs are a fact of life and catching an infectious disease like a cold may seem inevitable. But there are simple ways to protect yourself against...
Sexual contact can sometimes result in problems. An unwanted pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases may be some of those consequences. But by...
Stress takes its toll by making us anxious, depressed and not able to function as fully as we'd like. What many don't know is that stress can...