Q. I was visiting my daughter out of state and woke up in the middle of the night absolutely tormented with rectal itching from a hemorrhoid. I could find nothing that helped.
I remembered reading in your column that a soaked tea bag would relieve sty inflammation, so I soaked a green tea bag in hot water for one to two minutes, squeezed out some of the water, and applied it to the site. The relief was almost immediate.
I held it in place until the tea bag was no longer warm, at least 10 minutes. The excruciating itch was gone and did not come back. I repeated this once, in the morning, to ensure the itch did not return.
My doctor confirmed later that I did have a hemorrhoid, but I had never been bothered before and have not been bothered since. The green tea bag was a great home remedy. I was careful not to burn myself. Perhaps someone else will benefit.
A. Thanks for sharing your experience. Although there is nothing in the medical literature about this technique, we did find numerous references online to the idea of applying a warm tea bag to painful hemorrhoids.
Other readers have shared that a dab or two of zinc oxide to the area can be helpful. We have also been surprised to learn from some people that eating a teaspoon or two of blackstrap molasses brings relief after a few days.
If you have a home remedy you’ve found helpful for dealing with hemorrhoid itch, please share it in our comment section below.
