Hernia

Hernias occur a lot in babies, and they also occur in adults, especially males. It’s doesn’t cause complications unless left without treatment for a long time.

Hernia

A hernia occurs when an internal part of the body bulges through an opening or a weakness in the muscle or tissue that contains it. Most hernia cases occur because one abdominal organ bulges through a wall in the abdominal cavity.

Types of hernia

• Inguinal hernia: it’s the most common type and consists about 75% of all hernia cases, and it occurs more in males. Inguinal hernia occurs when a fatty tissue or a part of the intestine pokes through the inguinal canal towards the upper thigh.
• Femoral hernia: it’s a less common type and occurs in females more than males. Femoral hernia occurs when a tissue protrudes through the femoral canal that goes under the inguinal canal.
• Hiatal hernia: it’s a common type as well and occurs when a part of the stomach pokes through the diaphragm opening in which the esophagus goes through, which leads to widening the opening.
• Umbilical hernia: it occurs when the abdomen protrudes near the belly button. This type usually occurs in babies because the opening that the umbilical cord goes through isn’t sealed properly after birth, and it also occurs in adults due to a frequent abdominal strain.
• Congenital hiatal hernia: it’s a serious congenital condition that occurs because the diaphragm doesn’t seal properly during the fetal growth, and that leads to the abdominal organs to slip into the chest cavity, which causes pressure on the lungs.
• Some other hernia types include incisional hernia (a tissue poke through a surgical incision), perineal hernia (a tissue protrude the pelvic floor), and muscle hernia (a tissue protrude a muscle).

Causes and risk factors leading to hernia

Hernia occurs when there’s a previous opening or a weakness point in some place and one of the nearby organs pokes through it. This opening or weakness might have existed at birth, but most often it occurs during life due to some reason, which is usually recurrent strain.

Some factors that increase the risk of hernia:

• Chronic heavy lifting or standing up.
• Chronic constipation.
• Chronic coughing or sneezing.
• Obesity.
• Pregnancy.
• The risk of congenital hernia increases in cases of premature birth, having a connective tissue disorder, having cystic fibrosis, having congenital hip dysplasia, or having a problem in the urinary or reproductive system like undescended testicles.

Symptoms of hernia

Not all hernia types cause symptoms, which might include:

• A lump or bulge during some physical activities that goes back after stopping.
• A pressure or a dull pain when there’s a lump.
• Sharp pain sometimes.
• Hiatal hernia might cause chronic acid reflux, heartburn, and indigestion.
• In babies, hernia might appear when crying or defecating.

Complications of hernia

• In abdominal hernias, the hernia might get stuck and doesn’t go back, and that might cause bowel obstruction with time, which leads to severe complications.
• Congenital hiatal hernia is an extremely serious condition because it affects the growth of the fetus and it must be managed quickly.

Diagnosis of hernia

• Physical examination.
• Imaging tests.

Treatment of hernia

• In the case of small hernias, they might be let alone without treatment under monitoring.
• When the hernia gets bigger with time, the treatment is hernia surgery.