Your Doctors Online helped this patient heal with hemorrhoids at home.
As an 18-year-old girl dealing with pain and itching in the anal region for several days, I was afraid to see a physician. I felt uncomfortable and embarrassed discussing issues related to genital or anal health.
It became ‘A pain in the ass’ for me.
Over the next few days, the pain became so intense it was keeping me up at night. I was in pain even while sitting. The pain and itching ultimately compromised my day-to-day routine.
A few days later, I felt a lump around my anus and saw blood on the toilet paper. I panicked at the sight of blood. Whatever it was, it was getting worse as my symptoms kept aggravating.
Google diagnosed me with cancer!
On googling my symptoms, rectal cancer popped up, which made me more anxious. Additionally, I didn’t want to tell my family or go to a doctor. All I wanted was to treat this lump at home without telling anyone.
Because of this, my appetite decreased, and I started restricting my bowel movements intentionally. This made my symptoms worse, and in desperation, I searched for doctors available online and came across Your Doctors Online.
I opened up about my concerns with a female doctor.
I was lucky to encounter a female doctor, Dr. Dar, who asked me about my dietary habits and bowel movements, which had always been poor and worsened after this. Moreover, as a teenager living alone, I survived on junk food, which in hindsight, could be why I always had constipation on and off.
She also inquired about my water intake, which made me realize I lived on 1-2 glasses of liquids daily.
After a detailed history, she asked me to send a picture of the lump. I hesitated, but I complied as the doctor couldn’t see me physically.
She reassured me that the chats are confidential and doctors can access them upon follow-ups. Her reassurance made me feel comfortable and open up further about my concerns.
I treated hemorrhoids at home with help from Your Doctors Online.
After examining the pictures, the doctor told me my lump was hemorrhoid, commonly known as piles, causing pain, itching, and bleeding.
I took a sigh of relief that it was not cancer, and since it was a small hemorrhoid, Dr. Dar told me that treatment is possible with home remedies.
The doctor asked me to take a sitz bath with Epsom salt for up to 20mins per day. Then she prescribed me an ointment and an oral anti-inflammatory tablet for the pain. She also advised me to use an ice pack on the swelling.
She also guided me on lifestyle changes like incorporating fruits and vegetables in my diet, including fiber-rich foods, and increasing my water intake. In contrast, the aim was to avoid constipation and cure hemorrhoids at home. She also told me to exercise daily as it would further help my bowel movements.
With regular follow-ups, Your Doctors Online made risk factor management achievable.
I had to take care of the risk factors to prevent hemorrhoids from occurring again. Moreover, we formulated a follow-up strategy together, and Dr. Dar asked me to revisit it weekly. I would receive a notification on the day and time of my follow-up by the doctor/app.
It was so convenient that I realized I would have never been this comfortable with an in-person examination. Dr. Dar was always respectful. She happily listened to my progress as symptoms improved and I was doing much better.
I feel so relieved and content after using this service, as it saved me from embarrassment during patient-doctor visits and hundreds of dollars for checkups for hemorrhoids I quickly treated at home.
