» Genes and schizophrenia

» LA bans fast foods

» Losing the war against Aids?

» McCain free of cancer

» Facts of breast cancer

» Ritalin may help elderly

» Bullied at work?

» Keep running this summer

» Get ready for summer!

» Could your mobile kill you?

Today, 22 November 2008

» Dead terrorist ad banned

» Grass is greener in SA

» Copper Penny Salad

» The world is flat

» More than just Cope-ing

Yesterday, 21 November 2008

» SA gets tough on Zim

» Chicken satay dog?

» 'Springbok emblem must go'

» Week in Quotes

» Cope gets Simon Grindrod

Lorraine: I’m 50 and I’ve been going to the Johannesburg hospital just about every month. They said that they suspect I have a bleeding ulcer. First they said to me I had bleeding haemorrhoids. They did a colonoscopy, they did biopsies…

Prof Harry: Let me just make an important point now that you’ve mentioned it. When somebody presents with bleeding piles for the first time, and they are over the age of, let’s say 40 or 50, then it is very important to make sure that the bleeding piles are not being caused by something higher up in the colon.

Lorraine: Can you get a bleeding ulcer in the rectum?

Prof Harry: Oh yes, it is possible. Far more common, of course, are bleeding piles.

Lorraine: Is the best to have an operation because when I sit I have a lot of pain and when I lie down on my back I also have a lot of pain. Now this isn’t right.

Prof Harry: The essence is that you’ve got to determine whether you have just got bleeding piles or whether you’ve got a bleeding ulcer in the rectum. And then you’ve got to find the cause of it. It can be very dangerous to use symptomatic treatment because you’ll feel better, the bleeding may even stop, but yet the underlying cause continues to progress. Do you see how serious that is? When you go there next, tell them that you’ve spoken to me and they must tell you what is the cause because unless you know the cause, you can’t have proper treatment.