Does apple cider vinegar help with hemorrhoids?
In adults with symptomatic hemorrhoids, does topical or oral apple cider vinegar reduce symptoms (pain, itching, bleeding) or improve resolution compared with no treatment or standard care?
Evidence review in plain language · compiled 2026-10-05 · checked 2026-10-13 · next 2026-11-13 · automated review, how it works
What the evidence says
Bottom line
No study has tested whether apple cider vinegar helps hemorrhoids.
A search of the research literature found nothing that looked at this directly — no human trials, no animal studies, nothing. That is different from vinegar having been tried and found useless; it simply has not been studied, so nobody can say whether it helps, does nothing, or makes things worse.
How certain
No human evidence
No studies were found that answer this question.
What it shows
Not studied
No study has measured this outcome in people with this condition.
- answer it directly
- 0answer it directly
- studies found
- 0studies found
- randomised trials
- 0randomised trials
- people studied
- 0people studied
What the search returned
Every record the query brought back, and why each one does not answer the question. Follow any of them to PubMed and check.
- The beneficial effect of Sanhuang ointment and its active constituents on experimental hemorrhoids in rats
J Ethnopharmacol · 2024 · PMID 37741471
This study evaluates Sanhuang ointment, a traditional Chinese medicine, not apple cider vinegar, so it does not address the specific intervention in the question.
- Identification of bioactive components on antihemorrhoidal activity of Cistus laurifolius L. using RP-HPLC and LC-QTOF-MS
J Ethnopharmacol · 2024 · PMID 37660958
This study investigates a completely different plant (Cistus laurifolius) for hemorrhoid treatment, not apple cider vinegar, so it does not address the specific question asked.
- Prevention of Inflammation Initiation on Acetic Acid-Induced Ulcerative Colitis in Rats by Malva nicaeensis All
Front Biosci (Landmark Ed) · 2023 · PMID 37525912
This study examines Malva nicaeensis extracts for acetic acid-induced colitis in rats, not apple cider vinegar or its effects on hemorrhoids in humans or animals.
- "Zuòyuèzi" dietary and behavioural associations with maternal health among puerperal women in South China
Asia Pac J Clin Nutr · 2021 · PMID 34191432
This study examines postpartum dietary practices and maternal health outcomes in Chinese women but does not specifically investigate apple cider vinegar as a treatment for hemorrhoids, instead noting only that hemorrhoids occurred in 13.8% of the population without testing any vinegar intervention.
- Assessment of anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities of Olea europaea L
J Med Food · 2010 · PMID 20132039
This study is about olive plant extracts, not apple cider vinegar, and tests anti-inflammatory effects in mice rather than clinical outcomes for hemorrhoids in humans.
- Effects of bamboo charcoal and bamboo vinegar on nitrogen conservation and heavy metals immobility during pig manure composting
Chemosphere · 2010 · PMID 20060567
This study is about pig manure composting chemistry and has no bearing on treating hemorrhoids in humans or animals.
- Influence of ensiling temperature, simulated rainfall, and delayed sealing on fermentation characteristics and aerobic stability of corn silage
J Dairy Sci · 2006 · PMID 16840629
This study is about corn silage fermentation and storage conditions, with no connection to apple cider vinegar or hemorrhoid treatment in humans or animals.
- Nutritional analysis of Vietnamese seaweeds for food and medicine
Biofactors · 2004 · PMID 15630305
This study examines nutritional and chemical composition of seaweed species, not the efficacy of apple cider vinegar for hemorrhoids; while it mentions seaweed as a traditional hemorrhoid treatment, it reports no outcome measures or clinical data related to apple cider vinegar specifically.
- The effect of delayed ensiling and application of a propionic acid-based additive on the fermentation of barley silage
J Dairy Sci · 2002 · PMID 12214989
This study is about silage fermentation in barley using propionic acid additives, with no relevance to hemorrhoid treatment or clinical outcomes in humans or animals related to hemorrhoids.
What actually helps, on this site
More about the condition:
How we searchedThe exact query, the date it ran, and what came back — so you can run it yourself.
- Searched
- PubMed · ClinicalTrials.gov · Crossref on 2026-10-13
- The exact search — paste this into PubMed to repeat it
("Hemorrhoids"[Mesh] OR hemorrhoid*[tiab] OR piles[tiab]) AND ("acetic acid"[Mesh] OR "apple cider vinegar"[tiab] OR "cider vinegar"[tiab] OR vinegar[tiab])- PubMed expanded that to:
("Hemorrhoids"[MeSH Terms] OR "hemorrhoid*"[Title/Abstract] OR "piles"[Title/Abstract]) AND ("acetic acid"[MeSH Terms] OR "apple cider vinegar"[Title/Abstract] OR "cider vinegar"[Title/Abstract] OR "vinegar"[Title/Abstract]) - What came back
- 9 records found · 9 read · 0 answered the question
- Included
- Human, animal or laboratory studies reporting an outcome relevant to the question
- Excluded
- Records about a different condition or intervention
- Records reporting no outcome
- Retracted publications, which are listed but excluded from every count
- Limits
- Details were read from abstracts, not full papers, so anything reported only in a paper's methods section is not captured here.
- A search finding nothing shows that nothing is indexed for these terms. It cannot prove no study exists anywhere.
- Evidence strength is adapted from the GRADE framework. It is not a GRADE assessment and was not produced by a GRADE panel.
Automated evidence review — PubMed, ClinicalTrials.gov, Crossref. Search strategy, grading rules and the checks that must pass before anything publishes were written by Allen Kamrava, MD, MBA, FACS, FASCRS, colon & rectal surgery, Beverly Hills. The pages themselves are compiled by software running that method and are not read one by one before publication — saying otherwise would be the one claim here that could not be checked.
- 9records came back from the search
- 9were read
- 0actually answered the question
Common questionsShort answers, drawn from the same studies.
- Has anyone studied apple cider vinegar for hemorrhoids?
- No. A literature search turned up no trials or studies, in humans or animals, testing apple cider vinegar for hemorrhoid symptoms.
- Does this mean apple cider vinegar doesn't work?
- No — it means nobody knows. 'Untested' and 'doesn't work' are not the same thing. It could help, do nothing, or be irritating; there's simply no data either way.
- Is it safe to try apple cider vinegar on hemorrhoids?
- Diluted vinegar applied to skin is unlikely to cause serious harm for most people, but undiluted vinegar can burn sensitive skin, and this has not been formally tested for safety in this specific use either.
- What actually works for hemorrhoids?
- Good evidence supports more fibre and fluids, topical steroid or anaesthetic creams for short-term symptom relief, and sitz baths. For larger or persistent hemorrhoids, procedures done by a doctor are effective.
- Why did the search return results about silage and seaweed?
- Those studies came up because they mention vinegar or related chemistry, but none of them tested apple cider vinegar on hemorrhoids — they were about composting, animal feed, or unrelated plant extracts.
What has changedEvery re-check, and whether it changed the answer.
2026-10-13
Re-searched; no new evidence.
This is information, not advice
This page summarises published research. It cannot tell you what is happening in your own body, and evidence changes. If something is bleeding, painful, or new, it is worth being looked at — that is a different question from the one on this page, and a better one to bring to a consultation.
Contact the officeAutomated evidence review — PubMed, ClinicalTrials.gov, Crossref. Search strategy, grading rules and the checks that must pass before anything publishes were written by Allen Kamrava, MD, MBA, FACS, FASCRS, colon & rectal surgery, Beverly Hills. The pages themselves are compiled by software running that method and are not read one by one before publication — saying otherwise would be the one claim here that could not be checked.