External Hemorrhoids

What are External Hemorrhoids
External hemorrhoids are hemorrhoids that occur around the sphincter and are generally visible. They are the same as any other hemorrhoid. External hemorrhoids are the result of swollen and inflamed veins. Unlike internal hemorrhoids, external hemorrhoids are generally very painful. You will know pretty quickly when you come down with external hemorrhoids.

Treatments and Prevention
The most common advice for prevention of hemorrhoids is to keep your stool soft so they pass easily, not strain when passing a stool, and to empty your bowels as soon as the urge occurs. These three things can help you cut down on the risk of getting hemorrhoids.

Most treatment for external hemorrhoids is focused on relieving the symptoms, relieving pressure, and modifying bowel habits. Common ways to do this include a higher fiber diet, normal excercise, warms baths several times a day, stool softeners, and over-the-counter medicines to help with inflammation. Ice packs can also be used with external hemorrhoids to help relieve the pain and inflammation. Thrombosed hemorrhoids are very painful, and pain medication might be prescribed by your doctor in those cases. Ointments and creams can also be used on visible external hemorrhoids. These will help with inflammation and swelling.

If these basic treatments don't help the problem, surgery is the next step. For more information on hemorrhoid surgery, view are many articles on your different options. You can get to all of them from the left sidebar.