What does the evidence actually say?
Short, plain-language reviews of the questions patients ask most. Each one searches the medical literature, reads every study that comes back, and shows you what it found — including when the honest answer is that nobody has studied it.
These are compiled automatically, twice a week, from the questions people are searching. Every page shows the exact search it ran and the date it ran, so you can repeat it. How we grade evidence →
Condition
Verdict
50 reviews across 8 conditions
Hemorrhoids 25
Hemorrhoids overview →Are skin tags on the anus dangerous?
Whether a skin tag at the anus signals something dangerous is unclear — the only studies that looked at this directly found conflicting results.
Unclear22 studies
Can you push a prolapsed hemorrhoid back in, and how do you do it safely?
No study has tested whether pushing a prolapsed hemorrhoid back in with your finger is safe or helps.
Not studied20 studies
Do hemorrhoids go away on their own, and how long does it take?
It's unclear — the few studies that looked at this directly don't agree with each other.
Unclear27 studies
Do sitz baths help hemorrhoids?
No trial has shown that a sitz bath reduces hemorrhoid pain, bleeding, or size better than not doing one.
No meaningful benefit38 studies
Does coconut oil or other natural oils (olive oil, castor oil, essential oils) help hemorrhoids?
No study has tested whether coconut oil, plain olive oil, or castor oil alone relieve hemorrhoid symptoms in people.
Not studied18 studies
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What is a prolapsed hemorrhoid, and how do you treat it?
A prolapsed hemorrhoid is internal hemorrhoid tissue that has slipped down and bulges out of the anus; a well-conducted analysis of randomized trials found that stapling it back in place lets it prolapse again more often than cutting it out, though stapling causes less pain at first.
Signal of harm177 studies
Why am I pooping blood with no pain?
Painless blood in your stool is usually caused by a common, treatable problem like hemorrhoids, diverticulosis (small pouches in the colon), or a rectal ulcer — but in a small number of people it turns out to be cancer or another serious condition, and the studies available cannot tell you which one applies to you without an exam.
Signal of harm104 studies
Why can't you band external hemorrhoids?
Banding is traditionally avoided on external hemorrhoids because that skin has pain-sensing nerves, but a couple of small, low-quality studies suggest it may sometimes work — it's just too early to know for sure.
Possible benefit39 studies
Why do hemorrhoids bleed, and what actually stops it?
Several office procedures and medicines have been shown in trials to reduce or stop hemorrhoid bleeding — but no study in this review actually explains why hemorrhoids bleed in the first place.
Benefit shown140 studies
Why do I bleed bright red blood when I wipe my bum?
Bright red blood on the toilet paper is usually from hemorrhoids or a small tear near the anus (a fissure) — but it can sometimes be an early sign of a growing polyp or bowel cancer, so it is worth getting checked, especially if you are under 50 or it keeps happening.
Signal of harm95 studies
Why is there a bump on my butt or anus?
A bump near your anus or in your butt crease usually has a simple, treatable cause — but the only evidence available is case reports, and some of those describe serious conditions that were first mistaken for an ordinary bump.
Signal of harm133 studies
Do hemorrhoids need surgery, or can they be treated without an operation?
Surgery works better than banding for stopping grade III hemorrhoids from coming back, but both approaches carry rare, serious risks.
Signal of harm115 studies
Does aloe vera help with hemorrhoids?
No study has tested whether aloe vera relieves hemorrhoid symptoms like pain, bleeding, or itching in people who have not had surgery for hemorrhoids.
Not studied5 studies
Does apple cider vinegar help with hemorrhoids?
No study has tested whether apple cider vinegar helps hemorrhoids.
Not studied0 studies
Does hemorrhoid cream actually work to shrink hemorrhoids or stop the bleeding?
The evidence that hemorrhoid cream shrinks hemorrhoids or stops bleeding is weak and inconsistent.
Signal of harm96 studies
Does magnesium help hemorrhoids?
No study has isolated whether magnesium itself — taken by mouth or soaked on as Epsom salt — reduces hemorrhoid pain, swelling, or bleeding.
Not studied6 studies
Does manuka honey help wounds heal, including after anorectal surgery?
No study has tested manuka honey specifically on anorectal surgery wounds like hemorrhoidectomy or fistula surgery, and the one closest trial — on pilonidal sinus wounds — found no real benefit.
Signal of harm142 studies
Does putting honey on hemorrhoids help?
One tiny, uncontrolled study found a honey mixture eased bleeding and itching in hemorrhoid patients, but the evidence is too weak to call this proven.
Possible benefit6 studies
Does putting ice on hemorrhoids help?
Icing hemorrhoids doesn't appear to ease pain more than not icing them, in the trials that tested it.
No meaningful benefit15 studies
Does tea tree oil help with hemorrhoids?
Tea tree oil might ease some hemorrhoid symptoms, but the evidence is too thin to be sure.
Possible benefit1 study
Does vitamin E help with hemorrhoids?
No study has tested whether vitamin E — topical or oral — reduces hemorrhoid symptoms or speeds healing.
Not studied0 studies
Is it normal to have black stool after silver nitrate treatment for hemorrhoids, or does it mean something is wrong?
No study has looked at how often black stool happens after silver nitrate treatment for hemorrhoids, or what it means when it does.
Not studied0 studies
Is laser surgery better than traditional hemorrhoidectomy for treating hemorrhoids?
It's unclear which is better — laser surgery often hurts less at first, but it may not fix the hemorrhoids as permanently as traditional surgery.
Unclear33 studies
Is lemon good for hemorrhoids?
No study has tested whether lemon helps hemorrhoids.
Not studied25 studies
Does an Epsom salt bath help hemorrhoids?
No study has tested whether an Epsom salt bath helps hemorrhoids.
Not studied5 studies
Pilonidal disease 14
Pilonidal disease overview →Can a pilonidal cyst cause sepsis?
Yes — in rare, documented cases, a pilonidal cyst or sinus has led to severe, body-wide infection including sepsis, but how often this happens is not known.
Possible benefit4 studies
Can a pilonidal cyst go away on its own?
A pilonidal cyst can sometimes settle down without surgery, but the evidence for this is extremely thin.
Possible benefit15 studies
Can a pilonidal cyst kill you?
No study has measured how often an infected pilonidal cyst leads to sepsis, severe infection, or death.
Not studied0 studies
Can you get a pilonidal cyst during pregnancy, and how should it be treated?
No study has looked at how common pilonidal cysts are during pregnancy or which treatments work best for them.
Not studied1 study
Do antibiotics actually clear up a pilonidal cyst or abscess?
There isn't enough good evidence to say that antibiotics alone clear up a pilonidal cyst or abscess.
Signal of harm22 studies
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Does laser treatment work for pilonidal cysts?
The evidence on laser treatment for pilonidal cysts is mixed, and one well-conducted trial found it was linked to more cysts coming back, not fewer.
Signal of harm149 studies
How long does a pilonidal cyst last?
No study has tracked how long a pilonidal cyst or flare-up lasts if left alone — the research instead measures how fast different treatments heal it.
Signal of harm134 studies
Is a pilonidal cyst dangerous?
A pilonidal cyst or sinus can sometimes lead to real complications — repeat abscesses, infection, or in rare cases surgery-related skin cancer — but the evidence for how often this happens comes only from observational studies, not controlled trials.
Signal of harm63 studies
Is it safe to pop a pilonidal cyst yourself, or should you let it drain on its own?
No study has tested whether it's safe to pop a pilonidal cyst yourself — the research only compares different ways doctors drain or treat these cysts.
Unclear60 studies
What should you do if a pilonidal cyst bursts on its own?
No study has tested what to do when a pilonidal cyst bursts open on its own at home.
Not studied48 studies
Why does the top of my butt crack hurt?
Pain, swelling, a bump, or bleeding at the top of the butt crack is usually pilonidal disease, and the evidence shows it often comes back after treatment and can occasionally cause serious harm if ignored.
Signal of harm179 studies
Can a cream treat a pilonidal cyst or sinus?
Creams do not treat a pilonidal cyst or sinus on their own — most evidence shows no meaningful benefit, and surgery remains the main effective treatment.
No meaningful benefit26 studies
Does using a seat or coccyx cushion help with a pilonidal cyst or sinus?
There is no good evidence that a seat or coccyx cushion treats pilonidal sinus disease or helps you heal faster after surgery.
Not studied1 study
How long does it take to recover after a pilonidal cyst is drained?
Draining a pilonidal abscess relieves the acute infection quickly, but it doesn't reliably end the problem — in the studies that followed patients afterward, a sizeable share had the abscess come back or needed a second operation.
Signal of harm98 studies
Anal abscess and fistula 3
Anal abscess and fistula overview →How can you prevent an anal fistula from forming?
No treatment reliably stops a fistula from forming after an abscess is drained, and antibiotics are not a safe bet for prevention.
Signal of harm73 studies
Can an anal fistula heal without surgery, or is surgery always needed?
In adults with a typical (cryptoglandular) anal fistula, the little evidence available suggests the tunnel usually does not close on its own, and non-surgical options may work less reliably than surgery.
Signal of harm80 studies
Can an anorectal abscess be treated without surgery?
No — for most adults, antibiotics alone are not a proven substitute for having the abscess drained.
Signal of harm72 studies
Anal fissure 2
Anal fissure overview →Why does my anus hurt after pooping?
In these studies, pain right after a bowel movement is most often caused by an anal fissure — a small tear — while hemorrhoids themselves usually only hurt when a clot has formed inside them.
Signal of harm185 studies
Do sitz baths help an anal fissure heal?
It's unclear whether warm sitz baths speed up healing of an anal fissure beyond other conservative care — the trials that tested this directly don't agree with each other.
Unclear23 studies