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All About Thrombosed External Hemorrhoids

Thrombosed external hemorrhoids occur when the blood supply of an external hemorrhoid is cut off, thus resulting to strangulation and formation of blood clot inside it. These clots are located inside the veins, generally just under the skin and develop over time. They are usually located outside the anus and can be really painful. They can also be felt and seen by the naked eye unlike the internal ones. They can be a soft, raisin-like or hard like peas that are frozen. Other times it feels like an extra mass of skin. That is why it is sometimes referred to as skin tag. They can turn bluish or purple in color, sometimes when they get irritated and inflamed, the skin will redden. Most of the time they can cause irritation, swelling, itching and pain on the affected area.

They can be diagnosed by physical or rectal examinations. They can be treated by over the counter medications such as cortisone creams, however, this will take a long time and the pain might be unbearable. Other effective treatments are warm sitz baths, ice pack on the affected area for a few minutes and a change in one’s diet. More serious cases require surgery that will drain the blood clot or remove the entire hemorrhoid.

But like in any other cases, prevention is important. In this way, surgery will not be needed. Ways of prevention include having a high fiber diet, eating fruits and drinking lots of fluids to avoid constipation and exercising to increase blood circulation.

Kay Daniels is a popular reviewer of hemorrhoid products. She is considered an established un-biased expert within the realm of natural medicine.