Gillian McKeith's Food Bible (236 page)

B vitamins are essential for liver health and hemorrhoid-prone individuals are often low in the vital Bs. So take vitamin B with extra vitamin B
₆
.

EXTRA TIPS

Sit in a small basin of cold water to reduce inflammation and ease the engorged blood vessels.

Apply green clay. Mix it with water. It’s messy, but may relieve the swelling and pain. To remove the clay, take a bath or shower.

Don’t strain on the toilet. This will only make matters worse. Put your feet on a stool that is about 12 inches from the floor so your body is in a simulated squatting position that makes straining impossible.

Mineral salts added to a bath are soothing. Add some oil of Cyprus, too.

Take sitz baths. These involve sitting in a tub of hot water covering only your hips and buttocks for up to 20 minutes (you can also alternate between a tub of hot water and a tub of cold every three minutes). Sitz baths are thought to help improve blood circulation and reduce inflammation and may be taken up to three times a week, but should not be taken during menstruation or pregnancy.

Take a food sensitivity test.

If you have recently given birth, apply calendula ointment and gently try to push the protruding hemorrhoids back into the rectum.

NATURAL HEMORRHOID CREAMS

Try a rotation of the following natural herbal creams. Start with the first cream and continue use until the hemorrhoid disappears, or until the cream runs out. If the cream runs out and you still have the hemorrhoids, start on the second herbal cream, and so on.

Hamamelis virginica
(witch hazel), especially if the hemorrhoid is painful to touch. Witch hazel compresses can help to constrict and shrink the veins.

Pilewort ointment.

Horsechestnut ointment.

Plantain and yarrow ointment.