What are hemorrhoids?
Hemorrhoids are simply swollen and irritated veins that are bulging out of the opening of the anus or the rectal wall. They are not dangerous, but they can be quite painful and irritating. Luckily, treating hemorrhoids at home is not too complicated as long as you know what you are doing.
How to treat hemorrhoids.
Let’s start with how to treat prolapsed and external hemorrhoids. These types of piles (hemorrhoids) are often very painful, so it is very important to treat the pain and swelling first and then to look at ways to keep them from coming back.
There are many products on the market today to treat hemorrhoids, from Venapro to Preparation H and lots of other things in between. The good news is that for all but the most severe hemorrhoids the majority of the creams, wipes, and ointments do work to help relieve the pain and swelling right away. One thing that you want to stay away from though are ring style pillows to sit on these actually make your symptoms worse.
Other than the commercial creams and ointments that are available, you may want to try applying a cold pack to the area. This helps reduce the irritation and swelling of your hemorrhoids. Taking warm baths or just soaking your backside in plain warm water (sitz bath) is also very helpful. If you have a prolapsed hemorrhoid, then you can also gently push it back into the anus, which will help it to be less painful.
Following these steps should bring you relief from the pain. The next thing that you need to do is change a few habits to keep your hemorrhoids from returning or at least to prevent flare ups.
The reason hemorrhoids occur in the first place is because of extra pressure on the rectum walls. This can come from pregnancy (most pregnancy hemorrhoids resolve themselves), sitting too long, or straining during elimination. If you can get up and move around and change your diet (add fiber) to promote regularity, you will not have as many hemorrhoids. This is also a great way to treat bleeding hemorrhoids that occur inside the body.
These steps should be enough to treat hemorrhoids at home, but sometimes they can be very stubborn. If that is the case, or if you have undiagnosed rectal bleeding than you should see your doctor to discuss your options. There are many good options to treat difficult hemorrhoids including freezing, rubber band ligation, and surgery.
Other Hemorrhoid Information
Filed under Uncategorized by on Oct 13th, 2009. Comment. 