I’m an 18 year old male, and I have an external hemorrhoid. It is not thrombosed, and not even really painful. It doesn’t bleed, but it is annoying. I’ve had it for about 5 days, and I just started using Preparation H. Does anyone have an estimate for when it might go away?
Also, I eat enough fiber (I’ve been eating even more now) and I’m not overweight.
The short answer is that Preparation-H will not make an external hemorrhoid go away. Prep-H is designed for pain and inflammation relief by providing topical vasoconstrictors (inflammation relief) and pain relieving compounds designed to numb the area a bit.
External hemorrhoids are essentially veins located near the anal verge (the area surrounding just inside and outside the anus) that have weakened. Once the wall of the vein weakens enough, it will balloon out and push out into any open space, forming a lump on the outside or just inside the anus.
All hemorrhoids tend to be chronic. They are essentially damaged tissue and have difficulty repairing themselves because they are continually impacted by passing fecal matter on a regular basis, making it hard for them to repair themselves. Everyone is a bit different and those with poor vascular health, for example, find it more difficult to manage than someone who is otherwise in excellent health.
Your external hemorrhoid may last for many weeks and then spontaneously begin to retract. Don’t be surprised if it returns without any warning. Unfortunately, although many ideas have been advanced, researchers really don’t understand the exact mechanism that causes them to form. Education is the key though. There are a few steps you can take to mitigate their formation and help improve the healing of what you already have.
Good Luck!