Hemorrhoid Care Buy Hemorrhoid Treatments Online

Although most cases of hemorrhoids can be treated with over the counter medications, in the home treatments, and changing ones diet and nutritional habits, some times more drastic measures need to be taken.

For many years treatment of hemorrhoids has focused on alleviating sphincter hypertonia. Conservative therapy, consisting of sitz baths, topical anesthetics, and the use of bulking supplements, aims to alleviate pain and dilate the sphincter with large, soft stools.

There are several surgical techniques used to alleviate hemorrhoids. Most of these procedures can be performed as an outpatient.

In cases of severe, persistent pain, your physician may want to remove the hemorrhoid containing the clot with a small incision. This outpatient procedure generally provides relief and is performed under local anesthesia.

Operative therapy care decreases sphincter pressures either by forceful dilation (increasingly of historical interest only) or, now far more commonly, by lateral internal sphincterotomy. Although this technique is a simple and effective outpatient surgical procedure performed under local anesthesia, its fundamental drawback is its potential to cause minor but sometimes permanent alterations in the control of gas, mucus, and occasionally stool. This problem has motivated a quest for pharmacologic ways to create a temporary or reversible "sphincterotomy," one that would lower sphincter pressures only until the hemorrhoids have healed. Two such approaches have been identified.

The other pharmacologic approach to hemorrhoids involves the use of botulinum toxin. Once again, the aim is to decrease the resting anal pressure, in this case by preventing the release of acetylcholine from presynaptic nerve terminals. More famous as a lethal poison, botulinum toxin has found its way into the therapy of a number of skeletal-muscle disorders, including strabismus, blepharospasm, and spasmodic torticollis. Botulinum toxin has also been used for smooth-muscle disorders, including achalasia and detrusor dysfunction.

In a recently conducted double-blind, placebo-controlled study of botulinum toxin A in 30 patients with chronic hemorrhoids. Despite discrepancies in the randomization (more men and older patients in the control group), the results show a convincing therapeutic effect. After two months, 87 percent of the treated patients had symptomatic relief and 73 percent were healed, as compared with 27 percent and 13 percent, respectively, of the controls. Resting anal pressure decreased significantly in the treated patients but not in the controls.

All four patients with initial treatment failure healed after retreatment, as did 70 percent of the controls who crossed over to botulinum-toxin injection. Scanty data are presented with respect to alterations in continence, but it appears that only one patient who received toxin suffered temporary flatus incontinence. Similar results were recently reported by Jost, who noted healing in 79 of 100 patients six months after botulinum-toxin injection. Eight patients had early relapses, and seven had temporary gas or stool incontinence.

Hemorrhoid information contained herein is intended solely for educational purposes. The information contained on this hemorrhoid website is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of a physician regarding your hemorrhoid condition. The accuracy, completeness or correctness, timeliness, or usefulness of any information contained herein is not warranted. In no event will we be liable to you or anyone else for any decision made or action taken by you or anyone else in reliance upon the information provided. You will hold us harmless for liability from any such actions or decisions taken by you in reliance upon such information.