Hernia surgery does not always need to be the first step when it comes to your healthy recovery from a hernia. There are several ways you can treat the symptoms of this condition at home if they are mild, and for some people, early-stage hernias produce no symptoms at all.
But when it comes to the hope that a hernia will resolve itself, this isn’t something you should rely on.
Bergen Bariatric and Surgical Solutions P.C. can help you determine when it’s time to get surgery and how long you can wait. Our provider Dr. Mikhail A. Botvinov knows surgery is usually an eventuality with a hernia because the problem won’t just go away on its own.
A hernia occurs when the lining of the abdominal cavity forms a sac that pushes through an impaired area of the stomach wall. Sometimes, you may feel the sac pushing through on the outside of your abdomen.
There are several types of hernias, and they’re named for their location. For example, an inguinal hernia appears in the groin and is common with men, while a femoral hernia appears in the thigh area and is common with women. We also treat umbilical hernias (near the belly button) and incisional hernias (which appear around the incision of a past surgery).
Common hernia symptoms can be pain and discomfort in the stomach area, nausea, constipation, and vomiting. When the symptoms get this bad, surgery is absolutely necessary. But people without symptoms or with mild symptoms can go without surgery for some time.
Only 3%-5% of hernias require emergency surgery, while between 35% and 65% eventually need non-emergency surgery. Hernia surgery can usually be put off if you haven’t reached the strangulation stage. This occurs when the bulging part of the stomach lining presses through the hole and can’t receive adequate blood supply.
However, if you haven’t reached the strangulation stage and are not experiencing pain or discomfort, you can use certain at-home remedies to prevent it worsening. These include eating smaller meals, drinking lots of water, avoiding any straining or lifting, and eating a high-fiber diet. Smoking can also make a hernia worse, so it’s best to avoid this.
Still, none of these actions will shrink or treat a hernia. They’ll just allow you to live with the condition without immeidately getting surgery. Because the problem is mechanical, medicines, rest, and other at-home remedies won’t be able to do what only surgery can: mend the hole and move the organs back into place.
But this doesn’t mean you need surgery right away. It does mean you should seek a professional diagnosis to ensure you are safe and healthy. To make an appointment at our Westwood, NJ, office, call 201-778-5344 or visit us online.
