Why am I passing mucus and hard stools?

Q: Two years ago, I was operated for piles after which I was fine. But for the past few months, I have been feeling the passage of stool which is hard and an increase in the frequency of stools per day. Whenever I pass stools, some mucus (thick white liquid) comes out. Is it possible that this is due to recurrence of piles?

A:Piles can come back but what you describe does not sound like a piles problem. Usually piles would present with bright red blood coming from your anus and patients often notice this on the toilet paper - if they use paper to wipe their bottoms after going to the toilet. Mucus is quite common and is of no significance. If your stools are harder - drink more water and take more roughage in your diet. If you are otherwise feeling well, I would not worry.