There are many things that can be said about hemorrhoids in general, but one of the most important is the fact that hemorrhoids cannot be cured without some really drastic hemorrhoids treatment. Basically, whatever type of hemorrhoids treatment a patient chooses to use or a physician recommends, if it does not include surgery in it, it will only treat the physical manifestations of the disease, meaning it will alleviate the pain and the itching. Unfortunately, once said hemorrhoids treatment is finished, the classical hemorrhoids symptoms will be back with a vengeance.
This the reason why the hemorrhoids treatment should be categorized by what it truly does. There are treatments that relieve the symptoms and treatments that try to fight one of the supposed hemorrhoids causes. In the end, there is the ultimate kind of treatment, the one that every patient is scared of: surgery. The point this article is trying to make is that each and every treatment scheme has its target and it is usually pretty effective in its specific area.
Therefore, here are some of the most important variants of hemorrhoids home remedies:
1. Warm sitz baths: one might wonder what makes a normal warm bath different from a sitz bath. Well, the answer to that dilemma comes once the patient is informed that the ingredients needed for a sitz bath should be purchased at a pharmacy. The general idea behind such a bath is that the patient should rest the affected area in the warm sitz bath for about fifteen to twenty minutes, three times a day. This way, the typical hemorrhoids swelling will go down and the itching is alleviated. The most important thing that one should remember is to completely dry the anal area after the bath, so as to avoid the appearance of irritation.
2. Dietary changes: see, the problem with the apparition of hemorrhoids is that it is usually predated by some serious digestive tract problems. One of the most common ones is constipation. Now, constipation can be caused by a lot of things, ranging from stress to medication, but it is usually caused by poor eating habits. Which means that if one changes ones’ eating habits, then the problem could solve itself. In the very first stages of hemorrhoids development, this type of solution actually works. Why? Well, if the stool is softer and easier to eliminate, the anal muscles do not have to work that hard and the veins that belong to them will not bulge. If the veins do not swell, the hemorrhoids do not appear.
3. Stool softeners: say that the dietary changes have arrived too late or that they are not enough. In this situation, your attending physician could recommend some sort of stool softeners. The reason behind this decision is the same as the one presented at dietary changes, the difference being that the stool softeners are actual drugs.
4. Keep active: if the patient has a desk job and does not do any sort of sport, be it only walking at a brisk pace, his or her body will not be able to work properly. The bowels, while they move on their own, need a little help to function. That help is provided not only by the correct diet, but also by the body’s movement. Therefore, if the sufferer moves more, the bowels work better and the digestive process goes along smooth and nicely.
If we were to talk about homeopathic hemorrhoids treatment, the most important options are:
- Bioflavonoids: technically, bioflavonoids are not some sort of homeopathic treatment. They are chemical compounds that are common to a lot of plants. Their role is pretty straightforward: they strengthen the blood vessel walls and reduce the inflammation. This means that the hemorrhoids will not only decrease in size, but they will stop bleeding and be less painful and itchy. The most important sources of bioflavonoids are citrus fruits. Some of these compounds have been known to positively influence the evolution of hemorrhoids in pregnancy. Other compound cannot be used by certain categories of people, especially by those that undergo chemotherapy for breast cancer.
- Witch hazel: the Latin name of the plant is Hamamelis virginiana and the actual useful parts of it are the leaves and the bark. This plant must not be administered internally, only externally. The cream that is made from the leaves of this plant should be applied only on the affected area. The effect is almost immediate, as Hamamelis virginiana works as an astringent, antiseptic and pain reliever.
- Horse chestnut: this one does not actually belong to the hemorrhoids treatment, but it is recommended when the sufferer has a poor vein circulation or is affected by chronic venous insufficiency. It usually strengthens the veins, slowing or stopping the bleeding of the hemorrhoids.
When the only thing left to do is surgery, it is best to be informed as to what options you have. There are several types of hemorrhoids surgery out there, some of them with more risks then others. However, the one downside that all of them present is that they leave the patient with a sense of fullness that does not tend to disappear. The reason is obvious: the scarring left after the surgery is rather dense and does not allow the muscles to move as they usually do and the patient feels strange. From the ones that do not require anesthetic, like rubber band ligation (the hemorrhoids are tied with rubber bands, that stop the blood flow and effectively kill the hemorrhoids) and sclerotherapy (similar to rubber band ligation, but the destructive agent is a chemical substance), to the ones that leave the most scaring (hemorrhoidectomy and laser therapy), but is most effective, each and every one of these types have their good sides and their bad sides.
The one thing that every patient should keep in mind when pursuing a hemorrhoids treatment is that it will work only if they respect the indications of the physician.