Why Trust Our Ranking?
Hemorrhoid products cover three different jobs. Topical creams, ointments and suppositories calm local itching, soreness and swelling for a few days. Oral flavonoid supplements such as diosmin act on the vein wall and are studied mainly for bleeding. Fiber supplements such as psyllium do the least glamorous thing and the most useful one: they soften the stool so you stop straining, which is what keeps the problem coming back.
We rank on three things: what real users report after a flare or months of use, how each formula lines up with peer-reviewed research, and how honest the label is about actives and doses. The reviews come from people who bought the products, not from brands, and nobody pays to move up the list. Keep expectations modest. The American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (ASCRS) puts fiber, fluids and better toilet habits first, and calls the data behind topical hydrocortisone, phenylephrine, pramoxine and witch hazel limited. No cream removes a hemorrhoid.
Bleeding outranks every product on this page. It is common with hemorrhoids, and it is also how colorectal cancer and inflammatory bowel disease announce themselves, so it needs looking at rather than assuming. See a doctor if you are bleeding, if you are 45 or older, if your bowel habit or stool shape has changed, or if symptoms outlast a week or two of self-care. Treat this page as a research starting point, not a diagnosis.
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The best Getting rid of hemorrhoids according to people who tried them
Proctonic
Proctonic is an external preparation in a tube that I tried for mild hemorrhoid issues and irritated skin around the anus. I reached for it when I was…
What reviewers say about Getting rid of hemorrhoids
| # | Product | Rating | Goal | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Proctonic | ★★★★½ 4.5 | relief from hemorrhoids | Medium |
How to choose a hemorrhoid product
Start with where the problem sits, because that picks the format. External hemorrhoids sit under the skin around the anus and respond to creams and ointments applied with a fingertip. Internal ones sit higher in the anal canal, where an external cream never reaches; that is what suppositories and applicator nozzles are for. If you cannot tell which you have, that is a reason for an examination rather than a bigger basket.
Then split the decision by time frame. For an acute flare the goal is a few days of symptom control: an anesthetic such as lidocaine or pramoxine for soreness, a short hydrocortisone course for inflammation and itch, warm sitz baths, and a stool softener so the next bowel movement does not undo the progress. For prevention the goal is that you stop straining, which means fiber, fluids and less time sitting. One detail the leaflets skip: apply topicals after a bowel movement and at bedtime, and stop taking your phone to the toilet.
On the label, look for named actives at stated strengths rather than a long botanical blend. Hydrocortisone products state a percentage; anesthetics name lidocaine, pramoxine or benzocaine; flavonoid supplements should state diosmin and hesperidin per tablet instead of burying them in a proprietary mix. Fiber products should say which fiber, since psyllium, methylcellulose and inulin behave differently, and psyllium is the one with a trial record here. Check that the pack includes an applicator if the target is internal.
Key ingredients and what the evidence shows
Flavonoids (diosmin, hesperidin, the micronized purified flavonoid fraction, rutin) are the best-studied oral option. A Cochrane review of 20 randomized trials with 2,334 participants found phlebotonics improved itching, bleeding, discharge and leakage, and overall symptoms against control, with no significant adverse events reported. Pain was the exception and showed no significant effect. Read that as help with a bleeding, itchy flare rather than as pain relief, and note that trial quality varied.
Fiber, psyllium above all, carries the evidence that matters for recurrence. The Cochrane review of laxatives in hemorrhoids and a meta-analysis of seven randomized trials found fiber roughly halved the risk of persisting symptoms and of bleeding over follow-up of up to three months, while effects on prolapse, pain and itching stayed unclear. It works over weeks, and it works with water; adding fiber to a low-fluid day mostly makes people bloated.
Topicals are where expectations need trimming. The 2024 ASCRS guideline states that the data guiding hydrocortisone, phenylephrine, pramoxine and witch hazel are limited; they are used because they are cheap, tolerable over a short course, and they make people feel better. NHS guidance says not to use hydrocortisone products for more than seven days, because longer use thins the skin around the anus and can worsen an infection that is masquerading as piles. Lidocaine and pramoxine numb; they do not treat. Witch hazel is an astringent for itch, with tradition rather than trials behind it, and zinc oxide is a barrier that protects irritated skin.
Safety, red flags and when to see a doctor
The main risk with these products is not the ingredient, it is the delay. Bleeding written off as piles for months is one route by which bowel cancer gets found late, and the 2024 ASCRS guideline points to complete endoscopic evaluation of the colon in select patients with symptomatic hemorrhoids and rectal bleeding rather than treatment on assumption. Book an appointment if bleeding is new or repeated, dark or mixed through the stool, or comes with a change in bowel habit, weight loss you did not intend, or tiredness that suggests anemia. The US Preventive Services Task Force sets the start of average-risk colorectal cancer screening at 45.
Some situations need care within days, not a pharmacy. A hard, sharply painful lump that appeared suddenly at the anal margin may be a thrombosed external hemorrhoid, and the option to remove the clot is time-limited. Fever, spreading redness or pain out of proportion to what you can see needs urgent assessment. Pain that peaks during and after a bowel movement with a little bright blood looks more like an anal fissure, which is treated differently.
On the products themselves: keep steroid courses short, do not put hydrocortisone on a suspected infection, and stop any topical that starts to sting or spread a rash, because anesthetics and preservatives cause contact sensitization with repeated use. Hemorrhoids are common in pregnancy, and self-treatment is not, so check with a midwife, doctor or pharmacist before any topical or oral flavonoid. Anyone taking anticoagulants, anyone with inflammatory bowel disease and anyone who is immunosuppressed should have bleeding assessed rather than self-managed.
Frequently Asked Questions about Supplements for Getting rid of hemorrhoids
Do hemorrhoid creams and suppositories actually work?
They work on symptoms, briefly. The 2024 ASCRS guideline describes the data behind hydrocortisone, phenylephrine, pramoxine and witch hazel as limited, which matches what people report: a few days of less itching, soreness and swelling while the flare settles. That is worth having, and it is not treatment of the hemorrhoid itself. If you need a topical more or less continuously, the product is not the answer and the problem needs assessing.
Do flavonoid supplements such as diosmin help with hemorrhoids?
For bleeding and itching the evidence is reasonable. A Cochrane review of 20 randomized trials with 2,334 participants found phlebotonics improved itching, bleeding, discharge and leakage, and overall symptoms compared with control, with no significant adverse events reported, while pain was the outcome that did not reach significance. Trial quality varied and courses were mostly short, so treat a flavonoid as a defined course during a flare, discussed with your doctor, rather than as something to take indefinitely.
Should I use a cream or a suppository?
It depends where the hemorrhoid is. Creams and ointments suit external hemorrhoids, the ones under the skin around the anus that you can feel. Suppositories and applicator tips carry the same actives into the anal canal, where internal hemorrhoids sit and where a fingertip of cream does nothing, which is why many packs include both formats. If you have never been examined, get the diagnosis first: fissures, skin tags and abscesses all get self-treated as piles, and the wrong product wastes a week.
Can fiber or psyllium stop hemorrhoids coming back?
Fiber has the best case of anything sold for hemorrhoids. The Cochrane review of laxatives and a meta-analysis of seven randomized trials found fiber approximately halved the risk of persisting symptoms and of bleeding over follow-up of up to three months. Expect weeks rather than days, build the dose up gradually to limit gas and bloating, and drink enough for the fiber to work with. It will not flatten a hemorrhoid you already have; it removes the straining that made it.
When is bleeding a reason to see a doctor?
Any bleeding you have not had checked is a reason. Hemorrhoids are the most common cause of bright red blood on the paper, and also the most common wrong explanation for bleeding that turns out to be something else. Go promptly if the blood is dark or mixed through the stool, if bleeding keeps returning, if your bowel habit or stool shape has changed, if you have lost weight without trying, or if you are 45 or older, the age at which average-risk screening starts in the US. Heavy bleeding, faintness or dizziness is urgent.
Are the reviews on this page real?
Yes. They come from people who bought and used the products and reported back, usually about a specific flare rather than a year of use, which is how these products get used in practice. We keep critical feedback next to the positive, because with hemorrhoid products the useful detail often sits in the complaints: a suppository that softens in a warm bathroom, a cream that stings on broken skin, an applicator that is uncomfortable. User experience is not medical advice and cannot tell you what is causing bleeding.
How We Evaluate Supplements for Getting rid of hemorrhoids
Each product in this category has been evaluated according to the following fundamental criteria that make up our final score.
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References
- Phlebotonics for haemorrhoids (Perera et al., 2012) - Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
- Phlebotonics for haemorrhoids (Perera et al., Cochrane review) - PMC full text
- Laxatives for the treatment of hemorrhoids (Alonso-Coello et al., 2005) - Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
- Fiber for the treatment of hemorrhoids complications: a systematic review and meta-analysis (2006) - American Journal of Gastroenterology, PubMed
- The American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Hemorrhoids (2024) - PubMed
- Treatment of Hemorrhoids - NIDDK, National Institutes of Health
- Screening for Colorectal Cancer (2021) - US Preventive Services Task Force
- Piles (haemorrhoids) - NHS
- How and when to use hydrocortisone for piles and itchy bottom - NHS
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