Hemorrhoid Zone

Hemorrhoid Prevention: Make a Few Lifestyle Changes

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Most causes of hemorrhoids can be avoided. Take heart that hemorrhoid prevention is a reality. However, it’s not all plain sailing and you will need to make some lifestyle changes.

Whenever you get constipated, you have a greater tendency to strain real hard just to get rid of the poop. Maybe it is time to modify your diet:

  • Is it rich in fiber?
  • Do you drink enough water a day?

Diet plays a big role in the prevention of constipation. Eating a well balanced diet rich in fiber, around 20 to 35 grams each day, and drinking at least 8 glasses of water and liquids such as fruit and vegetable juices, and clear soups and broths, can greatly help the formation of softer, bulkier stools.

Good examples of high fiber foods are:

  • beans
  • whole bran cereals and grains
  • asparagus
  • Brussels sprouts
  • carrots
  • cabbage

You can make your own list of foods rich in fiber and make your own meal plans. Do you know that by just doing this you have avoided 3 contributing factors that cause hemorrhoids?

These factors are:

  • constipation
  • diarrhea
  • straining during bowel movement

It is like hitting 3 birds with one stone. This is why diet plays a big role in hemorrhoid prevention.

Aside from diet modifications, other lifestyle changes that keep your body and mind active can encourage regular bowel movements. Playing or discovering a new sport is a great start! They not only prevent bouts of constipation, but they can be beneficial to your overall health. It is also a fun way to lose weight. Remember, being overweight is also a factor that causes hemorrhoids.

What is there to lose?

When lifting heavy objects, it is necessary to remember proper positioning or alignment of body. This prevents putting too much pressure on your waist and down below, which includes your rectum. Always bend in your knees when lifting and never twist your waist. Also, exhale when you lift – do not hold your breath. Holding your breath adds pressure on the rectum.

When you have a severe cough, in order to reduce pressure in the rectum, place your hand over your diaphragm while coughing, palm facing you. This will support your lower body including your rectum as you cough, thereby reducing pressure on it.

Having a regular bowel movement and maintaining a good toilet habit are also keys to hemorrhoid prevention. Good toilet habit is not doing anything while defecating. Avoid reading. This is usually the thing we love to do while having evacuating our poop. When you do something while passing stool, you don’t notice that you’ve been sitting too long. Remember, prolonged sitting contributes to the formation of hemorrhoids.

If your job requires prolonged periods of sitting and standing, keep in mind that there are some ways that can prevent the occurrence and the exacerbation of hemorrhoids. If you sit most of the time, try to stand and walk around for 5 minutes at least once every hour. For jobs that require standing most of the time, make sure you also get ample time to sit down and relax your lower body. Variation is the key here, and excess is bad for the health.

And remember, a warm Sitz Bath can help to alleviate painful hemorrhoid symptoms.

These pointers may be simple but they can greatly help hemorrhoid prevention.

Have YOU thought of a plan now?

Hemorrhoid Treatment

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The principal rule for hemorrhoid treatment, either internal of external, is to leave them alone if they are asymptomatic or producing minimal symptoms. Conservative management, most especially avoidance of both constipation and diarrhea, is appropriate to all.

Read more about hemorrhoid prevention

The most important thing to remember and do is to avoid straining. This is just about the best way to get rid of hemorrhoids and shrink them.

Remember, a warm sitz bath can help to ease your hemorrhoid symptoms and fairly rapidly too. It really is very easy to do and costs nothing.

Want to be more proactive? Read my personal review of Venapro

MedicinesMedicines can help relieve the symptoms of hemorrhoids. You might want to try one or more of the following medications…

To reduce inflammation and bleeding, you have the option to choose from a wide variety of ointments with or without hydrocortisone that are out in the market, or salicylate containing suppositories for internal hemorrhoids to lubricate the anal canal during bowel movements.

Hydrocortisone, a type or steroid, can also relieve itching. However, this should not be used for more than two weeks because hydrocortisone can thin out the skin.

There are also ointments that protect the skin such as zinc oxide or petroleum jelly. Ointments also can prevent further injury and reduce itching by forming a barrier over hemorrhoids.

For the pain, take non-prescription pain relievers. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs such as naproxen and ibuprofen can help with the pain and the swelling.

Surgery is rarely needed in hemorrhoid treatment. Surgery may be an option for you if other treatments, including home treatments, have failed. You can also consider surgery if your hemorrhoid creates a medical emergency, such as uncontrolled bleeding and pus at the anus along with severe rectal pain.

The most common surgical procedure done is called hemorrhoidectomy. This is done for severe cases of piles such as those that are large and or prolapsed. Basically, this is done under general or spinal anesthesia. Then hemorrhoid removal is possible.

Usually, the wounds heal up within a week or two. In most cases, one can resume normal activities after a few days and be fit for work. The first bowel motion usually happens on the second day and should not cause any great discomfort.

Other surgical procedures include:

  • injection sclerotherapy
  • infrared coagulation
  • photocoagulation
  • diathermy
  • electrotherapy
  • hemorrhoidal artery ligation

Aside from surgery, there are nonsurgical procedures called fixative procedures to choose from to treat your haemorrhoid. The goal of fixative procedures is to reduce the blood supply to the hemorrhoid so it shrinks or goes away. A scar tissue is left in place. Consequently, this scar tissue helps support the anal tissue and helps prevent more hemorrhoids from developing. Fixative procedures include:

All the above procedures help to create beneficial scar tissue.

In most cases, external hemorrhoids are usually not removed via surgery except if they are very large and uncomfortable or if you are having surgery on the anal area for another reason such as internal hemorrhoids or a tear. While for internal hemorrhoids that are small, surgery is the last resort, but for large ones, it is considered the most successful way to treat them. This is especially true for those that are still a problem after fixative procedures have been tried but failed.

Hemorrhoid treatment need not be daunting. As you can see, there are many options and solutions.