Hemorrhoids are relatively common, but they can cause uncomfortable symptoms. Luckily, they usually go away on their own or with home treatments.
Hemorrhoids are more likely to develop in areas that are squeezed or irritated. You can avoid them by using a restroom when you feel the urge, eating high-fiber foods, and exercising.
Symptoms
Hemorrhoids are enlarged blood vessels in and around the anus and rectum. They develop when the veins weaken from stretching and pressure. They can protrude from the anal opening or sit under the skin. They are usually not painful, but they can swell and cause itching. There are two types: external hemorrhoids and internal hemorrhoids.
Your healthcare provider can diagnose hemorrhoids and recommend treatment. Your symptoms and how long you’ve had them will help with the diagnosis. Also, tell your doctor your typical bowel habits, diet, and fiber intake.
Lifestyle changes can often relieve symptoms. For example, a warm sitz bath can ease itching and pain. You can use a stool softener and eat more fiber. It is essential to avoid putting pressure during bowel movements and to refrain from sitting for extended periods. After every bowel movement, use soft toilet paper to wipe. Over-the-counter hemorrhoid creams, pads, and suppositories can reduce pain, swelling, itching, and burning. They contain ingredients such as zinc oxide, astringents like witch hazel, and a steroid with lidocaine. If at-home treatments don’t help, your healthcare provider may perform an office procedure to remove the hemorrhoids. These include rubber band ligation, where your provider cuts off circulation to the hemorrhoid with a rubber band; sclerotherapy, where your doctor injects a chemical into the hemorrhoids to shrink them; and various coagulation techniques, including laser or infrared light on hemorrhoid tissue.
Causes
Hemorrhoids can form under the skin around your anus or on the lining of your lower rectum. External hemorrhoids can be painful and itchy, but they usually go away independently. Hemorrhoids that are clot-ridden or have a prolapsed appearance, however, are more severe and require medical attention.
Hemorrhoid treatment can help relieve symptoms and prevent them from returning. For example, a diet high in fiber helps keep poop soft and easy to pass, and hemorrhoid creams and ointments can reduce itching. If you’re experiencing pain or discomfort in your rectal area, you can try sitting in a warm sitz bath multiple times daily. It can help relax your muscles and increase blood flow. Additionally, you can use over-the-counter pain medications like acetaminophen and ibuprofen to reduce discomfort and topical agents like aloe vera, witch hazel, and shea butter to soothe and promote healing of the affected area. If these don’t relieve your symptoms, you can take an over-the-counter phenylephrine (Preparation H), which acts as a vasoconstrictor and actively shrinks inflamed tissues.
Treatment
Hemorrhoids can be uncomfortable, but they aren’t dangerous and usually improve independently. Treatments include sitz baths, which involve sitting in warm water for 10 to 15 minutes, and over-the-counter or prescription pain relievers. NSAIDs like ibuprofen or naproxen can help ease itching and pain. Some people find relief by placing a cloth-covered cold compress on the area.
Creams, ointments, and suppositories can soothe itching, burning, and irritation from external hemorrhoids. These contain ingredients such as lidocaine to numb the area, witch hazel to reduce itching, and hydrocortisone or other anti-itch medicines.
Surgery is recommended only if the non-surgical treatments don’t provide relief or complications develop. Hemorrhoid removal, or hemorrhoidectomy, can be done with a scalpel or a newer procedure called rubber band ligation, which locates and cuts off the blood supply to the hemorrhoids, shrinking them and eliminating symptoms. Some doctors also use sclerotherapy, in which they inject the hemorrhoids with a chemical solution that closes off the blood supply, or coagulation techniques, in which heat or laser energy causes the hemorrhoids to harden and shrivel.
Prevention
The good news is that hemorrhoids are not dangerous and can often be relieved without medical care. Stool softeners, over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen and naproxen, and sitz baths can help ease pain, itching, and swelling. A high-fiber diet can prevent hemorrhoids by reducing the need to strain during bowel movements.
For internal hemorrhoids that don’t respond to home treatments, doctors offer minimally invasive procedures, including rubber band ligation and sclerotherapy. These methods cut off the hemorrhoids’ blood supply, which causes them to shrink. These procedures can usually be done in your doctor’s office or outpatient center and don’t require numbing medicine.
Hemorrhoids can cause discomfort, but they are rarely severe. With some self care and over-the-counter treatment, they should be left alone within a day or two. In severe cases, however, your doctor may need more extensive tests, such as a digital rectal exam (an examination of the lower rectum performed with a gloved and lubricated finger) or a sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy.
