Cold Compresses Or Ice Packs
Sitting on a cold compress or ice pack when hemorrhoids feel irritated can help reduce the swelling and numb irritation. Wrap the cold or ice pack in a towel and place it in the area with the hemorrhoid underneath you. Keep it there for up the 15 minutes and repeat hourly to maintain the relief it provides.
Home Remedies And Lifestyle
Generations have used home remedies to shrink hemorrhoids and prevent them from returning. Some treat the hemorrhoid directly, while others are aimed at alleviating the bowel irregularities that are often at the heart of the problem.
The following remedies can provide significant relief of acute hemorrhoid symptoms:
- Ice packs can relieve local inflammation and pain, but should never be placed directly on skin or left on for longer than 10 minutes.
- A sitz bath, in which a person sits in a tub of warm water for 10 to 20 minutes, can help reduce itching and irritation. Epsom salts or baking soda is often added to help alleviate inflammation.
- Witch hazel may decrease bleeding and prevent infection by acting as an astringent. You can dab it on gently with a cotton ball or even add a couple of tablespoons to a sitz bath.
- Aloe vera gel, vitamin E oil, and coconut oil are natural remedies that can help soothe and shrink minor external hemorrhoids. Avoid creams or lotions that contain these products and opt instead for the pure refined oil.
Good anal hygiene is also essential to avoid further injury and infection.
This can include a perianal irrigation bottle to squeeze warm water onto the anus after a bowel movement and disposable baby wipes to gently dab the area clean.
Stool Softeners And Fiber
Since hemorrhoids usually develop as a result of constipation and straining to have bowel movements, Dr. Bravo says stool softeners actually play an important role in treatment.
“One of the most important steps in treating hemorrhoids is avoiding constipationhard or infrequent stoolsand stool softeners are a good option if you have chronic constipation,” he says. Increasing the amount of fiber in your diet by eating more fruits and vegetables is another good way to soften your stools, he says, adding that the recommended amount of dietary fiber is around 20 to 35 grams per day.
You can try an OTC stool softener like Colace , which doesn’t force you to have a bowel movement but simply makes it easier to pass stool. You can also try a natural stool softener with ingredients like psyllium, which is helpful if you can’t get enough fiber in your diet through the foods you eat.
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What Causes Internal And External Hemorrhoids And Simple Ways To Treat Them
Hemorrhoids are usually caused by increased pressure due to pregnancy, being overweight, or straining during bowel movements. By midlife, hemorrhoids often become an ongoing complaint. By age 50, about half the population has experienced one or more of the classic symptoms, which include rectal pain, itching, bleeding, and possibly prolapse . Although hemorrhoids are rarely dangerous, they can be a recurrent and painful intrusion. Fortunately, there’s a lot we can do about hemorrhoids.
Aloe Vera And Its Soothing Effects
Aloe vera has several soothing properties that have helped it make its way around the world. People in many cultures have used the plant and valued it for its healing properties. Two parts of the aloe vera plant contain compounds that help ease skin irritation and other medical issues.
The first part is the gel, found inside the plants leaves. The gel contains 1% glycoproteins and polysaccharides and 99% water. Glycoproteins assist in the reduction of inflammation and pain, while polysaccharides help with skin repair. Glycoproteins and polysaccharides also strengthen the immune system, boosting the bodys capacity to fend off the infections around the anus and rectum.
The second part is aloe latex, a yellow pulp found under the leaves outer surface. Aloe latex contains anthraquinone glycosides, which have potent laxative properties. People take aloe latex to soften stool and ease their bowel movements.
Applying aloe vera to the affected area often results in rapid relief of topical symptoms. Aloe vera gel also has astringent properties. When used directly on hemorrhoids, the gel causes a contraction of the tissues that inhibit fluid discharge. The plant also boasts antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties.
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What Are The Treatment Options
Small hemorrhoids often clear up without treatment or with home treatment and lifestyle changes. If youve continued problems or complications, such as bleeding, you should see your doctor.
Your doctor can rule out other causes of bleeding during bowel movements, such as colon or anal cancer. If your symptoms become severe, your doctor may recommend medical procedures to remove or shrink the hemorrhoids.
Your doctor may recommend a minimally invasive outpatient treatment. Outpatient treatments are treatments that your doctor performs in their office. Some treatments include the following:
- Rubber band ligation is the most common nonsurgical treatment, and it involves your doctor tying a tight band around the base of the hemorrhoid to cut off the blood supply. Eighty percent of people who receive treatment for hemorrhoids have this type of treatment.
- During coagulation, your doctor uses infrared light, heat, or extreme cold to shrink the hemorrhoid.
- During sclerotherapy, your doctor injects a chemical to shrink the hemorrhoid.
If you have severe hemorrhoids or hemorrhoids that dont respond to in-office medical treatments, you may need a doctor to surgically extract them. This has been shown to provide symptom relief and reduce future outbreaks.
The risk factors for hemorrhoids are mostly related to increased pressure on the anal and rectal veins. A family history of hemorrhoids may increase your risk. The risk factors include:
- age
Home Remedies For External Hemorrhoids Symptoms
In addition to the home remedy for thrombosed internal hemorrhoids, here are a few simple tips for treating external hemorrhoids symptoms.
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What Are The Causes Of External Hemorrhoids
The most common cause of hemorrhoids is repeated straining while having a bowel movement. This is often caused by severe cases of constipation or diarrhea. Straining gets in the way of blood flow into and out of the area. This results in the pooling of blood and enlargement of the vessels in that area.
Pregnant women may also be at an increased risk of hemorrhoids because of the pressure that the uterus places on these veins.
Can I Prevent Hemorrhoids
Benjamin Franklins phrase, An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, was made in reference to fire prevention, but the same wisdom applies to health and specifically to hemorrhoids. Making proactive lifestyle choices can help prevent hemorrhoids from occurring or recurring.
Most important? Eat a high-fiber diet. Consuming lots of fruits, vegetables, and other high-fiber foods including nuts, seeds, and whole grains will help produce normal bowel movements. Drinking plenty of water is central to a high-fiber diet. Hydration works together with the fiber to help keep you regular. And dont forget to exercise! Keeping the body moving helps keep everything inside the body moving as well.
Two more tips for prevention: First, when you feel the urge to go, go! Allowing bowel movements to happen regularly will help prevent constipation. Second, limit the time you spend sitting on the toilet to reduce pressure on the rectal area.
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Why Trust Verywell Health
Sarah Bradley has been writing health content since 2017covering everything from product roundups and illness FAQs to nutrition explainers and the dish on diet trends. She knows how important it is to receive trustworthy and expert-approved advice about over-the-counter products that manage everyday health conditions, from GI issues and allergies to chronic headaches and joint pain.
How Do Doctors Treat Hemorrhoids
Doctors treat hemorrhoids with procedures during an office visit or in an outpatient center or a hospital.
Office treatments include the following:
- Rubber band ligation. Rubber band ligation is a procedure that doctors use to treat bleeding or prolapsing internal hemorrhoids. A doctor places a special rubber band around the base of the hemorrhoid. The band cuts off the blood supply. The banded part of the hemorrhoid shrivels and falls off, most often within a week. Scar tissue forms in the remaining part of the hemorrhoid, often shrinking the hemorrhoid. Only a doctor should perform this procedureyou should never try this treatment yourself.
- Sclerotherapy. A doctor injects a solution into an internal hemorrhoid, which causes scar tissue to form. The scar tissue cuts off the blood supply, often shrinking the hemorrhoid.
- Infrared photocoagulation. A doctor uses a tool that directs infrared light at an internal hemorrhoid. Heat created by the infrared light causes scar tissue to form, which cuts off the blood supply, often shrinking the hemorrhoid.
- Electrocoagulation. A doctor uses a tool that sends an electric current into an internal hemorrhoid. The electric current causes scar tissue to form, which cuts off the blood supply, often shrinking the hemorrhoid.
Outpatient center or hospital treatments include the following:
Sometimes complications of hemorrhoids also require treatment.
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What Are The Types Of Hemorrhoids
Hemorrhoids can happen inside or outside the rectum. The type depends on where the swollen vein develops. Types include:
- External: Swollen veins form underneath the skin around the anus. Your anus is the canal where poop comes out. External hemorrhoids can be itchy and painful. Occasionally, they bleed. Sometimes they fill with blood that can clot. This is not dangerous, but can result in pain and swelling.
- Internal: Swollen veins form inside the rectum. Your rectum is the part of the digestive system that connects the colon to the anus. Internal hemorrhoids may bleed, but they usually arent painful.
- Prolapsed: Both internal and external hemorrhoids can prolapse, meaning they stretch and bulge outside of the anus. These hemorrhoids may bleed or cause pain.
A Range Of Treatments
In choosing the treatment for hemorrhoids, one should consider the disease grade and severity, its impact on the quality of life, the degree of pain it causes, the patientâs likelihood of adhering to treatment, and the patientâs personal preference.
Regardless of severity, treatment almost always starts with a high-fiber diet and other lifestyle modifications that include bowel movement behaviors. This requires practitioners to spend significant time on patient education regardless of the type or the severity of the disease.
Treatments can be grouped in 3 categories: conservative, office-based, and surgical. Practitioners should thoroughly discuss the options with the patient, emphasizing the pros and cons of each.
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What Are The Symptoms Of Haemorrhoids
If you have haemorrhoids you may notice bright red blood on the toilet paper or in the toilet when you have a bowel motion . There may be some itchiness, discomfort or pain around the anus. Sometimes there can be a noticeable lump that protrudes out of the anus.
Many people experience no symptoms or very mild symptoms that disappear after a couple of days. For other people, haemorrhoids are more painful.
Internal haemorrhoids are classified into 4 different types based on their degree of prolapse .
- First degree haemorrhoids often bleed a little bit when you pass a bowel motion, but stay inside the anus and are not usually very painful.
- Second degree haemorrhoids bleed and protrude out of the anus when you pass a bowel motion. Once the bowel motion is over, they disappear back inside the anus by themselves.
- Third degree haemorrhoids have to be physically pushed back inside the anus after passing a bowel motion. They may be painful if they are large.
- Fourth degree haemorrhoids are larger lumps that protrude out of the anus permanently, and cannot be placed back inside. The blood inside these haemorrhoids may clot and the lumps can become very painful.
External haemorrhoids occur as a lump outside the anus. A thrombosed haemorrhoid occurs when there is a blood clot in the skin overlying the anus this can cause severe and constant pain.
Are External Hemorrhoids Painful
External hemorrhoids can be painful. They are usually most painful immediately following a bowel movement or after straining or lifting.
They may be especially painful if they develop a blood clot, which is known as a thrombosed hemorrhoid. If medical professionals can lance and drain the clot within of development, the pain will ease immediately. If not, the clot will likely dissolve on its own, and the pain will ease in time.
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Piles In Men: Causes & Symptoms
Piles, also known as haemorrhoids, are common among men and can appear as a number of symptoms, including bright red blood when you go to the toilet, lumps around the anus, as well as pain and itchiness. Over-straining on the toilet or over-exerting yourself at the gym could contribute to the development of piles, but treatment and relief is available in a variety of formats.
Antimicrobial And Antibacterial Activities
If bleeding, discomfort, or tiny rips develop, Trusted Source can help keep the area clean and avoid infections. However, you may prepare a tea tree oil ointment by diluting it with jojoba oil or coconut oil and adding one or two more essential oils.
Then it is applied to the afflicted area sparingly. This oil has been used for this purpose for a very long time. Early scientific data suggests that it is effective in the treatment of hemorrhoids. Earlier research discovered that a gel containing tea tree oil and hyaluronic acid helped treat hemorrhoids. It is also safe and acceptable to individuals who used it.
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Hemorrhoid Medication: When Why And Which Ones To Use
A number of OTC creams, ointments, and pads that contain hydrocortisone or witch hazel are available to help relieve pain, swelling, and itching caused by hemorrhoids. According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, doctors recommend using over-the-counter products for a week. If symptoms persist beyond a week, follow up with your doctor.
Creams and suppositories containing hydrocortisone can cause the skin to weaken and thin, so they should not be used for more than a week. If any of these creams cause a rash or dry skin around the area, contact your healthcare provider.
A fiber supplement, such as Metamucil , or a stool softener, such as Citrucel , can help prevent constipation.
Avoid laxatives, which can lead to diarrhea and worsen hemorrhoid symptoms.
Do Hemorrhoids Go Away
Most hemorrhoids will go away without medical treatment within a few days. If they do not go away within a few days, you may try treatments at home such as warm baths, pain relief pills such as aspirin, and over-the-counter hemorrhoid treatments that can be purchased at a pharmacy. If painful hemorrhoids continue to bother you for more than 1-2 weeks, talk with your doctor. In rare cases, doctors may need to intervene with medical injections or surgery to remove hemorrhoids.
Hemorrhoid symptoms may also come and go. To keep symptoms at bay, be sure to consume high-fiber foods and drink water, and avoid straining during bowel movement or sitting on the toilet for extended periods of time.
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Treatment Of Hemorrhoids In Males
More and more people are showing signs of the symptoms of hemorrhoids. These symptoms do not seem to have a cause for the male population. Although this could be one of the worst things that happen to a man, it is not as bad as some of the other health concerns they will go through in their lifetime.
Have you ever suffered from hemorrhoids? Is this a question youre embarrassed to ask your doctor? Do you hate it when your friends start talking about colonoscopies over fancy drinks? We dont blame you. Hemorrhoids have a stigma that isnt deserved. Many believe they are painful and embarrassing, but thats not always the case. Its time to clear up the misconceptions and let you know the ins and outs of how to treat haemorrhoids.
Hemorrhoids are enlarged veins that develop inside or around your anus. Your anus is the opening where you pass stool from your rectum. Hemorrhoids cause swelling and inflamed tissue in and around the anus, making it painful to pass stool. Hemorrhoid symptoms include itching, irritation and bad smells, burning sensation during defecation, pain, and bleeding during defecation with swelling and discharge.
Best Ointment: Doctor Butler’s Hemorrhoid & Fissure Ointment
Packed with organic herbs, minerals, and amino acids, this popular ointment reduces pain, itching, and burning protects and soothes irritations reduces swelling and stops bleeding from hemorrhoids and small anal tears. With over 2,000 five-star reviews, you know it’ll provide some relief.
“This really is a miracle ointment,” . “I’ve been suffering from hemorrhoids for years and I knew when I became pregnant I was in for some trouble. I’m now 5 weeks postpartum and a few days ago I developed a thrombosed hemorrhoid. It was excruciating I am on day two with five applications already and I have much improvement.”
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