Easing the Pain of Hemorrhoids

Hemorrhoidal disease isn’t something you can just turn your back on. While the swollen veins in the rectal and anal areas can make dealing with it, especially during flare ups, incredibly uncomfortable, simple lifestyle changes can make all the difference.

Here’s what you can do to minimize the pain of hemorrhoid flare ups:

Load up on fiber

Whether to prevent or to treat hemorrhoids, eating more fiber is the key to help minimize the pain this condition brings because fiber loosens and softens stool.

Fiber can be found in beans, whole wheat food, fresh fruits and vegetable, as well as in snacks like popcorn, almonds, and pistachios. If you’re still not getting enough fiber from food, try supplements to help increase your daily fiber intake.

Hydrate

Getting constipated while having a hemorrhoids flare up may just be the worst combination because the former makes it so much harder to pass stool, which further complicates the latter.

So staying properly hydrated during a flare up is of the utmost importance.

The average adult needs to drink about 3-4 liters a day so make sure to always have a glass of water beside you. At the same time, eating water-rich foods like fresh fruits and vegetables contributes to hitting that daily water intake goal.

Take breaks throughout the day

It can be so easy to forget to get up and walk around once in a while, especially while working.

But sitting for an extended period of time can make hemorrhoid flare ups worse. So make sure to dedicate a few minutes to standing up and even walking around a bit throughout the day. However, if you simply can’t get away from your tasks, try to do them standing up. If you work on your laptop, maybe it’s time to give standing desks a try!

Cushion your seat

Sitting down during a hemorrhoid flare up can feel like you’re sitting on a pile of thumbtacks or a garden of cacti. For a more comfortable seat, pad your chairs with extra cushioning to ease the pain. You can use just any pillow or, if you can swing it, purchasing memory foam seat cushions may be well worth the investment, especially if you have a lot of hemorrhoid flare ups.

Use heat and ice generously

Icing the trouble spot for several times a day for 10-15 minutes each time can help soothe the pain of the hemorrhoid flare up by temporarily lessening the swelling of your veins.

Moreover, soaking the affected area in warm water for a few minutes can help relieve irritation too. You can use a bathtub or a washbasin, Or you can buy a sitz bath, another worthy hemorrhoid investment, which is a small basin that fits over a toilet seat and can be used for soaking. Adding epsom salt to the warm water can further ease the pain of the flare up. Do this for about 20 minutes after each bowel movement.

Use a poop stool

Speaking of bowel movement, the idea of defecating during hemorrhoid flare ups can be daunting. But one way to make the process smoother is by elevating your feet when doing the deed with a poop stool.

Whether you use just any step stool or a specialized one made especially for the toilet, elevating your feet while defecating may help you pass poop easier. Studies have shown that by using stools like these, that change the posture from sitting to squatting, people would strain less and empty their bowels more completely–which helps a lot to ease both constipation and hemorrhoids.

Go as soon as you feel the urge

While it can get hard to get away from tasks or even harder to find a bathroom when you’re out, when having a hemorrhoid flare up, it is highly recommended to defecate as soon as you feel the need to. Putting this off can lead to constipation, which highly complicates hemorrhoids.

Be gentle with yourself

When dealing with the affected area, whether it’s after defecating or after bathing, be gentle. The key thing to remember is: pat, don’t wipe.

After defecating, try using alcohol-free, unscented wet wipes so you can wipe ever so gently while also cleaning up after yourself well. If you have access to wipes that have hemorrhoid-treating ingredients in them like aloe vera, all the better. Just make sure to stay away from irritants like alcohol or perfume.

Consider helpful medicine

If the pain is still unbearable, try drinking painkillers or, better yet, take Diosmin + Hesperidin (Daflon 1000), the leading treatment for hemorrhoids and other other venous circulation diseases.

Consult a medical professional to know exactly how much to drink and what other specific lifestyle changes you can make to ease the pain of your hemorrhoid flare up.