Hemorrhoids
Hemorrhoids
18 Coping Remedies
How do you locate the hemorrhoid creams in your local supermarket or pharmacy? It's easy. Look for all the shoppers in trenchcoats, dark sunglasses, and fake moustaches.
For many, hemorrhoids are an enormous embarrassment. But they really needn't be. Hemorrhoids are among the most common of all health ailments, striking an estimated eight out of ten of us throughout our lifetimes. Even Napolean suffered hemorrhoids. It is said that the distracting pain of the emperor's hemorrhoids contributed to his crushing defeat at Waterloo.
But hemorrhoids don't have to be your Waterloo. Much like varicose veins, these swollen veins in the anus are partially hereditary, but they can also be caused by—and be remedied by—such things as diet and toilet habits.
So stop blushing, sit yourself down on a comfortable pillow, and read what the experts say about this common problem.
Strive for soft and easy bowel movements. The most effective strategy against hemorrhoids is to go right to the source of the problem. More often than not, on top of every rear end with hemorrhoids sits a person grunting and groaning. If it's news to you that passing one's stools is not supposed to be a long and arduous affair, you've likely got hemorrhoids. Huffing and puffing on the toilet provides just the kind of strain needed to engorge and swell the veins in your rectum. Hard stools then make matters worse by scraping the already troubled area. Solution? Drink lots of fluids, eat lots of fiber, and refer often to the following remedies.
Oil your inner workings. Once you've increased the fiber and fluids in your diet, your stool should become softer and pass with less effort. You may help your bowels to move even more smoothly by lubricating your anus with a dab of petroleum jelly, says Edmund Leff, M.D., a colon and rectal surgeon in private practice in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona. Using a cotton swab or your finger, apply the jelly about 1/2 inch into the rectum.
MEDICAL ALERT
Hemorrhoids That Need Help If you've always had a healthy bottom and all of a sudden you experience discomfort, it may well be hemorrhoids. It could also be something else. If discomfort is accompanied by itching and you've recently returned from a trip abroad, for example, you might have parasites. You will need medical treatment to get rid of them. Bleeding from the rectum should always warrant a trip to the doctor, says Edmund Leff, M.D. "Hemorrhoids can never become cancer, but hemorrhoids can bleed and cancer can bleed," explains Dr. Leff. Other times an enlarged vein in your anus can clot, creating "a big, blue, swollen, hard area that's very painful," says John O. Lawder, M.D. In most cases, the clot can be easily extracted by your doctor. |
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Clean yourself tenderly. Your responsibility to your hemorrhoids shouldn't end when you're through moving your bowels. It's extremely important to clean yourself properly and gently, says John O. Lawder, M.D., a family practitioner specializing in preventive medicine and nutrition in Torrance, California. Toilet paper can be scratchy, and some types contain chemical irritants. Purchase only nonperfumed, noncolored (white) toilet paper, and dampen it under the faucet before each wipe.
Elect a kinder, gentler toilet paper. If you've never heard of lubricated toilet paper, that's because it isn't sold yet. But you can find facial tissues coated with moisturizing cream—and these, says Dr. Lawder, offer the most hemorrhoid-friendly backside wipe on the market.
Don't scratch. Hemorrhoids can itch, and scratching can make them feel better. But don't give in to the urge to scratch. "You can damage the walls of these delicate veins," and make matters much worse for yourself, says Dr. Lawder.
Don't lift any pianos today. Heavy lifting and strenuous exercise can act much like straining on the toilet, says Dr. Leff. If you're prone to hemorrhoids, get a friend to help or hire someone to help you move that piano or dresser.
Go soak yourself. The sitz bath—sitting with your knees raised in 3 or 4 inches of warm water in a bathtub—is a remedy that still tops the list of most experts as a way to deal with hemorrhoids. The warm water helps to kill the pain while increasing the flow of blood to the area, which can help shrink the swollen veins, says J. Byron Gathright, Jr., M.D., chairman of the Department of Colon and Rectal Surgery at the Ochsner Clinic in New Orleans, Louisiana, and an associate professor of surgery at Tulane University.
Apply a hemorrhoid medication. There are many hemorrhoid creams and suppositories on the market, and while they generally will not make your problem disappear (contrary to what the ads may say), most are designed as local painkillers and can relieve some of the discomfort, says Dr. Gathright.
Choose a cream. Choose a hemorrhoid cream over a suppository any day, says Dr. Leff. Suppositories are "absolutely useless," for external hemorrhoids, and even for internal hemorrhoids, suppositories tend to float too far up the rectum to do much good, he says.
Work wonders with witch hazel. A dab of witch hazel applied to the rectum with a cotton ball is one of the very best remedies available for external hemorrhoids, especially if there's bleeding, says Marvin Schuster, M.D., chief of the Department of Digestive Diseases at Francis Scott Key Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland, and a professor of medicine and psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "Barbers use witch hazel when they cut you—because it causes the blood vessels to shrink down and contract," he says.
While anything cold, even water, can help kill the pain of hemorrhoids, give your hemorrhoids a special treat by putting a bottle of witch hazel into a bucket of ice, just as you would a champagne bottle. Then take a cotton ball, soak it in the witch hazel and apply it against your hemorrhoids until it's no longer cold, then repeat, suggests Dr. Schuster.
Watch your weight. Because they have more pressure on the lower extremities, overweight people tend to have more problems with hemorrhoids just as they do with varicose veins, explains Dr. Lawder.
Control your salt intake. Sure, you like your french fries covered with salt, but it can make your hemorrhoids worse. Excess salt retains fluids in the circulatory system that can cause bulging of the veins in the anus and elsewhere, says Dr. Lawder.
Avoid certain foods and drinks. Some foods, while they won't make your hemorrhoids worse, can contribute to your anal misery by creating further itching as they pass through the bowels. Watch out for excessive coffee, strong spices, beer, and cola, says Dr. Leff.
Pregnant? Take the pressure off. Pregnant women are particularly prone to hemorrhoids, in part because the uterus sits directly on the blood vessels that drain the hemorrhoidal veins, says Lewis R. Townsend, M.D., a clinical instructor of obstetrics and gynecology at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. A special hemorrhoid remedy if you are pregnant is to lie on your left side for about 20 minutes every 4 to 6 hours, says Dr. Townsend. By doing so, you decrease pressure on the main vein draining the lower half of the body.
The Alternative Route Stoneroot, the Herbal Solution? "I have one patient who has found that collinsonia is the only thing that will control his hemorrhoids," says Grady Deal, D.C., Ph.D., a nutritional chiropractor and psychotherapist in Koloa, Kauai Hawaii. Collinsonia, also known as stoneroot, is an old-fashioned herbal remedy, popular in the last century, although it can still be found in some health food stores today. In the New Age Herbalist by Richard Mabey, Collinsonia canadensis, or stoneroot, is described as an herb whose "main use is to strengthen the structure and function of the veins. It is particularly good for the treatment of hemorrhoids." Dr. Deal says it acts as an astringent that may be helpful for hemorrhoids. "Take two capsules [375 milligrams each] twice a day with a full glass of water between meals for acute problems. Some people need to take a maintenance dose of two tablets daily indefinitely to control symptoms," says Dr. Deal. (But check with your doctor first.) "I keep them on hand all the time for hemorrhoid patients." |
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Give it a little shove. Sometimes the word hemorrhoid refers not to a swollen vein but to a downward displacement of the anal canal lining. If you have such a protruding hemorrhoid, try shoving it back into the anal canal, says Dr. Townsend. Hemorrhoids left hanging are prime candidates to develop into clots.
Sit on a doughnut. We're talking about a doughnut-shaped cushion, here. They are available in pharmacies and medical supply stores and can be useful to hemorrhoid sufferers who do a lot of sitting, says Dr. Townsend.
Try the ClenZone. This little appliance attaches to your toilet seat and squirts a thin stream of water into your rectum after every bowel movement. It gets you superclean and serves as a soothing mini-sitz bath at the same time.
ClenZone is available from Hepp Industries, Inc., 687 Kildare Crescent, Seaford, NY 11783. The cost is about $22.
PANEL OF ADVISERS
Grady Deal, D.C., Ph.D., is a nutritional chiropractor and psychotherapist in Koloa, Kauai, Hawaii. He is also the founder and owner of Dr. Deal's Hawaiian Fitness Holiday health spa in Koloa.
J. Byron Gathright, Jr., M.D., is chairman of the Department of Colon and Rectal Surgery at the Ochsner Clinic in New Orleans, Louisiana, and an associate professor surgery at Tulane University in New Orleans. He is also president of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons.
John O. Lawder, M.D., is a family practitioner specializing in nutrition and preventive medicine in Torrance, California.
Edmund Leff, M.D., has a private practice in colon and rectal surgery in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona.
Marvin Schuster, M.D., is chief of the Department of Digestive Diseases at Francis Scott Key Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland, and professor of medicine and psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.
Lewis R. Townsend, M.D., is in private practice in Bethesda, Maryland, and is a clinical instructor of obstetrics and gynecology at Georgetown University Hospital and director of the physician's group at the Columbia Hospital for Women Medical Center, both in Washington, D.C.
