HOMEOPATHY AND SURGERY

HOMEOPATHIC TREATMENT OF PILES
Piles is a very common surgical problem. Piles are nothing but veins which are present in the rectum. Normally they cause no problem, but when they start bleeding or paining or protruding from the anus the condition then needs treatment. The commonest cause of piles is hard motions which injure the veins causing them to bleed. Other causes which lead to increased pressure inside the abdomen eg. straining at motions, pregnancy, fluid collection in the abdomen in alcoholics can also cause piles. To begin with there is only bleeding, later as the problem progresses, the piles may protrude from the anal opening-this is stage 2. Further in stage 3 they may have to be pushed in manually & finally in stage 4 they remain protruding & surgery becomes a must. Hence to avoid surgery proper Homeopathic treatment must begin at stage 1 or 2 itself. It is important to control the bleeding & treat the constipation & hard motions with appropriate Homeopathic medicine. Besides, spicy food is to be strictly avoided. It is also important to have large amount of water intake besides fresh fruits & vegetables. Laxatives are not advisable to be taken repeatedly. It is here that homeopathy comes in. It stops bleeding immediately, treats the constipation without laxatives & heals the wound on the veins.

HOMEOPATHIC TREATMENT OF ANAL FISSURE
Fissures are caused by hard motions. Here the wound is in the form of a crack or cut on the inner lining of the mucous membrane of the anal canal. There is severe pain & bleeding during motions. The pain may even last for many hours. It normally takes 3 weeks to heal completely. But if it occurs repeatedly, the anal opening may eventually become smaller causing more frequent recurrences or at times even pus formation in the form of an abscess. This condition is extremely painful & surgery has to be resorted to remove the pus & dilate the anal opening. Besides an abscess once formed may cause a fistula which is discussed below. Hence it is important to treat the fissure at the earliest & prevent recurrences. Homeopathy has  medicines which act as laxatives to prevent hard motions & some ointments for internal application. Homeopathy deals with the problem through internal medication besides ointments. Even in cases of fissures, the same dietary principles mentioned above for piles, hold true.

HOMEOPATHIC TREATMENT OF GALL BLADDER STONES
Stones forming in the gall bladder are usually of 3 types, either cholesterol stones or stones made of some pigments found in the liver or mixed stones. The exact cause of gallstones is not known but it is more common in females especially above the age of forty, in those who are obese with a high level of blood cholesterol. Many a times these stones cause no problems & are detected accidentally on an abdominal sonography. However symptoms when present can be of many types. It could be just recurrent episodes of indigestion & flatulence with slight abdominal pain or frequent back pains on the right side or at times acute attacks of severe abdominal pain which makes the patient very restless. This usually occurs when the stone moves from the gall bladder to the bileduct & causes obstruction. Gallstones can cause complications in the form of obstruction of the bileduct leading to severe pain & jaundice or recurrent attacks of acute inflammation of the gall bladder itself or a thickened, shrunken & malfunctioning gall baldder. Usually surgery is advised & the gallbladder is removed. Surgery becomes absolutely necessary in cases of obstruction or shrunken gall bladder but if homeopathic treatment is started early enough in the course if the disease, complications & surgery can be avoided.  Homeopathy dissolves the stones & removes the tendency to form stones. However once the stones are dissolved & treatment discontinued it is still a safe practice to get a sonography done once a year for a few years to rule out recurrence.

HOMEOPATHY FOR RENAL STONES (KIDNEY STONES)
There are many theories as to the cause of kidney stones. It could be due to infection following which some pus cells & bacteria etc clump together to form stones, or some disorders which cause the amount of calcium &/or phosphorus in the blood to increase, or prolonged periods of bed rest due to illness or parathyroid disease. It is difficult to say which theory is the most accurate. However there are 3 types of renal stones namely calcium, phosphorus & uric acid stones. They could be asymptomatic & exist for years without the patient being aware of them or cause symptoms in the form of severe pains extending from the back to the lower abdomen in front with painful urination & at times there is only a dull pain at the back overlying the region of the kidney. Their diagnosis is confirmed on Urine test & sonography. They could be very small to begin with, but over the years could enlarge considerably affecting the kidney function & causing a portion of the kidney to be swollen or enlarged besides leading to an increase in blood pressure. They could even cause repeated episodes of severe pain & blood in the urine. Hence it is best to treat them Homeopathically when they are small & can be excreted through the urine. Once the complications set in, the Homeopathic medicine can still work and can prevent surgery or lithotripsy. However the possibility of recurrence is always there. But homeopathy has a very good scope of dissolving them & preventing recurrence.

HOMEOPATHIC TREATMENT FOR PROSTATE ENLARGEMENT
Prostate is a gland present in the males & is situated at the base of the urinary bladder. It starts increasing in size after the age of 40-45 years due to hormonal changes. Slowly the person starts developing symptoms in the form of increased frequency of urination, inability to hold the urine once the urge occurs & difficulty in passing urine. The urine does not flow freely & passes either in a thin stream or drop by drop. The more the person strains the more difficult it is for him to pass urine. He has to relax for the urine to pass. At times sudden obstruction might occur & no urine passes leading to severe pain. This is an emergency & the patient has to be admitted to hospital. Surgery is then the only option. However we can treat it with Homeopathy in the early stages itself so that further enlargement doesn't occur as well as reduce the size of the prostate.

HOMEOPATHY FOR PRE-OPERATIVE PROBLEMS
The thought of a surgery often produces various symptoms in the patients probably out of fear. Some of these could be- weakness, trembling, loss of appetite, sleeplessness, increased pulse rate, high blood pressure, frequent urination or motions, nausea , vomiting. At such times homeopathic medicines help the patient to be physically as well as mentally prepare for the surgery.


HOMEOPATHY FOR POST-OPERATIVE PROBLEMS
Most operations are followed by many post-operative problems most of them due to the effects of anaesthesia & others due to the damaged tissues. Some of the common complains are- nausea, vomiting, inability to urinate, pain at the operation site, gases, constipation, burning while passing urine, nerve pains, weakness & lethargy, headaches due to spinal anaesthesia. Homeopathy can provide great relief in such cases.