When Should You Treat Hemorrhoids?

Hemorrhoids, also known as piles, are swollen blood vessels that form inside or around your rectum. Some will resolve on their own, requiring little or no intervention. However, when your hemorrhoids cause pain or bleeding, and they fail to resolve after several weeks of home care, you may wish to seek medical intervention.  You should also treat hemorrhoids right away if they cause severe pain or bleed heavily. In this post, we share signs that indicate when you should treat hemorrhoids, along with treatment options that can help you find relief without surgical intervention.  

When Should You Treat Hemorrhoids?

It may be time to seek medical treatment if you notice:

• Hemorrhoids symptoms that last for more than two weeks, even with home care such as warm soaks or topical ointments
• Pain that interferes with your daily life
•  Persistent itching or inflammation
• Blood on your toilet paper or in the bowl after passing a bowel movement
• Thrombosis (the hemorrhoid has formed a hard, painful lump; it may be purple in color.)
• Prolapsing (protrusion of the hemorrhoid from the anus that requires manual repositioning.)

How Do You Know if Hemorrhoids Need Treatment?

As we mentioned, mild hemorrhoids may resolve without treatment. However, hemorrhoids that cause bleeding should be checked by a doctor. That way, you can rule out other conditions, including cancer, while also determining the best way to find symptom relief.

How Long Until a Hemorrhoid is Concerning?

Even painful, persistent hemorrhoids are rarely dangerous. But when they do not resolve within several weeks, and when you do not address the risk factors that caused them to form hemorrhoids can progress in stages, leading to greater prolapse and limiting your treatment options. As such, you should treat internal hemorrhoids before they progress to the point when only surgical intervention will resolve your discomfort.

Minimally Invasive Hemorrhoid Treatment

At Texas Endovascular, we can treat bleeding grade 2-3 internal hemorrhoids with HAE (hemorrhoidal artery embolization.) This minimally-invasive procedure cuts off the supply of blood vessels feeding your hemorrhoids, causing them to shrink without the need for incisions. The procedure offers effective relief with less downtime, and a dramatically reduced risk for side effects. You can explore your candidacy for HAE by contacting our team to request a consultation at one of our seven Texas Endovascular locations. When we see you in the office, we’ll help determine how and when you should treat hemorrhoids.