Hemorrhoids are, in my opinion, one of the most painful conditions someone can suffer, not to mention embarrassing. I classify hemorrhoids as a disease, not because I am a doctor but because, to my simple way of thinking, they cause dis-ease; i.e. they take away ease of living. I know – I suffered from an external hemorrhoid/skin tag problem for two years and, having assessed different remedies, found something that works.
In 2006 I had a bad coughing fit and felt a tearing sensation in the anal area. I ignored this but over the next few days it developed itchiness and discomfort. I had been taking long-distance car trips as a sales person, and was thought it might be some sort of infection or fungal problem, and initially tried anti-fungal creams, but to no effect. I went to the doctor and he said it was pruritis and prescribed another cream and said I should take metamucil as a high-fiber additive to my cereals.
This had very little effect so the next step was an appointment with the proctologist. After forking out a reasonably large chunk of that week’s commission to hear the “expert’s” views, his conclusion was that it was an anal skin tag and that, after the creams et cetera I had tried to date “I am not sure there is any agent that can guarantee an outcome and that, in many situations, nature is just as effective in dealing with some of these problems” (Italics mine) . He then waffled on about the fact that “local anesthetic excision” was a possible treatment, but that he wasn’t at all sure it would produce a satisfactory conclusion. I thought if he could not guarantee a successful conclusion to what was described as a painful operation, I would look for some alternative, natural remedy.
A friend who is a nurse, seeing my discomfort, and hearing that I had received little or no help from traditional doctors, suggested I visit a Chinese herbalist. I went along and explained my predicament to an ancient-looking Chinese lady whose English was limited, to say the least. After many gesticulations, she “clicked” that the problem was one to do with an external hemorrhoid. After initial observation, including looking at my tongue, and without looking at the proctologist’s report, she was able to tell me a lot of what my health issues were. She and her assistant who translated mentioned diet a lot, and about how “Before you build (or furnish) a house, you need to clean it up “. They were referring to the poor diet choices I had been subjecting my body to (which was the “house”). As a traveling salesman I would often purchase fast food for its convenience. I had a penchant for curry- my sales partner was Indian! -, as well as fried rice, fried eggs, and fried bacon …you get the picture!
So I had to treat my INSIDE condition before I would see a change on the outside! A lot of so-called remedies and “cures” for hemorrhoids that I have seen advertised ignore this completely, promising amazing results in unbelievably short time frames but I notice that in a lot of the health emails I receive, diet is now receiving extra focus. My diet and the stresses of my work-and how I reacted to stresses at work- were just as much problems as the initial coughing fit, or whatever caused the skin tag originally! It was dawning on me that there was no quick fix treatment to the external hemorrhoid problem. The Chinese doctor mentioned the liver and kidneys as very important to health generally, and that by detoxifying my body I could improve my chances of reducing and eliminating hemorrhoids. I can still hear the old wizened woman saying in my ear “No fizzee! No spicee!”
The first thing, then, that I had to change was my diet. I took some noxious-tasting Chinese herbs for a few weeks, and using part of the same concoction, would bathe the affected end in a small tub of warm water, rather like a sitz bath, which is often recommended for hemorrhoid conditions. As to which precise herbs you use, you may need to consult with your local Chinese herbalist and I can give further details at my site detailed.
A more common sitz bath involves mixing salt or baking soda in a tub of warm water, and soaking the anal area in it for about 15-20 minutes. It works by cleaning the infected and swollen area, as well as increasing the blood flow to the pelvic region. See this article for more details. One should do this about twice a day, preferably after emptying the bowels. Some of the foods I had to give up were:
Deep-fried or fried foods
Coffee, chocolate, Milo
Wine & beer
Food that has been burned e.g. badly burned toast. In fact, I was advised not to toast bread at all, but just warm it up slightly so it was easily digestible.
I gave up all the above in the first six weeks of my liver diet and felt a great relief generally in the piles situation, but gradually, in combination with the detoxification program, have been able to re-include many of the above items in my meals to a lesser or greater extent. After a year of being pain-free I did a wonderful detoxification program that involved enemas and drinking only natural fruit juices and distilled water and all the pain and discomfort disappeared. Plus my insides felt better! If I have a “relapse” I know what to do.
So diet and detoxification play a much greater part in eliminating piles or hemorrhoids than is usually mentioned in articles on this subject. There are things you can do to help your condition immediately if you have hemorrhoid symptoms, but without changing your diet, and embracing some kind of detoxification program, the symptoms will return. If you do make the changes, all you will need to do then is the occasional maintenance regime.
Today, for example I have been able to go mountain biking with my son, something I could not have envisaged when I first experienced that itching, burning, and horrible sensation when I first realized I had the external hemorrhoid problem. I am not glad about the experience but I am glad that it has taught me a greater, more fundamental truth: to deal with the fruit (hemorrhoids) you should first go to the root (what you have been feeding on)-and this probably extends beyond food and diet.
Found this article useful? Then visit this website detailing more information on how to get freedom and relief from hemorrhoids: http://www.squidoo.com/external-hemorrhoid
Covenantguy (aka John Reason)is a salesman,teacher,Internet marketer and article writer currently living in New Zealand. Widely travelled, having lived previously in Africa and Europe; interested in writing or teaching on the areas of Health and Healing, business (especially wealth creation strategies), biblical themes and the English language.