Natural Treatment for Hemorrhoids

Archive for June, 2009

Do hemorrhoids go away on their own? Most people get hemorrhoids at least once at some point in their lives.  Many people are not sure whether hemorrhoids have to be treated or hemorrhoids go away on their own.  The answer depends on a case by case scenario.

Hemorrhoids is actually a natural reaction the body has to things like hard bowel movements or other pressures in the rectum.  This pressure can be caused by constipation or strain to have a bowel movement.  If this are the causes, then once constipation goes away so will your hemorrhoid problems.

It’s estimated that three-quarters of the population, or 3 out of every 4 people will experience hemorrhoids in their lifetime.  The main reason for the condition is constipation and it can also be due to insufficient amounts of water in the body that results in hardened stools.

Whether you should or should not treat the hemorrhoid will depend on the size and severity of the hemorrhoid.  Usually for small hemorrhoids, changing your diet to a healthy one that includes fiber and fluids with proper exercise will do the trick.  Others may be very painful and will need the help of a physician.

Prepartion-H is a remedy that’s widely used by hemorrhoid sufferers.  It can be applied directly to the anus as an ointment, or it can be used as a towelette or suppository.  You have the option of  choosing what method to use.

It’s believed by some that once you get hemorrhoids you will probably get them again at some later point in life.  If you lead a healthy, active lifestyle you shouldn’t have too much to worry about.

Sometimes hemorrhoids just happen because of a natural reaction to what is happening with the body.  Pregnant women are very prone to hemorrhoids because of the increased pressure caused by the baby.  Older people are also more likely to get hemorrhoids because they lead a more sedentary lifestyle than younger people.  So in some cases hemorrhoids don’t really have to be treated because they are just natural reactions of the body.

When a doctor takes a look at them, he or she will decide whether or not to treat the hemorrhoid depending on the severity of the condition.  Some people are puzzled as to why they should not be treated.  But only when hemorrhoids are painful or uncomfortable should they be treated surgically.

Sometimes hemorrhoids will form and then the person will not experience any more symptoms after that.  It all depends on the type of lifestyle that a person leads.

Keep hemorrhoids away by drinking plenty of water and eating fresh fruits and vegetables on a regular basis.  This will help your body with constipation and will also help to soften stools.  If you can manage to keep constipation away, you can also keep hemorrhoids away.

If you think hemorrhoids are uncomfortable, then you may not like to hear that prolapsed hemorrhoids actually stick out of the anus and are much more uncomfortable, but they may not be as painful as one might think.  What’s worse is that it can be very embarrassing especially if you have to get professional help.

Because they are located in the anus, most hemorrhoids are hard to get to.  Prolapsed hemorrhoids will come out after a bowel movement and then they will retract afterwards.

In case the prolapsed hemorrhoid does not retract by itself, the person will have to use a finger to push them back in.  There are some instances where the hemorrhoid will actually get suck in the anus.  Because this can be rather painful, the help of a doctor may be needed.

A hemorrhoid can prolapse by staying just outside the body and not coming back inside.  It can also stay outside and then retract after one goes to the bathroom.  Sometimes they have to be manually inserted back in and there are instances where they can’t be pushed back in at all.  These are the different ways in which hemorrhoids come and each comes with varying degrees of discomfort.

So what do prolapsed hemorrhoids look like?  Well, they essentially look like tissues of skin that have fallen out and are soft to the touch.  The worst that can happen is that the hemorrhoid will be thrombosed, a very painful condition.  In this case, one will need to go to a doctor for assistance.

Hemorrhoids Symptoms

You may have a hemorrhoid if you feel an itching sensation down there even after you have wiped and properly cleaned yourself.  If you see blood in the stool, when you wipe or in the toilet, then more than likely you have hemorrhoids.

Unless you experience sever pain, the bleeding is nothing to worry about.  What doctors will recommend you use is the Preparation H remedy to treat your hemorrhoids condition.

What Are The Treatments for Prolapsed Hemorrhoids

The treatments for hemorrhoids out there are numerous.  Prolapsed hemorrhoids can be treated simply by just pushing them back in when they come out.  To heal them, you can take sitz baths throughout the day.  The hemorrhoid’s swelling or pain will be soothed as well.  The sitz bath consists of a plastic tub that sits on your toilet and you sit on it for soothing the symptoms of hemorrhoids.

Some people have experienced great results using Preparation H or Vaseline.  To reduce the size of the hemorrhoid and the itching, you should consider using Preparation H.

Suppositories and medicated wipes can help with the symptoms of prolapsed hemorrhoids as well.

In this section we will discuss internal hemorrhoids symptoms.  Although hemorrhoids is not something we want to experience, it’s estimated that 50% of the population will get hemorrhoids at some point in their lives.  Hemorrhoids, also known as “piles,” is a medical condition that occurs when the veins in the anus or rectum become swollen and bulge.

If there is too much pressure on any of the blood vessels that cover the anal walls then there is a great chance that the vein will swell up and enlarge and, in turn, form into a hemorrhoid.  The wall’s muscles are weakened by the pressure and what’s left is a blood-filled sac.

The aforementioned condition is what’s known as an internal hemorrhoid.  It’s not very easy to sense whether one has an internal hemorrhoid or not since they do not protrude and usually they are not painful.  External hemorrhoids, on the other hand, protrude from the anus and are noticeable since they are located outside the anus.

Internal hemorrhoid symptoms may be present in people whether they have hemorrhoids or not.  Each individual is different and so is their hemorrhoid condition.

How To Spot Internal Hemorrhoid Symptoms

Anal itching is normally the first symptom a person will experience if they have hemorrhoids.  However, don’t think that anal itching is entirely due to hemorrhoids.  There are many causes for anal itching, hemorrhoids just happens to be one of them.  That said, you should never exclude a possibility right off the bat.

The itching could be due to left-over toilet paper after swiping or stool residue.  Some soaps or detergents can cause the itching as well.  The more and more that you feel the itching, however, the more likely it is that the cause for the itching is hemorrhoids.  Hemorrhoid itching does not originate from outside but from inside the anus.

Another internal hemorrhoid symptom is that of incomplete bowel movements.  But like anything else, this could also be due to other causes such as insufficient fiber in the diet and excessive amounts of fat in the diet.  Internal hemorrhoids could be caused by these incomplete bowel movements if they persist.

Blood in the stool or on toilet paper when you wipe yourself are common symptoms of internal hemorrhoids.  The blood will be bright red and appears to be fresh.  The blood the you see oozes out from the hemorrhoid but should not be something to worry too much about.  It’s not a sign of a terrible medical condition other than the internal hemorrhoid.

The internal hemorrhoids described are all first-degree cases of the condition.  In case they come out of the anus, or form outside of the anus, they could be a case of external, rather than internal, hemorrhoids.