Fun Facts About Hemorrhoids

It’s been around since ancient times

“Aside from tactical warfare against the barbarians, the Romans were also waging a war against hemorrhoids.”  Photo Credit: gamefreaks

Contrary to popular belief, hemorrhoids are not a modern disease: it has long existed for thousands of years. It has been mentioned in various recorded ancient scrips and tablets. Here are some very notable facts about this matter:

• In the Stele of Hammurabi, which contains the ancient Babylonian king’s laws, known as the Code of Hammurabi, described symptoms pertaining to hemorrhoids. Remember, the same set of laws contains the famous “an eye for an eye” law.

• Written in Egyptian papyrus, a type of paper made from papyrus reeds, were instructions to cure hemorrhoids using grounded acacia leaves. It was dated at 1700 BC.

• The word “hemorrhoid” actually has Greek origins, with their words “haima”, meaning blood, and “rhoos”, meaning flowing. Even the ancient Greek philosopher Hippocrates tackled this ailment before, describing it as bile or phlegm in the rectum.

It was mentioned in the Bible

The Bible, the holy book of the Christians and the Catholic Church, mentioned this ailment. Where is it exactly in this perennial bestseller?

An excerpt in the King James Bible, Samuel 5:9 in the Old Testament states: “and they had emerods in their secret parts.” This refers to God punishing the men of Gath, both young and old with hemorrhoids. Ouch.

Another excerpt in the King James Bible, Deuteronomy 28:27 states: “The Lord will smite thee with the botch of Egypt and with the emerods.”

Since the Bible is an ancient text, it proves that hemorrhoids have existed back in the day, especially in Israel and Egypt. Let’s just steer clear of the religion part, but it seemed to be a really big problem back then.

It has its own patron saint

A statue of Saint Fiarce  Photo Credit: dominicanfriars

In the Roman Catholic Church, men and women who have devoted themselves to the Catholic church and recognized for having a certain degree of holiness. These people are seen with high regard in the practitioners of the religion. One of the saints is an Irishman, Saint Fiarce of Breuil, the patron saint of medicine, gardeners, and hemorrhoids. He was also known to possess great skill in treating the complication.

Famous people have it

“Yes, Batman had hemorrhoids.”  Photo Credit: batman.wikia

Hemorrhoids are not only the problem of the people around you, but also that of the celebrities, presidents and even emperors. Here are some people who are known to have experienced this complication:

• Although history does not confirm it, why would the personal physician of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, also known as Galen, prescribed ointments, leeches and herbs to cure get rid of hemorrhoids?

• Marilyn Monroe was known as one of the most beautiful women in the world, had bad hemorrhoids, which she tried hard to keep from the public.

• It was accidentally leaked to the public that George Clooney, AKA the Batman in the worst Batman film ever, had a really bad case of hemorrhoids.

• Several American presidents suffered heavily from hemorrhoids. Two of the most notable include Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Jimmy Carter. FDR suffered from anemia because of it, while Jimmy Carter had to leave a White House party early because of it.

• Hemorrhoids can never be fun, but the facts are a big eye opener and…well, fun. Remember to seek treatment and consult your doctor, in order for you to know its degree of severity and if you’re really experiencing it – other it might be another ailment altogether!