Home remedies are made up of substances that are most commonly found at home, like in the kitchen or in the yard. These are medicinal recipes that could come in the form of a mixture of different dry or liquid ingredients, boiled herbs or mashed fruits and vegetables. People have home remedies for almost all of the most common conditions, like cucumber for eye bags, honey for wounds and lemon juice for sore throat. But there are also home remedies for other conditions, like alum for hemorrhoids.
Alum is indicated to relieve the itching and the engorgement of the veins, which is a characteristic of haemorrhoids. When applied topically, it is believed to contain astringent properties that can cause the shrinkage or contraction of the affected tissue. It can also stop the bleeding, if present, in the veins. Alum may come in two forms: one is the powdered form, which is needed for this condition, while the other one is the crystal form, which you should pound first to produce the powder form. Whichever form you get, both are effective for haemorrhoids, just remember to pound the crystal first.
The alum powder is not directly applied over the haemorrhoidal vein; instead, it has to be dissolved in clean water first. Remember that you are applying this to an internal part (though it already has protruded), so you have to be careful in the type of water that you are going to use. It is best to use distilled water to prevent infections, which is something that you don’t like, from developing. If you are using the pound alum crystal form, make sure that the crystal has been totally ground into small particles. Crystals are hard to dissolve and this may not only cause pain when you apply it, but can also alter the “dose” of your alum solution.
When you already have the alum powder, prepare a bottle or a jar where you can mix everything. The alum and water should be mixed in a 1:5 ratio, which means that if you are going to use 1 tbsp. of alum, you should dissolve it in 5 tbsp. of water. The water should be warm to promote faster dissolution of the alum powder. Mix the alum powder and the water thoroughly in the jar until you can no longer see the alum particles. This means that the particles are already completely dissolved, then let the solution stand for at least 2 hours. You will use solution in a sitz-bath like set-up later. Prepare a pale, a tub or a plastic sitz bath with warm water deep enough to allow you to immerse your hips. Make sure that the water is not too hot because too much heat can aggravate the inflammation further. Get half of the solution that you have prepared earlier and pour it on the container with warm water. Mix the warm water and the solution thoroughly.
Sit on the tub, pale or sitz bath for not more than 30 minutes and you can do this 2 times a day. Alum allows the inflammation to subside and your haemorrhoids to shrink. Alum is pretty safe as long as it doesn’t enter the systemic circulation. You can use this method of relieving you of the inflammation while you undergo other treatments for haemorrhoids.
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