Sitting in toilet for long, pressing phone can cause piles

It may seem pleasurable, interesting or soothing to spend long hours sitting on the water closet while scrolling through favourite applications on the mobile phone. However, it has been discovered that spending long hours sitting on the toilet seat can cause piles or haemorrhages.

Piles are swollen veins in the anus and lower rectum, similar to varicose veins. Haemorrhoids can develop inside the rectum (internal haemorrhoids) or under the skin around the anus (external haemorrhoids).

Nigerian doctor, Olufunmilayo, via his Twitter handle, sensitized his followers to the harm of sitting on toilet seats for too long especially while pressing the phone.

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He said, “Sitting in the toilet for a long time — anything more than 10 mins — can give you haemorrhoids (pile). This is why many of you have ‘Jedi’.

“NOT because of sugar. NOT because of sweet drinks. You have piles and itchy anus because you turned your toilet to a lounge and a phone booth.

“When you sit long on a toilet seat, straining; this eventually increases pressure in your anus area, which causes the veins there to get engorged. This engorged veins become painful, cause itching anus and sometimes bleed. This is haemorrhoids/piles. This is what you call ‘Jedi’.”

Corroborating the doctor’s claims, paediatrician, Maria Alexies Samonte, MD; who is affiliated with the Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center and received her medical degree from the University of Santo Tomas with over 20 years of practice, in an article, said, “Spending too much time on the toilet causes pressure on your rectum and anus.

“Because the seat is cut out, your rectum is lower than the rest of your backside. Gravity takes over, and blood starts to pool and clot in those veins. Add in any straining or pushing, and you may have a recipe for haemorrhoids.

“Piles form because of excess pressure on the veins. As a result, the veins can bulge and fill with blood clots. This can lead to pain, itching and other unpleasant effects. While haemorrhoids are less common in children, they still can happen. Plus, habits can last a lifetime — meaning they may get used to spending too much time in the bathroom, putting them at risk for haemorrhoids later in life.”

Moreso, Director, Colorectal Cancer Program, Samuel Oschin, and  Karen Zaghiyah of the Cedars Sinai Medical Center, LA, in an article published on Healine.com, said, “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 of time can definitely lead to haemorrhoid problems.”