New Delhi: If you take your smartphone to the toilet, chances of getting piles may go up as using the device in the loo may make you spend a longer time there, increasing the pressure on the veins of the anus in the lower rectum, health experts have warned. The impulse to check official mails or social media updates makes one carry phones even to the toilet, but few people may be aware of the dangerous consequences of such a habit.
“Now this unnecessary consumed time with phone while sitting in the toilet leads to more straining and descent in lower rectal mucosa as well as the anal cushion which further leads to formation of perianal problems like haemorrhoids or piles and fissures,” said Dipankar Sankar Mitra, Executive Consultant, Department of GI & HPB Surgery at Jaypee Hospital in Noida.
Naveen Kumar, Consultant Gastroenterology, Narayana Superspeciality Hospital in Gurugram, agreed that prolonged sitting, which can happen if you get very absorbed in your smartphone, can increase the risk of haemorrhoids.
“It’s not the actual act of using a smartphone that is the problem. Rather, sitting on the toilet (whether you are reading or just sitting there) for a prolonged period can lead to haemorrhoid problems,” Kumar said.
“Sitting too long and straining too much may cause the haemorrhoids to engorge with blood, causing symptoms such as pain, swelling or bleeding,” he added.
—IANS
