Options for Treating Hemorrhoids

After you’ve gone to the doctor and he has diagnosed your condition as hemorrhoids here are some of the possible treatments:

1) Home treatment and prevention.
There are a variety of easily available over the counter medications and homeopathic remedies designed to shrink hemorrhoids and end the symptoms. These range from a host of ointments, suppositories and even herbal items depending on the severity of the flare-up. A large percentage of cases are completely and satisfactorily treated with these products. Combined with a simple adjustment of diet usually involving adding more fiber, eliminating certain foods, drinking more water or adjusting other causal factors such as medicines, avoiding NSAIDS like aspirin or anti-inflammatory pills, physical activity, etc, most cases of hemorrhoids will disappear in days and do not recur.

In choosing over the counter treatments, zinc oxide and petroleum jelly are the best of the non-prescription remedies and also the least expensive. Brand name items specifically created to treat hemorrhoids have proven no more effective than zinc oxide and petroleum jelly and they are often quite expensive. For internal hemorrhoids, suppositories have proven the most effective, however, please note that using them beyond the recommended time period can cause other problems. Look for a product containing 1% Hydrocortisone and something ending in the suffix “-caine” which would numb the area, relieving the itching and burning sensations immediately.

3) Fixative procedures.
These non-surgical treatments are normally referred to as Plan B if the ointments and lifestyle adjustments have failed to cure the problem. Their goal is to reduce or eliminate the blood supply to the hemorrhoids so that they will slowly shrink and wither away from lack of nourishment. Performed by doctors as simple office procedures, fixatives will create scar tissue supporting the anal cushions helping to prevent further flare-ups.

Fixative procedures include rubber band ligation – tying off the hemorrhoids with rubber bands to stop the blood flow – coagulation therapy – using heat, electric current or lately, laser devices to create scar tissue – and sclerotherapy – injecting chemicals directly into the swollen tissue to shrink them. Uncomfortable at worst, these procedures have effectively cured the bulk of most hemorrhoidal flare-ups that were not controlled by ointments, suppositories and other, simpler means.

4) Surgical procedures.
There are those cases which can only be treated surgically. They are a small percentage but they do exist. The procedure is called a hemorrhoidectomy and will normally only be done if there is some medical emergency such as profuse bleeding or pus draining from the anus or if the hemorrhoids are so sever that there is a large negative effect on ones lifestyle.  Surgery is also mostly used for internal hemorrhoids unless you are having surgery in the area for another reason such as a tear.