As a one-time sufferer myself, I'd like to pass on a cure I heard from an old timer in a far off place.
Most people in the world SQUAT on their haunches to defecate.
We in the western world like to sit on thrones.
This has helped to cause our haemorrhoids / hemorrhoids / piles. Why? Because just before the anus the rectum "kinks" when you are sitting on a chair. This kink is straightened out when you squat, as nature intended you to do when passing stool.
If you visit toilets in Asia you generally find they are merely holes in the ground. And hemorrhoids are far less common in Asia and other "less developed" parts of the world. Here is a typical Japanese squat toilet:
More from China and elsewhere:
So what to do? Get up on the toilet, on the plastic/wood seat itself, with your feet (don't stand on the ceramic base directly in case it cracks from the weight and injures you severely), and squat down.
Caution: if you weigh more than 220lbs (100kg), this technique is dangerous because the toilet could shatter beneath you. Rather do the next best thing: while sitting on the toilet, bend over and grasp your ankles, putting your chest to your knees.
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