They can get better, however, so that living with them is tolerable. Both conventional and alternative practitioners consider diet the best tool for treating hemorrhoids. A diet rich in high-fiber foods and low in refined and junk foods is essential. Increasing fluid intake to six to eight eight-ounce glasses a day is also important. Probably half of all hemorrhoid sufferers find relief with dietary changes alone.
Most hemorrhoid treatments aim to minimize pain and itching.
If you are pregnant, discuss any treatment, including dietary changes, with your doctor before proceeding. If you have been diagnosed as having hemorrhoids, a high-fiber diet combined with sitz baths and acetaminophen should reduce discomfort within two weeks. If symptoms persist, your physician may suggest one of the following procedures. All except laser coagulation and surgery can be performed in your doctor's office. An internal hemorrhoid can be injected with phenol in oil, quinine and urea, or morrhuate sodium, which creates a scar and closes off the hemorrhoid.