What actually helps with hemorrhoids?

This is general information for adults, drawn from two public medical pages. It is not a diagnosis, a brand comparison, or a reason to skip a clinician. ahem has not tested hemorrhoid products and does not sell one.

Rectal bleeding is not automatically a hemorrhoid. If you are trying to work out what your own symptoms are, a person who can examine you is the right next step. The sources below are linked so you can read them yourself.

NIDDK says over-the-counter hemorrhoid creams, ointments, or suppositories may relieve mild pain, swelling, and itching of external hemorrhoids. A suppository, in NIDDK's wording, is a medicine you insert into your rectum. NIDDK says doctors most often recommend using these over-the-counter products for about a week. Follow up with a doctor if they do not help after a week, or if they cause side effects such as dry skin or a rash.

Mayo Clinic describes a similar set of home treatments: a hemorrhoid cream or suppository containing hydrocortisone, pads containing witch hazel, or a numbing medicine. Mayo Clinic says hydrocortisone is a steroid that can thin the skin when it is used for more than a week, and says to ask a health professional how long to use it.

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Both sources describe sitting in warm water, often called a sitz bath, as a way to ease pain. Mayo Clinic suggests plain warm water for 10 to 15 minutes, two or three times a day. A sitz bath can be a bathtub, or a basin that fits over the toilet. NIDDK lists a warm bath several times a day among the home-care steps, next to fiber, fluids, and less straining.

NIDDK's home-care list is not only products you rub on or insert. It also includes:

• Eating foods that are high in fiber.
• A stool softener, or a fiber supplement such as psyllium or methylcellulose.
• Drinking water or other nonalcoholic liquids, as a clinician recommends.
• Not straining during bowel movements, and not sitting on the toilet for long periods.
• Over-the-counter pain relievers such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen, naproxen, or aspirin.

Mayo Clinic gives similar diet advice and says to add fiber slowly, because a sudden increase can cause gas. Those are published suggestions for a general reader. They are a poor substitute for advice that accounts for your other medicines and conditions. Some pain relievers are a bad fit for some people.