Hemorrhoids
Hemorrhoids
Nix the Itch and Burn
Bowel movements aren't supposed to be as hard to pass as the state bar exam. So if you spend a lot of your bathroom time straining, you could end up with painful, swollen hemorrhoids.
Hemorrhoids are swollen blood vessels in and around the anus and lower rectum--sort of like varicose veins in your legs. In addition to straining, they are frequently caused by forceful bowel movements brought on by bouts of constipation or diarrhea.
Pregnant women often develop hemorrhoids--both the pressure of the fetus on the abdomen and hormonal changes cause blood vessels around the anus to enlarge.
IMMEDIATE RELIEF FOR STRAINED VEINS
About half of all women develop hemorrhoids by age 50, but they will usually come and go away on their own, lasting only a few days. Here's what you can do to reduce the misery.
Draw a bath. Sitz baths are a tried-and-true method of easing hemorrhoidal aches and pains, says Robyn Karlstadt, M.D., a gastroenterologist at Graduate Hospital in Philadelphia. Fill your bath with three to four inches of warm--not scalding hot--water. "Don't add anything to the water--no Epsom salts, no bubble bath, no bath oils--all of which can irritate your bottom," she says. Lie back in the tub for 30 minutes if you can, or 10 minutes at a minimum, several times a day as long as you ache.
Soothe the itch. After your sitz bath a hemorrhoidal cream or suppository (available in supermarkets and drugstores) can stem the itch as you go about your daily activities, says Barbara Frank, M.D., gastroenterologist and clinical professor of medicine at Allegheny University of the Health Sciences MCP-Hahnemann in Philadelphia.
Or ice it. Applying an ice pack to the irritated area can reduce swelling, says Dr. Frank.
When you gotta go, go. One major source of the constipation that causes hemorrhoids is "holding it in when you need to go," says Joanne A. P. Wilson, M.D., a gastroenterologist and professor of medicine at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. If you need to get rid of body wastes, take the time to go to the bathroom to prevent straining later.
When To See A Doctor
For most women, hemorrhoids will respond to home remedies--or go away on their own--within a few days. If they don't or if they get worse, consult your doctor--they may need to be surgically repaired or removed, says Robyn Karlstadt, M.D., a gastroenterologist at Graduate Hospital in Philadelphia. And see your doctor immediately if your rectum bleeds, she says. You may be suffering from something besides hemorrhoids.
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But go easy. Moving your bowels can take some time. You should schedule up to 15 minutes a day to sit on the pot, because trying to force out hard, dry stools is likely to cause the straining that leads to hemorrhoids, Dr. Wilson says.
(For practical ways to manage constipation--a common cause of hemorrhoids--see page 138. For additional ways to relieve rectal itching, see page 464.)
