Hemorrhoids

What Causes Hemorrhoids?

Hemorrhoids are areas in a vein located in or around the rectum in which one way valves have been damaged and allow the blood to pool. This stagnation of the blood supply causes the veins to swell and become inflamed, reduces the amount of toxins and wastes that can be removed from the area, and causes itchiness and pain. Most of these hemorrhoids can be treated with some simple changes to the diet and bowel habits. They do not usually require surgery or other invasive treatments unless they become very large and painful. (1)

Hemorrhoids Treatment

The first treatment recommendations will be to make changes to your diet that will make the stool softer and easier to pass. These recommendations include increasing the amount of fiber in the diet through fruits, vegetables and whole grains or taking a fiber supplement. If you can’t get enough fiber from your diet and decide to use fiber supplements, it is very important to drink at least 8 glasses of water each day or the stool could get harder and more difficult to pass. This is because the fiber works to draw more water into the stool, making it bulkier and softer. Without water, the resulting stool is more compact, hard and difficult to pass.