Exploding Some Myths about Hernia

Hernia are four times commoner in men that in women. They may be defined as a weakness in the abdominal wall through which some of the contents of the abdominal cavity emerge under the skin. Depending on their location and starting with the highest they are:

• Epigastric Hernia (as in the above photograph)
•  Umbilical Hernia
• Inguinal Hernia  -- direct and indirect
• Femoral Hernia
• Incisional  -- at the site of any abdominal surgical incision anywhere.

Hernia are seldom life-threatening or give rise to an emergency. The only exception to this is when they become strangulated. In this situation the emerging abdominal content within the hernia becomes stuck and clamped off and can not be returned to the abdominal cavity. This is an emergency because it is extremely painful and because there is the danger that the blood supply to the entrapped content will become necrotic due to lack of blood. In this situation a hernia has the potential to be fatal or lethal. 

Hernias are thought to be caused by an inherent congenital weakness in the abdominal wall.  Things like weight lifting or chronic cough or constipation or anything that raised internal abdominal pressure can cause this weakness to give way and for hernia to develop.

The use of a truss to keep the hernia in is not only very uncomfortable but is also probably a waste of time. Yet still, even today, I see men coming to my clinic wearing a truss.

Surgeons may try to rush you into having surgery to repair your hernia as if it were some of an emergency situation. Do not let this happen to you. Take your time, there is no hurry. Surgeons do this because they like to operate  -- that's how they make their living.