How to Treat a Hemorrhoid
How to treat a hemorrhoid is a question most people will deal with at some point in their life.
The short answer is, "Gently, patiently, and persistently.
" Hemorrhoids are swollen and inflamed veins found inside your rectum and anal canal.
For most people, improvised home treatments are all they'll need to shrink and get rid of a hemorrhoid.
The exceptions are when hemorrhoids bleed excessively or cause intense pain.
When either of these conditions exists, it might be time to see the doctor.
This article summarizes the research on three types of treatments for hemorrhoids: home treatments, including natural cures; nonsurgical solutions; and surgery.
Hemorrhoids Home Treatment Home treatments for hemorrhoids require both a short-term and a long-term focus.
In the short term, you want to shrink the hemorrhoid and end your discomfort.
In the long term, you want to prevent hemorrhoids from ever returning.
Short-term treatments that help shrink hemorrhoids and relieve discomfort include:
Hemorrhoids shrink when you're able to constrict, or slow down, the flow of blood to these vessels, cutting off their food supply.
Think of it as cutting off the reinforcements, or heading off the cavalry, to pockets of trapped blood as they wage war against your body.
Warm water, ice, cleanliness, pain relievers, and creams all act to constrict blood flow to the area, giving you time to heal.
Home treatments may take some time, but they do work.
Be gentle.
Be patient.
Be persistent.
Short-term home treatments are not enough.
You must add to them long-term changes that will end hard stools and the straining on the toilet that probably led to your hemorrhoids in the first place.
Long-term solutions require that you change your diet and your lifestyle.
Dietary changes include:
No straining, no stress on your digestive system.
No more hemorrhoids.
Natural cures, such as supplements, detoxing, and juicing, are very effective for many people.
The most important lifestyle changes require exercising.
Find something you love doing that involves moving your body on a regular basis, and do it.
Run, bike, swim, box, dance, stretch into a yoga position, hit a ball, drive a puck - whatever you love, just do it.
Holistic medicinal practices, such as yoga, acupuncture, imagery, reflexology, and ayurveda, offer alternatives that many have used to successfully treat and end their hemorrhoids.
Nonsurgical Solutions Minimally invasive treatments, considered nonsurgical solutions by doctors, take hemorrhoid treatment a step beyond home treatments.
They include:
Each method has its pros and cons.
None is as effective as surgery when home treatments fail.
Surgical Solutions When you're in pain - not just discomfort but pain that you can't ignore - it's time to see the doctor.
Excruciating pain often accompanies thrombosed external hemorrhoids.
This means you have a blood clot and may require surgery.
If surgery is warranted, it's most effective and least painful if done within the first 72 hours.
So, if your hemorrhoids are bleeding and causing you the kind of pain that gets your attention and keeps it, call the doctor.
Don't delay.
Surgery takes the form of a procedure called hemorrhoidectomy, in which the doctor makes an incision to remove both the blood clot and the blood vessels in the hemorrhoid.
Recovery can take two weeks or longer.
Even after surgery, you'll need to make dietary and lifestyle changes; otherwise, new hemorrhoids can sprout even after old ones have been removed.
To prevent hemorrhoids, you must concentrate on a diet and lifestyle that lead to soft stools and regular elimination without straining.
In summary, you have three basic answers to questions of how to treat a hemorrhoid:
The short answer is, "Gently, patiently, and persistently.
" Hemorrhoids are swollen and inflamed veins found inside your rectum and anal canal.
For most people, improvised home treatments are all they'll need to shrink and get rid of a hemorrhoid.
The exceptions are when hemorrhoids bleed excessively or cause intense pain.
When either of these conditions exists, it might be time to see the doctor.
This article summarizes the research on three types of treatments for hemorrhoids: home treatments, including natural cures; nonsurgical solutions; and surgery.
Hemorrhoids Home Treatment Home treatments for hemorrhoids require both a short-term and a long-term focus.
In the short term, you want to shrink the hemorrhoid and end your discomfort.
In the long term, you want to prevent hemorrhoids from ever returning.
Short-term treatments that help shrink hemorrhoids and relieve discomfort include:
- Take a 15-minute sitz bath 2 to 3 times each day.
- Keep your anal area clean by using moistened wipes and drying thoroughly after using the toilet.
- Coat the hemorrhoid with zinc oxide or hydrocortisone-based creams or petroleum jelly to soothe, shrink, and stop the itching.
- To relieve discomfort, take over-the-counter pain medications, such as ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil) acetaminophen (Tylenol), or aspirin.
- Ice the area for about 10 minutes at a time throughout the day.
- Take a stool softener if your stools are hard.
You don't want to worsen the hemorrhoids by irritating them with hard stools.
Hemorrhoids shrink when you're able to constrict, or slow down, the flow of blood to these vessels, cutting off their food supply.
Think of it as cutting off the reinforcements, or heading off the cavalry, to pockets of trapped blood as they wage war against your body.
Warm water, ice, cleanliness, pain relievers, and creams all act to constrict blood flow to the area, giving you time to heal.
Home treatments may take some time, but they do work.
Be gentle.
Be patient.
Be persistent.
Short-term home treatments are not enough.
You must add to them long-term changes that will end hard stools and the straining on the toilet that probably led to your hemorrhoids in the first place.
Long-term solutions require that you change your diet and your lifestyle.
Dietary changes include:
- Getting fiber into all your meals.
The Department of Agriculture recommends 14 grams of fiber for every 1000 calories we consume.
Fiber-rich foods are vegetables, fruits, grains, and legumes. - Drink fluids.
Get at least 8 glasses of water and other fluids each day.
No straining, no stress on your digestive system.
No more hemorrhoids.
Natural cures, such as supplements, detoxing, and juicing, are very effective for many people.
The most important lifestyle changes require exercising.
Find something you love doing that involves moving your body on a regular basis, and do it.
Run, bike, swim, box, dance, stretch into a yoga position, hit a ball, drive a puck - whatever you love, just do it.
Holistic medicinal practices, such as yoga, acupuncture, imagery, reflexology, and ayurveda, offer alternatives that many have used to successfully treat and end their hemorrhoids.
Nonsurgical Solutions Minimally invasive treatments, considered nonsurgical solutions by doctors, take hemorrhoid treatment a step beyond home treatments.
They include:
- Incisions to remove blood clots found in thrombosed external hemorrhoids
- Rubber band ligation, in which the hemorrhoid is tied, using a rubber band, to cut off the blood supply that feeds it
- Sclerotherapy, in which a solution is injected into the hemorrhoid to shrivel it, causing it to fall off and be eliminated in your waste
- Infrared coagulation, in which a laser is used to burn and cauterize hemorrhoidal tissue to stop bleeding
Each method has its pros and cons.
None is as effective as surgery when home treatments fail.
Surgical Solutions When you're in pain - not just discomfort but pain that you can't ignore - it's time to see the doctor.
Excruciating pain often accompanies thrombosed external hemorrhoids.
This means you have a blood clot and may require surgery.
If surgery is warranted, it's most effective and least painful if done within the first 72 hours.
So, if your hemorrhoids are bleeding and causing you the kind of pain that gets your attention and keeps it, call the doctor.
Don't delay.
Surgery takes the form of a procedure called hemorrhoidectomy, in which the doctor makes an incision to remove both the blood clot and the blood vessels in the hemorrhoid.
Recovery can take two weeks or longer.
Even after surgery, you'll need to make dietary and lifestyle changes; otherwise, new hemorrhoids can sprout even after old ones have been removed.
To prevent hemorrhoids, you must concentrate on a diet and lifestyle that lead to soft stools and regular elimination without straining.
In summary, you have three basic answers to questions of how to treat a hemorrhoid:
- Home treatments, including natural remedies
- Nonsurgical solutions
- Surgery