What are External Hemorrhoids?
Piles (hemorrhoids) are swellings that develop inside and around the back passage (anal canal). There is a network of small veins known as blood vessels inside the lining of the anal canal. These blood vessels can sometimes become more expansive and engorged with more blood. As a result, the swollen vessels and overlying tissue can form into one or more swellings called piles. In this article, you will learn how to get rid of external hemorrhoids in 48 hours.
Hemorrhoids can be divided into either internal piles or external piles. External piles are usually the first thing people think of when they hear the word piles. These piles impact veins outside the anus and lead to bleeding, cracking, and itching. Most external piles will not cause other problems, but they can become more painful and discomforting if they form a clot, known as a thrombus. If a person is in extreme pain, a doctor may suggest the surgical removal of external piles.
Symptoms of External Hemorrhoids
Symptoms of external piles differ depending on their severity. Some of the symptoms that you may experience include:
- one or more blue-colored lumps near the opening of the anus
- itching around the rectal or anal area
- pain around the anus, especially when you’re sitting down
You may see bleeding when you are using the toilet. It includes noticing blood in the toilet or on the toilet paper. In addition, lumps around the anus may feel as if they are inflamed. Large external piles may make it challenging to keep the anal area clean.
If you experience any of these symptoms, you should immediately consult with your doctor.
What Causes External Hemorrhoids?
What causes hemorrhoids? External piles happen when one or more tender blue-colored lump forms beneath the skin covering the anus. These are basically the dilated blood vessels that have become so enlarged that they protrude. You may be more likely to get external piles if other family members like your parents had them.
Some of the causes of external piles include:
- Straining during bowel movements
- Straining when you do something that is physically demanding, like lifting heavy objects
- Obesity
- Pregnancy, when the growing uterus adds pressure on the veins
- A diet low in fiber
- Anal sex
People who sit or stand for extended periods are also at greater risk for external piles. In addition, you may get them when you have constipation or diarrhea that does not clear up. Coughing, sneezing, and vomiting can make them worse.
External Hemorrhoids in Females
Why do females get hemorrhoids? Females can be more prone to developing hemorrhoids due to the pressure of pregnancy and childbirth, as well as hormonal changes that can cause constipation. However, both men and women can develop hemorrhoids from similar causes, such as straining during bowel movements or sitting for long periods of time.
Diagnosis and Treatment of External Hemorrhoids
External hemorrhoids feel and look like small lumps just outside the anus. They can cause bleeding and itching. Home remedies include warm baths, cool compresses, and topical applications, such as witch hazel. Hemorrhoids, also called piles, often result from straining while having a bowel movement.
External Piles Diagnosis
A doctor will ask your health history and symptoms to diagnose external piles. They will also likely do a physical exam. In the case of external piles, they can see the piles by examining the area around the anus.
Your doctor may also perform an anoscopy and digital rectal exam to check for problems inside the anal canal and rectum, including internal hemorrhoids.
During a digital rectal exam, the doctor inserts a gloved, lubricated finger into the anus to feel abnormalities. During the exam, the patient may experience some discomfort and some bleeding from the rectum.
And during an anoscopy, the doctor will insert an anoscope into the rectum that allows them to see abnormalities. The patient will be asked to be in the fetal position on the table and bend forward. The anoscope will then be inserted by lubricating with a gel into the lower gastrointestinal tract through the anus. The scope used here is made of plastic or stainless steel.
If you also have rectal bleeding, the doctor will ask you to get a sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy to rule out colorectal cancer. These methods will also detect any internal hemorrhoids.
How to Remove External Hemorrhoids at Home
How to get rid of hemorrhoids for good: You can often relieve the mild pain, swelling and inflammation of hemorrhoids with home treatments.
- Eat high-fiber foods. Eat more foods that are high in fiber. This helps softens the stool and increases its bulk, which will help you avoid straining. Add fiber to your diet slowly to avoid problems with gas.
- Use topical treatments. Apply a hemorrhoid cream or suppository containing hydrocortisone that you can buy without a prescription. You also can use pads containing witch hazel or a numbing medicine.
- Soak regularly in a warm bath or sitz bath. Soak your anal area in plain warm water for 10 to 15 minutes two or three times a day. A sitz bath fits over the toilet.
- Take pain relievers by mouth. You can temporarily use acetaminophen (Tylenol, others), aspirin or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) to help relieve your discomfort.
With these treatments, hemorrhoid symptoms often go away within a week. See your health care provider within a week if you don’t get relief. Contact your provider sooner if you have severe pain or bleeding.
Medicines
Your hemorrhoids might only produce mild discomfort. In this case, your health care provider may suggest creams, ointments, suppositories or pads that you can buy without a prescription. These products contain ingredients such as witch hazel, or hydrocortisone and lidocaine, which can temporarily relieve pain and itching.
Hydrocortisone is a steroid that can thin your skin when used for more than a week. Ask your health care provider how long you should use it.
External hemorrhoid thrombectomy
If a painful blood clot has formed within an external hemorrhoid, your health care provider can remove the hemorrhoid. Removal can provide relief right away. This procedure, done with a medicine that numbs a part of the body, also called a local anesthetic, works best when done within 72 hours of getting a clot.
Minimally invasive procedures
For bleeding that doesn’t stop or for painful hemorrhoids, your health care provider might recommend one of the other minimally invasive procedures available. These treatments can be done in your provider’s office or another outpatient setting. They don’t usually require numbing medicine.
- Rubber band ligation. Your health care provider places one or two tiny rubber bands around the base of an internal hemorrhoid to cut off its blood flow. The hemorrhoid withers and falls off within a week.Hemorrhoid banding can be uncomfortable and cause bleeding. The bleeding might begin 2 to 4 days after the procedure but is rarely severe. Sometimes, more-serious complications can occur.
- Sclerotherapy. With sclerotherapy, your health care provider injects a chemical solution into the hemorrhoid tissue to shrink it. While the injection causes little or no pain, it might be less effective than rubber band ligation.
- Coagulation. Coagulation techniques use laser or infrared light or heat. They cause small, bleeding internal hemorrhoids to harden and shrivel. Coagulation has few side effects and usually causes little discomfort.
Surgical procedures
Only a small percentage of people with hemorrhoids need surgery to remove them. However, if other procedures haven’t worked or you have large hemorrhoids, your health care provider might recommend one of the following:
Hemorrhoid removal, also called a hemorrhoidectomy
Your surgeon removes extra tissue that causes bleeding by using one of various techniques. The surgery can be done with a local anesthetic combined with a medicine to help you feel calm or less anxious, also called a sedative. Spinal anesthesia or general anesthesia also may be used.
Hemorrhoidectomy is the most effective and complete way to treat severe or recurring hemorrhoids. Complications can include temporarily having a hard time urinating, which can lead to urinary tract infections.
This complication happens mainly after spinal anesthesia. Most people have some pain after the procedure, which medicines can relieve. Soaking in a warm bath also might help.
Hemorrhoid stapling
This procedure, called stapled hemorrhoidopexy, blocks blood flow to hemorrhoidal tissue. It is typically used only for internal hemorrhoids. Stapling generally involves less pain than hemorrhoidectomy and lets you get back to regular activities sooner. Compared with hemorrhoidectomy, however, stapling has been associated with a greater risk of hemorrhoids coming back and rectal prolapse.
Rectal prolapse is when part of the rectum pushes through the anus. Complications also can include bleeding, troubles emptying the bladder and pain. A rare complication is a life-threatening blood infection called sepsis. Talk with your health care provider about the best option for you.
External Hemorrhoids Treatment
External Piles Treatment: If you are experiencing pain and discomfort around your anal region, your doctor may advise using over-the-counter pain relief medicines, such as ibuprofen, acetylsalicylic acid, or acetaminophen.
Other ways to treat external piles include:
Home remedies
You can use various home remedies to help with external piles. Here are some safe and successful at-home remedies for external piles:
- Cold compress. Wrap ice in a cloth and apply it to your piles for not more than 15 minutes at a time. It can significantly decrease inflammation and pain.
- Sitz bath. A sitz bath is done by soaking the bottom in warm water. Patients use a small tub made to fit over the toilet, which you can fill with warm water and sit in several times a day to help soothe external piles. Some doctors also advise adding unscented Epsom salts to the water.
- Topical ointments or wipes. Some patients use ointments or wipes made with naturally derived ingredients, like witch hazel and aloe vera, to help relieve external piles, inflammation, and pain.
- OTC creams. OTC topical medications are also very effective in reducing pain and swelling.
However, home remedies cannot treat piles effectively. To treat piles effectively and safely, one needs to undergo surgery. Contact your doctor if you are experiencing severe pain, if symptoms have not gone away after 1 week of treatment at home, or if you are experiencing bleeding from the rectum.
Surgical treatment
Laser and stapler surgery are the two most effective surgical treatment options for external piles.
- Laser surgery for piles (laser hemorrhoidectomy)- This surgery uses high-energy light to cut or burn the expanded pile’s tissue. And Laser surgery is an advanced and safe surgical procedure because it is less painful and has fewer complications.
- Stapler Surgery (stapled hemorrhoidectomy)- Stapler surgery for piles is a relatively new and increasingly popular surgical procedure. This surgery does not remove piles but treats them by inhibiting blood flow to the tissue. In this procedure, the doctor removes enlarged piles and then staples the remaining tissues to the lining of the anus again.
How to Prevent External Hemorrhoids?
The best way to prevent external piles from forming is to avoid constipation and the development of dry and hard stools that are difficult to release.
Some of the tips to prevent external piles include:
- Boosting the amount of dietary fiber in your diet to 25–35 grams by consuming plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grain bread, and cereals.
- Drinking enough water each day to keep the stools soft
- Engaging in regular physical activity, which stimulates the natural movement of the bowels
- Using the restroom when required and not delaying for an unnecessary amount of time
- Spending the shortest possible time sitting on the toilet
What are the Risks of External Piles Surgery?
After your external piles are removed, your anal region might hurt or ache for two to four weeks. And you could need painkillers to soothe this pain. In addition, it is normal to experience little bleeding and yellow fluid from the anus after your surgery.
Some of the complications and risks of external piles surgery are:
- Slow wound recovery
- Minor surgical cuts that could be a little painful
- Scar tissue damage to the sphincter muscles forces the anus to narrow down (stenosis), which can lead to incontinence or urine retention
FAQs
Is it possible to get hemorrhoids treatment in 48 hours?
Actually, the answer is YES, it requires surgery which is a minimally invasive treatment with laser therapy. Most who fear surgery end-up following western medicine as symptoms are not easy to bear.
Are external piles painful?
External piles can be painful. They are generally most painful immediately following a bowel movement or after lifting or straining. They may be extremely painful if they form a blood clot known as a thrombosed pile. If healthcare professionals can lance and drain the clot within 2 to 3 days of its development, the pain will reduce immediately. If not, the clot will not dissolve independently, and the pain will reduce in time.
Do external piles get bigger?
External piles might get worse and cause more severe symptoms. But they might not get bigger.
Are external piles dangerous?
External piles are rarely dangerous and life-threatening. However, they can form a blood clot that can burst. Bursting of the clot can cause several minutes of bleeding, but it usually ends independently. If it does not, a person should seek immediate medical treatment.
Do external piles go away on their own?
Yes, most external piles can go away on their own, even without treatment. However, external piles can recur, indicating that a person may deal with them frequently if they do not prevent them. Therefore, undergoing surgery is the best way to prevent recurring of external piles.
What do external piles feel like when you touch them?
You may feel a tender lump on the edge of the anus if you have an external pile. You may also notice blood on the toilet paper after wiping or in the toilet after a bowel movement.
How to freeze off hemorrhoids at home?
For short-term relief from particularly painful, swollen hemorrhoids, icing can be a highly effective solution. Apply an ice pack or cold compress to your anus for about 10 minutes up to three times a day, suggests Dr. Mclee Tembo. Of course, always remember to wrap ice inside a paper towel or cloth first.
What to eat after external piles surgery?
After external piles surgery, it is advised to start with a liquid and fiber-rich diet, including sprouts, whole grains, buttermilk or curd, green leafy vegetables, fresh fruits, etc.
Why my external hemorrhoid won’t go away?
If you have hemorrhoids that won’t go away, see your doctor. They can recommend a variety of treatments, ranging from diet and lifestyle changes to procedures. It’s important you see your doctor if: You’re experiencing discomfort in your anal area or have bleeding during bowel movements.
What happens if external hemorrhoids don’t go away?
What to do if my hemorrhoids don’t heal on their own. If prevention methods aren’t successful and you are still having problems with large hemorrhoids, we may recommend a surgical procedure. Your surgery may be done as an outpatient or rarely may require an overnight hospital stay.
What shrinks hemorrhoids fast?
With sclerotherapy, your health care provider injects a chemical solution into the hemorrhoid tissue to shrink it. While the injection causes little or no pain, it might be less effective than rubber band ligation. Coagulation. Coagulation techniques use laser or infrared light or heat.
Can you freeze away hemorrhoids?
Cryosurgery is an effective method of treatment for hemorrhoids if care is taken to use the proper technique.
Can you put ice directly on hemorrhoids?
The swelling and irritation associated with hemorrhoids can be reduced by applying ice packs or a cold compress to the anal region. Icing the area will help reduce symptoms, but should not be used for too long. You should also be sure never to apply ice directly to the skin.
What’s the best Hemorrhoids cream?
- Anusol contains zinc oxide and bismuth subgallate, which help to protect the affected area and reduce itching.
- Preparation H contains hydrocortisone, which helps to reduce inflammation and itching.