Hemorrhoid issues

Yes, if you have solids down in the rectum, they push on the "roids'", irritating them. An 8 0z. bulb will clean out the rectum and stop the irritation, but I stay away from larger bag enemas, as these can aggrevate the swollen vessles on expulsion.

Another trick I found useful is to fill a bag with as hot a water as you can stand and spray the external roid' with hot water-do not put the nozzle inside, but use it in place of a Sitz bath; you don't even have to undress. This can be altered with cold tap water. The temperatures increase blood flow to the inflammed blood vessles.

If you can get a look at the problem with a mirrow and you see dark purple veins, or black color, you most likely have a thrombosed hemorrhoid ( a blood clot in it). A Dr. can make a small incision in the vein and the clot will come popping out with some blood- Instant relief! You don't need any anesthetic, cause the pain is so great, you won't feel the incision, just the aftermath.

The most relief I ever got with hemorrhoids was to sit in a tub with a couple inches of hot water. Mild saline enemas of lesser volume are helpful in avoiding straining on the toilet. The last time I looked, a plastic sitzbath sold for $9 at a supermarket pharmacy.

Jimmy is correct in saying that if you had solid matter in your rectum, when you bear down to evacuate your bowels, they push on the hemorrhoids and can cause great burning and pain. I've found that using a small bulb syringe, preferably with a narrow nozzle, with very cool water to break down the fecal matter into smaller, softer, looser, more fluid bits will lessen the pressure on the 'rhoids. You may wish to refill several times to get a good ratio or solid versus liquid matter. But don't hold it longer than is comfortable. You don't want to cause greater pressure to your rectum and anus. It can also help to refill the bulb and spray the anus with very cool water while you're expelling, in the Sitz bath substitute Jimmy mentioned.

While he suggested using the hottest water you can stand, I recommend the opposite, using very cool water. I don't know if, technically, heat dilates blood vessels but it seems to improve circulation and cause them to be more active at the surface. IMHO, cool water seems to constrict blood vessels and calm everything down, which is more what you want to do when you have inflamed 'rhoids. It just works that better for me.

Also, instead of using K-Y jelly or Astroglide to lubricate the nozzle, I recommend using Preparation-H cream or something other cream intended for use with hemorrhoids. And not just when you're having a flare up but to use it to lubricate enema nozzles and/or anal toys if you are prone to having hemorrhoids. Just check the compatibility of your nozzles and toys against the type of cream to make sure it won't break them down.

Also, you may wish to dissolve some salt in hot water then add it to a cool water enema. It is akin to gargling with salt water when you have a sore throat and may help any irritation you have in your rectum.

And because I'm going to harp on this until the day I die, slippery elm tea, also used for sore throats, can be very soothing to sore tushes. I buy it in tea bag form at herbal shops and natural food stores but you can get it in the expanded tea section of your grocery market if you have one that sells more than just black tea and orange pekoe. Celestial Seasonings makes a sore throat care tea, as does Traditional Medicinals. They contain slippery elm but also a few other herbs for throat comfort and taste. Alvita is my preferred brand since you get straight slippery elm tea and not added herbs. I used to buy slippery elm is bulk powder for but my favorite shop closed down so I no longer have a local source for it.

Depending on how irritated your bowels are, you can take a few cleanings enemas first with cool water if you're not hurting too badly. Or can start with slippery elm tea if you are too irritated and need immediate relief. I brew it up one tea bag per cup of water. I usually brew 6 to 8 cups of water to use in my enema bag. I like to start with cool water cleansing enemas then use the slippery elm tea once my bowels are empty. That way, I can hold it inside longer and give the slippery elm tea time to work. I may take a few cups at a time and lie there and relax while holding. Then depending on my comfort level, may either expel and take another enema or may just finish off the bag while retaining the previous amount. It's a good idea to slowly rotate your body 360 degrees if possible to ensure it coats every part of your rectum and not just where gravity directs it.

I have never had any adverse effects from slippery elm. It has never caused any cramping in me and doesn't give me a sudden urge to push. I have found it to be very comforting and after a while, even arousing. The tea is reddish-brown in color and has a very spicy and earthy smell, that I find quite sensual. You may enjoy it, too.

I have had very good luck controlling my hemorrhoid flare-ups with Icy Hot salve. Yes, it burns like holy hell, because it is opening little blood vessels If I can get to the Icy Hot when a hemi is first flaring up, it will almost always be free of painful symptoms within a couple of hours.

Hugs,

Diane

There is this green "Super Salve" that has all kinds of good stuf in it. It's made in Mogollon NM. Just take the name and add dot com to it. See for your self. But to be fair I got my jar from Optimalhealth.

Smells good and feels good too. My 2oz are half gone already!

Anybody got anything in their medical bag of tricks that will shrink hemorrhoids? Prep H doesn't seem to be working too well, and it is interfering with my enema pleasures.

In my case, a rectal surgeon!

Master anjinsan, you didn't say anything precise about your troubles - how bad it is, internal, external or whatever specific... So, for a light internal hemorrhoid regular wearing (couple of hours a day) of a smallish buttplug really helps. Straining at the bowel movement isn't good either, so an fleet enema is also really welcome. Hope this helps.

Several years ago there was a small hallow metal butt plug shaped device that you unscrewed the base of, filled with ice, screwed the cap back on, and then inserted into the anus. The ice would melt over about a half hour or so, but along the way, it relieved the discomfort in the hemorrhoids. If I remember right, it was manufactured in Israel. I have not seen these advertised in several years now so I don't know if the company still exists or not. But, the idea is worth a try - take a small metal butt plug (or similar device), put it into the freezer, then insert it and let the cooling effect work its course. Hope this helps. The original device was advertised to sooth and shrink the hemorrhoid tissue.

I have a rather large external hemorrhoid that makes enema play a bit difficult and uncomfortable. I take a baking soda enema both in the morning and at night, so straining is not a problem. I wonder if my use of buttplugs for retention purposes might have caused the problem.

The metal butt plug from the freezer is not a good idea. It will come out around zero degrees and will freeze the skin on contact. If you think hemorrhoids are bad add a little frostbite on top of them and you will have a new definition of bad. Putting the butt plug in the fridge before inserting is OK.

Go see a proctologist - girls are more gentle than guys :-) The have laser treatments that shrink them in the office.

FunnStrict, my woman proctologist has been far less gentle than the many male docs in my own previous experiences, but she is far more thorough. I was referred to her by my regular GP when I had some ongoing internal bleeding. A colonoscopy showed it likely originated from a gray patch of ulcerated tissue resulting from radiation treatment for prostate cancer received some years earlier. If it continued, her suggested treatment was a steroid enema; however, since I subsequently began using coffee enemas on a near daily basis, the bleeding has never returned.

Try a cotton ball soaked in witch hazel several times a day. Make sure to clean the area really well, but not roughly after using the bathroom, and see if that helps!!!

As a long time sufferer of nasty little hemis, I find that the salve IcyHot to be the single most effective treatment I have found.. OMG, IcyHot?

It does burn, it burns like flaming hell. The burn comes from the blood vessels down there becoming engorged, which brings fresh new blood to the hemi which is all full of trapped stale old blood, quickly trying to clot. The pain is excruciating. And then three minutes later, there is this this relief from hemmorhoidal pain such as none I've ever known. The hemi just gets what it needs, and quiets down. The intense short burn is worth it to me!

Hugs,

Diane

There are scherosing agents that can be injected by a physician right into the vessel with a needle. These drugs completely block off the swollen vessel and make it useless (it carries no blood and stops pain). See a proctologist or surgeon and enquire about this treatment; no surgery needed.

Diane, Does the icy hot actually shrink them, or just relieve the discomfort and itching? It is interrupting my enema fun, as it is large enough to cause leakage.

I find that the IcyHot salve will actually relieve small hemorrhoids. I suspect that once it's large, inflamed, and full of clotted blood it probably needs more the kind of attention Jim is recommending. But for little ones, just starting to be a bother, I can usually just make it go away with IcyHot. Try it, you'll have a brief hot poker feeling, and in a few minutes the pain will be gone from both the hemi and the salve.

Hugs,

Diane

Looking for some input on hemorrhoids. This past year I went from no problems to recurring issues every couple of months. My guess is that it's been the years of "oh my, I'm constipated again. Well, I'll just wait and everything should straighten up" catching up with me. I have external ones that get thrombosed and may have internal ones as well, but if I do they're small. Here's what I know/heard so far, wondering what's accurate:

There's no point going to the doctor. It will be embarrassing and at the end she'll just say "you have hemorrhoids - eat more fiber, drink more water, don't let yourself get constipated (hmm... fat chance of that unless I stay on top of it big time), don't strain. If you want surgery I can refer you." I don't want surgery yet, but if I do it it seems as though everything would just start over again, right?

The enemas shouldn't make it worse, and might even make it better by keeping things moving. If I don't continue with periodic enemas I probably should go back to the very high dose Mirilax.

While it seems as though circulation issues may be a part they probably aren't, it's just that hemorrhoids are common, varicocele is common, and varicose veins are common so the three together would also be common. More likely is the ongoing constipation and possibly the muscular tension from the pelvic floor "dysfunction" (I guess that's technically what it is, but it's not nearly as bad as what that usually means). The latter has been mentioned but I haven't seen any good studies backing it up. Some websites even suggest anal play to help relax and loosen things up, but again I haven't seen anything backing it up.

The creams are merely palliative. I guess this would be a good thing, because I'm planning on riding out this next one (and possibly further) because I'm sick of being a complaining crybaby and it seems like it might be a good, benign way to work on dealing with mild/moderate pain, especially longer term pain as long as I don't complain. Furthermore there isn't a risk from them as long as I don't massage them, right?

The physician who treats himself has a fool for a patient.

Seek professional advice to get a REAL diagnosis. What if it's NOT simple Hemorrhoids?

Seek professional advice to get a REAL diagnosis. What if it's NOT simple Hemorrhoids?

From one who has a similar issue that recurs pretty much on schedule every other month or so, I concur with Jds4med's advice. You are obviously concerned about it, and the very first consideration for seeing a physician over an issue is "having a concern." If going to the doctor because it is embarrassing is a problem, then find another physician. If it is because your physician is a woman, find another physician. There can be only one advocate for your health, and you are that advocate.

I actually have a female primary care physician, whom I like. But I also have a male physician at an urgent care facility. I go to him for the coughs and colds and oddly enough for the penis and anal issues. You don't have to make an appointment, just schedule using the app and go.

The reason I go to him is not that I would not share these issues with my female PCP, but I would have to make an appointment, and she would have the nurse in the room, use the drape, follow all the professional medical privacy protocol. A few months ago, I had what I thought was an occurrence of hemorrhoids, but got it in my mind that it was herpes. I wanted it to be seen immediately, and with the male doctor, I dropped my pants, crawled up on the table, and opened spread eagle -- direct and no nonsense. It was not herpes, but just a contact dermatitis resolved with an antibiotic and cream. BUT, I could have fretted over it and not sought a doctor's advice and been miserable both mentally and physically for moths.

I'll put it on the list for the next doctor's visit, I guess.

If going to the doctor because it is embarrassing is a problem, then find another physician

It's embarrassing because about 2/3 of my doctor's visits over the past 3 years have involved pelvic things, and guess what - here's another. On balance it's always been good that I've gone in, but I wouldn't mind having visits that don't involve removing my pants. Interesting suggestion about multiple doctors, I might consider that. My doctor (woman) is great, we "get" each other and she doesn't overtreat and I trust her. On the downside I also think "oh great, do I really want to make her look at that" and "is she going to think there's some twisted 'put on these snow pants and I need a rectal temperature for religious reasons' thing going on?"

From one who has a similar issue that recurs pretty much on schedule every other month or so...

Bingo - thank you for answering the #1 unasked question on my mind. The books I've looked at made it sound like "if you do X,Y,Z it will clear up in a couple of weeks" with a slight implication that it should stay cleared up. I imagine there's also the control thing, me getting used to doing everything right and still not having my body cooperate. I'll try being happy that it's just minor irritations instead of anything big.

Symptomatic Hemorrhoids will improve with bi-weekly enemas. Mine did and it was something i was not expecting.

Hemorrhoids should be removed as weeds or malware, saving one for twenty years, . . . , two years ago the executioner ooops the surgeon removed it, one hard week after surgery and now """"" I AM FREE """" to enjoy anal pleasures like I want without being disturbed by that thing. No fear, no mercy, KILL IT, no summons CUT

About a year ago I became VERY conscious about straining while urinating or defecating. I realized I was straining much more than I had thought.

Fast forward a bit, and once I stopped straining my hemorrhoids have had significantly fewer flare-ups.

Yep it is easy to over strain if you aren't paying attention. I remember my dad used to go sit on the toilet for an hour... Can't be good. its either ready to come out or it isn't. Sitting there pushing for a long time is begging for rhoids.

@itsmeah a efficient mix to help for a soft expulsion is making a lube using J-Lube powder + water + 10% glycerin.

Hemorrhoids should be removed as weeds or malware, saving one for twenty years, . . . , two years ago the executioner ooops the surgeon removed it, one hard week after surgery and now """"" I AM FREE """"

Nothing like a roid to ruin a play day. They can be really painful. I agree, get rid of them. I had a doc cut mine open and squeeze. It worked though!

I posted this in the music lounge - but it is probably more relevant in the Hemorrhoid thread. “Ring of Fire”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDYM9eBv1iE