How to sit and more tips to avoid hemorrhoid pain
Learning the right way to sit can help easehemorrhoidpain.
This article offers a few tips for sitting with hemorrhoids, reducing strain, and easing your bowel movements.
Making changes to your daily routine can help you feel more comfortable, both in the bathroom and out.
Verywell / Emily Roberts
Do yourself a favor and get asoft pillowor aninflatable “donut” cushionto sit on.
The latter prevents the anorectal tissues from stretching.
Most drugstores sell them for around $10.
Get our printable guide for your next healthcare professional’s appointment to help you ask the right questions.
If you’re prone to hemorrhoids, sitting on a hard chair for too long can even trigger them.
Bringing your knees above your hips alters the angle of your rectum.
This gives stool a more direct route out of the body.
If you are constipated, you should also avoid sitting on the toilet for a long time.
The wide opening of the seat promotes anorectal stress and can make your hemorrhoids far worse.
Instead, get up and move around to help stimulate the bowels.
Or, better yet, take a long walk around the block.
It fits over the toilet bowl and is filled with warm water.
Some people also add Epsom salt,witch hazel, or baking soda.
Sitting in warm water tempers the body’sinflammatory response, reducing swelling and pain in your anal area.
Always clean the sitz bath before you use it.
This works in the same way that icing a sports injury does.
Doing so can causefrostbiteand may damage skin tissues.
Soften Your Stools
Ahigh-fiber dietis a greatlong-term solutionfor constipation.
Prune juice:To get relief sooner, drinking prune juice can help by softening your stool.
Aim for at least eight glasses of water per day (1/2 gallon).
Get Things Moving
One way to get your stool moving is to use anenema bagordouche ball.
you could buy these from drugstores for $10 to $15.
Using either one, gently fill your rectum with warm water to ease out hard, pebbly stools.
Just be careful not to overfill your rectum.
Doing so can stretch out tissues that are already inflamed.
If you have internal hemorrhoids, you’re gonna wanna be extra gentle.
Aperianal irrigation bottlecan help you gently clean and soothe your anal area.
Like aloe vera, you’re free to trypure vitamin E oilorpure coconut oiltoo.
But avoid creams that have these oils in them because other substances in the creams could bother your skin.
Get our printable guide for your next healthcare professional’s appointment to help you ask the right questions.
They range from drinking prune juice to changing how you sit on the toilet.
If you find something that helps you, attempt to be consistent with it.
If your hemorrhoids are smaller and not too severe, these approaches might be enough for you.
That said, manyover-the-counter (OTC) treatmentsare safe and effective options as well.
They will help you choose a product that works well and feels right for you.
you could also use stool softeners.
If you’re considering atopical hemorrhoid treatment, ask your doctor if it’s fine to use whilepregnant.
Harvard Health Publishing.Hemorrhoids and what to do about them.
George SE, Borello-France DF.Perspective on physical therapist management of functional constipation.Phys Ther.
2018 Feb;97(3):172-179.
Fox A, Tietze PH, Ramakrishnan K.Anorectal conditions: hemorrhoids.FP Essent.
2014;419(1):11-9.
2014 Oct;40(7):750-758. doi:10.1111/apt.12913
Sugerman DT.
2013;310(13):1416. doi:10.1001/jama.2013.278592
Portalatin M, Winstead N.Medical management of constipation.Clin Colon Rectal Surg.
2012;25(1):12-9. doi:10.1055/s-0032-1301754
American Academy of Family Physicians.What are hemorrhoids?
