Over-the-counter hemorrhoid medications.
Controversy continues to rage about the effectiveness of hemorrhoid medicines. In the United States , annually are spent around $200 million on creams, ointments, and suppositories that promise to relieve inflammation and pain.
The basic ingredient in all these medicines is a lubricant such as lanolin, cocoa butter, vegetable oil, or one of many others. Some also include an anesthetic such as benzocaine or lidocaine, or an astringent such as tan-nic acid or zinc compounds, purported to reduce swelling by constricting capillaries. Hemorrhoids, however, are not capillaries; they're veins, and astringents may have no effect on them. Anesthetics may provide short-term relief, but only in cream or ointment form: Suppositories usually go too far up into the anal canal to help the hemorrhoids below.
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