Dietary Advice

High fibre diets keep the bowels soft and avoid straining.

Modern diets tend to cause constipation and have been implicated in the increasing incidence of bowel cancer.

High fibre diets, which include fruit, cereal and vegetables, help keep the bowels soft and regular.

Constipation causes straining, which increases the pressure on the veins in the haemorrhoids and aggravates the haemorrhoids.

Oral medication can be used to help keep the bowels soft and regular.  These are readily available at the chemist and include such well-known names as Fybogel and Normacol.

Agarol is used for constipation.  There are a variety of types of agents used.

It is preferable to keep the bowels soft with diet rather than with medication.

Interestingly enough excessive amounts of these laxatives cause a harmless pigmentation on the surface lining of the bowel.  This is termed medically “melanosis coli”.  It is harmless and an indication of laxative abuse