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Treatment guide

Hemorrhoids can most often be treated at home by:

Eating high-fiber containing foods

Taking a stool softener or a fiber supplement such as psyllium

Staying hydrated as recommended by your health care professional

Avoiding straining during bowel movements

Avoiding long periods of time on the toilet.

Taking over-the-counter pain relievers such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen, naproxen, or aspirin

Sitting in a tub of warm water, called a sitz bath, several times a day to help relieve pain

Most often, doctors advise using over-the-counter products for 1 week. Follow up with your doctor if there is no relief in your symptoms after 1 week and/or your symptoms have worsened. Most prolapsed internal hemorrhoids go away without at-home treatment. However, severely prolapsed or bleeding internal hemorrhoids may need medical treatment.

How do doctors
treat hemorrhoids?

Hemorrhoids are treated by a doctor during an office visit, in an outpatient center, or in a hospital. The following procedures can be done in an office setting.

Hemorrhoid banding

Ligation treatment is used by doctors to treat bleeding or prolapsing internal hemorrhoids. In this treatment, a doctor places a special rubber band around the base of the hemorrhoids. The blood supply gets cut off and the banded part of the hemorrhoid dries up and falls off within a week mostly. Scar tissue left behind gets healed by itself. This procedure is performed by trained doctors and one should never try to do it by himself.

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Sclerotherapy

A solution is injected into the internal hemorrhoid by a doctor, which causes scar tissue to form. The scar tissue cuts off the blood supply, often shrinking hemorrhoids.

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Infrared photocoagulation

In this procedure, a doctor utilizes a tool that directs infrared light at the internal hemorrhoid. The heat created by the infrared light causes scar tissue to form, which cuts off the blood supply, often shrinking hemorrhoids.

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The following procedures can be done in an outpatient center or hospital treatments.

Hemorrhoidectomy

A surgeon performs surgery in which the large external hemorrhoids and prolapsing internal hemorrhoids resistant to non-surgical treatments are removed. Anesthesia is required before performing a hemorrhoidectomy. The risk of surgical complications is associated.

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Hemorrhoid stapling

A surgeon removes internal hemorrhoid tissue by using a staple and pulls a prolapsing internal hemorrhoid back into the anus. Anesthesia is required before performing a hemorrhoidectomy. The risk of surgical complications is associated.

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