How Long Do Hemorrhoids Last?
Most of us have it but very few of us dare to talk about it in public or even in private for that matter. It’s our dirty little secret, a pain in the butt, something that we just want to keep under wraps, that little something is called hemorrhoids. People who have suffered with hemorrhoids know firsthand that it’s no walk in the park and their first concern after they’ve diagnosed themselves (many are too embarrassed to go to the doctor’s office) is how to get rid of hemorrhoids and they most often ask how long do hemorrhoids last?
Understanding what causes hemorrhoids goes a long way in the proper care and treatment of hemorrhoids and making sure that they go away for good. In a nutshell anything that causes strain south of the border can lead to the swelling and inflammation of veins in the anal canal. Therefore strained bowel movement, constipation and pressure caused by an expanding fetus during pregnancy can all lead to the pain and symptoms of hemorrhoids that we all love to hate.
That’s all well and good you might be saying but the question still remains how long do hemorrhoids last? Apart from the causes of hemorrhoids the length of time that hemorrhoids take to heal is also based on the type of hemorrhoids. Let’s look at healing times based on the type of hemorrhoids.
How Long Do External Hemorrhoids Last?
External hemorrhoids are swollen veins that have the appearance of bumps in the rim of the anus. The exposed area is easily irritated by friction and other symptoms such as bleeding, pain, itching are commonly experienced by patients.
Fortunately the treatment of external hemorrhoids is very straight forward and as long as your symptoms are not severe your hemorrhoids can go away in as little as 2-4 days. Natural remedies and over the counter treatments will usually take care of burning, pain, itching and swelling for relief in 3-4 days.
If you fail to get any sort of relief with these treatment options you may well have to suck it up and go see your doctor who after a thorough inspection of the area might recommend any one of the following treatments.
- Ligation treatment which involves the use of specially made rubber bands used to cut off the blood supply to the vein which will force the swelling to recede and eventually disappear altogether. Patients will see visible results in as little as one week.
- Infrared coagulation treatment is also effective but can take up to one month before the results are clearly visible.
- If you’re diagnosed with a more severe case of hemorrhoids then your doctor could advise a hemorrhoidectomy which is a surgical procedure that can take several weeks for recovery.
How Long Do Internal Hemorrhoids Last?
With internal hemorrhoids the swollen veins start within the anal canal and sufferers rarely know they have a problem until the veins become engorged and push out of the rectum with the passing of stools. As with external hemorrhoids the length of time for healing is all based on the severity of the hemorrhoids but usually will go away in a few days (3-4 days).
Treatment options are similar to those mentioned for external hemorrhoids but consider the following additional bits of advice if you want your painfully embarrassing case of hemorrhoids to go away and stay away for good.
The number one rule of thumb for treating hemorrhoids is to go when you have to go, it is just not something that you should out off for later. Get lots of fiber and if that sounds like a dirty word to you well I should remind you of your little problem so a little bit of fiber is a small sacrifice to make and besides nowadays they are a number of great tasting products that come with lots of fiber. Sooth the area, reduce swelling and itching with the help of Tucks pads and Sitz baths. Finally drink lots of water, exercise and try to be consistent with bowel movements.
So you see talking about hemorrhoids is not so bad after all and with any luck this question of how long do hemorrhoids last will soon be a distant memory.