Swollen Veins

• According to digestive.niddk.nih.gov, when the veins in the lower rectum or around the anus become inflamed and swollen, this results in a hemorrhoid. Hemorrhoids can be caused by straining, of course, or by pregnancy, weight, age, anal intercourse and standing on your feet for too long. The medical phrase for a hemorrhoids is "cushions of tissue filled with blood vessels." Hemorrhoids are sometimes also called piles.
  
  

Avoid Hard BMs

• Some people are never bothered by chronic constipation; others are. If your constipation continues on a long-term basis, it is probably only a matter of time until you develop hemorrhoids. Hemorrhoids swell, bleed and hurt. Your first step is to avoid having hard stools, according to mothernature.com, by eating lots of fiber and drinking lots of fluids to soften up your stools. Some people even dab petroleum jelly up inside their anus to help lubricate it and make the passage of stool easier. Put the jelly on your finger or a cotton swab and insert one or the other about an inch into your rectum. This will help, although the process of doing this might not be very alluring. However, it may be preferable to the pain hemorrhoids can cause.
  
  

Pregnancy and Delivery

• Some women develop hemorrhoids for the first time when pregnant because of the added weight they are carrying and the pressure that it puts on the lower part of the body, including the rectum. Pre-natal vitamins contain iron, which is constipating and therefore may exacerbate the problem. Ask your physician for advice if you develop hemorrhoids during pregnancy. Some women avoid hemorrhoids during pregnancy only to develop them during childbirth because of the extreme pushing that is involved.
  
  

Prevention/Solution

• If you have hemorrhoids or fear that you are developing them, prop your feet up on a stool when you are sitting on the toilet and defecating. This will take some of the pressure off of your buttocks and rectum. Unless contra-indicated by other medications that you are taking, take an ibuprofen, which will reduce the swelling and give you some pain relief. Dab your external hemorrhoids with a witch hazel- soaked cotton ball or use Preparation H ointment. If your hemorrhoids are hanging out, gently try to push them back inside.
  
  

Other Solutions

• Get yourself a "donut," which is an inner-tube like gizmo that you can sit on. It will spread your buttocks and give you some relief, as sitting can be quite painful when you have hemorrhoids.
  Get in a tub full of warm water and soak your backside, or purchase a sitz bath, which sits on top of your toilet bowl; fill it with warm water and soak your bottom.
  
  

Home Remedies

• Drink chamomile tea, which homeremediesweb.com claims is great for soothing inflamed hemorrhoids. The herb horse chestnut can be applied directly to the hemorrhoid, and will reduce the burning and itching sensation. Horse chestnut strengthens blood vessels and helps reduces itching and burning that are caused by hemorrhoids.