Apple cider vinegar and other viral hemorrhoid remedies, checked

Apple cider vinegar is not a hemorrhoid treatment. A search of PubMed for apple cider vinegar and hemorrhoid returns no papers, so there is no trial of drinking it or dabbing it on a flare. What does exist are case reports of chemical burns after vinegar was put on skin, including apple cider vinegar used as an internet remedy ^1,2.

This page checks that viral claim, then garlic, tea tree oil, and coconut oil, which show up in the same posts. After that is the home plan that guidelines actually describe. If you want the short version of remedies worth keeping, it is in hemorrhoid home remedies that have evidence.

Why people put vinegar on hemorrhoids

The posts usually say vinegar “kills bacteria,” “shrinks tissue,” or “draws out” a hemorrhoid. Those lines get repeated because vinegar is acidic and because people already have a bottle in the kitchen. Acidity is also why dermatologists end up writing burn reports.

Hemorrhoids are swollen vascular cushions, not a skin infection you can pickle. The AGA clinical practice update on hemorrhoids says first-line care is fiber, less straining, and less time on the toilet. It says sitz baths are often advised even though the data are limited. It says topical anesthetics, astringents such as witch hazel, corticosteroids, and vasoactive agents can be considered, with little data on how well they work ⁹. Vinegar is not on that list.

The trials that exist, and the hemorrhoid trial that does not

People sometimes hear that apple cider vinegar has been “studied” and assume the studies were about hemorrhoids. They were not. The hemorrhoid search is empty. The one controlled test of vinegar on human skin that we could read was about eczema bacteria, on the forearm.

In that pilot trial, 11 people with atopic dermatitis and 11 people with healthy skin soaked one forearm in dilute apple cider vinegar, measured as 0.5% acetic acid, and the other forearm in tap water. They soaked for 10 minutes a day for 14 days. Skin bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus, did not change in a meaningful way. The authors concluded that this dilute soak was not a useful way to change the skin microbiome in eczema, and that other concentrations would need their own studies ⁵. There is no hemorrhoid score in the paper. There is no instruction for anal skin. A forearm soak at 0.5% acetic acid is not permission to paint a hemorrhoid with vinegar from the bottle.

Chemical burns and skin irritation from vinegar

The reports are small, and several are letters, so they do not give a “safe dilution” for the anal area. They do show that topical vinegar can injure skin.

A 2012 letter in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology is titled as a chemical burn from topical apple cider vinegar ¹. The public record of that letter does not include a recipe that turned out to be safe. Treat the title as the finding: apple cider vinegar on skin was enough, in that case, to burn it.

In 2015, doctors reported a teenager who followed an internet protocol to remove a mole with apple cider vinegar and came in with a chemical burn. The authors noted that online “natural” mole remedies can be useless or harmful, and that teens may try them to avoid telling a parent ². The same pattern shows up in hemorrhoid videos: a kitchen acid, a promise of shrinking, and no trial.

In 2000, a medical team reported a chemical burn in a newborn after vinegar was put on the skin to bring down a fever. The abstract describes a burn from an organic acid used as a home remedy ³.

A 1997 report describes a chemical burn from acetic acid that went on to a deep ulcer ⁴. Acetic acid is the acid in vinegar. That report does not say the person used a salad dressing, so it is a warning about the acid, not a measured test of one brand of apple cider vinegar. Deep ulceration is still the outcome in the title. Irritated anal skin is a bad place to experiment with it.

We did not find a randomized trial that measured “irritation scores” for vinegar on hemorrhoids, because we did not find a hemorrhoid trial at all. The burn reports are the safety evidence. They are case reports, which can show that a harm happens. They cannot tell you how often it happens.

Garlic, tea tree oil, and coconut oil

These three travel with vinegar in social posts. They are not the same risk. Each has a longer page of its own: tea tree oil for hemorrhoids and coconut oil for hemorrhoids, and the full graded list is in natural remedies for hemorrhoids.

Garlic

A 2021 systematic review found 32 articles describing 39 patients with burn injuries from raw garlic on the skin. Most burns were second degree. Some went on to dead tissue. Legs were the most common site, and the authors advised doctors and patients against putting fresh garlic on skin or mucosa ⁶. Mucosa means the moist lining, which is what sore anal skin behaves like. The review’s chemistry section points to sulfur compounds in garlic as the reason for the burns. The review does not report a hemorrhoid treatment. Do not tape a clove to a flare, and do not sit in crushed garlic.

Tea tree oil

A 2016 review of contact allergy found that tea tree oil has caused more published allergic reactions than other essential oils since the first cases in 1991. In routine patch testing, positive reactions ranged from 0.1% to 3.5%. Nearly 100 allergic patients appear in case reports and series. Fresh oil is a weak to moderate sensitizer, and oxidized oil is more allergenic. Most reactions came from pure oil, not from a tiny amount in a cosmetic ⁷. That review of tea tree oil contact allergy is about rashes. It does not report a hemorrhoid trial. Do not drip undiluted tea tree oil on anal skin.

Coconut oil

Coconut oil has a real skin trial, and that trial is not about hemorrhoids. In 2014, 117 children with mild to moderate atopic dermatitis used either virgin coconut oil or mineral oil for eight weeks, double blind. The eczema severity score (SCORAD) fell by 68.23% with coconut oil and by 38.13% with mineral oil. In the coconut oil group, 46% (27 of 59) had an excellent response, compared with 19% (11 of 58) on mineral oil ⁸. The study was on children’s eczema-prone skin, not on adult anal cushions, and it did not track bleeding or prolapse. A search for coconut oil and hemorrhoids did not return a trial. Coconut oil does not have the burn record garlic and vinegar have. It also does not have evidence that it treats hemorrhoids. If the skin is dry and intact, a plain moisturizer is a separate question to ask a clinician. It is not a substitute for fiber.

Witch hazel pads are the cooling product people usually mean when they want something from the pharmacy that is not a kitchen experiment. The evidence is mild and indirect, and it is written up in does witch hazel work for hemorrhoids.

What to do instead of vinegar

The NIDDK page on hemorrhoid treatment lists home steps that do not include acids or essential oils ¹⁰:

1. Eat more fiber. The NIDDK diet page uses the Dietary Guidelines figure of 14 grams per 1,000 calories, or 28 grams on a 2,000 calorie day ¹².
2. Add a fiber supplement such as psyllium if food is not enough, and drink water or other nonalcoholic fluids as your clinician recommends ¹⁰.
3. Do not strain, and do not sit on the toilet for long periods ¹⁰.
4. Sit in warm water, a sitz bath, several times a day for pain ¹⁰.
5. Use an over-the-counter cream, ointment, or suppository for mild pain, swelling, and itching of external hemorrhoids. Doctors most often recommend those products for 1 week. Follow up if they fail or if you get dry skin or a rash ¹⁰.

Fiber is the piece with a meta-analysis. Seven trials in 378 people found fiber cut the risk of symptoms failing to improve (relative risk 0.53) and cut the risk of bleeding by about half (relative risk 0.50) ¹¹. That meta-analysis of seven fiber trials is a better use of a week than a vinegar compress. Compare products on the best fiber supplements page, and use the hemorrhoid diet if you would rather start with food.

Warm soaks, with the limits stated

A 1993 study measured anal pressure in 18 healthy volunteers and 28 people with painful anal problems (18 fissures and 10 hemorrhoids) before and after a warm bath. They sat for 10 minutes at 40, 45, or 50 degrees Celsius. Rectal neck pressure and internal-sphincter activity dropped in the bath and drifted back over 25 to 70 minutes. Pain relief was stronger and lasted longer at the higher temperatures ¹³. Those hotter settings were a lab protocol. Water at the top of that range is not a home target. Use warm water you can sit in comfortably, for about 10 minutes. The AGA’s own line is that sitz baths are often advised and that scientific data are limited ⁹. Step-by-step setup is in how to take a sitz bath.

A basin that sits on the toilet is easier for many people than climbing into a tub, especially after surgery or birth. Buyers of the foldable basin we list most often mention that it stays steady and stores flat. People with wider hips sometimes find the seat narrow. Roomier options are on the best sitz baths page.

Fivona (Sitz bath)

Fivona Foldable Sitz Bath

Best for: Most people, especially after childbirth or surgery

Fits most toiletsFolds flatDrain slots

Our top sitz bath. It sits steady on the toilet, folds flat for storage and drains without spills.

What recent buyers say

August 2026 reviews praise how steady it feels on the toilet and how easily it folds into a cabinet. One reviewer used it after hemorrhoid surgery and found it far easier than getting in and out of a tub. The only real split is size, and people with wider hips sometimes find it narrow.

What buyers like

• Stays steady on the toilet
• Folds flat for storage
• Drains cleanly into the bowl

Common complaints

• Narrow for wider hips

Skip it if you have wide hips. The Pochik has a roomier seat.

Price $$$budgetAmazon reviews checked September 2026

Check price on Amazon

Do not add vinegar, garlic, or tea tree oil to the water. Plain warm water is the intervention that was studied ¹³.

Creams and pads, and how long to use them, are in over-the-counter hemorrhoid treatment. The map of home care, office procedures, and surgery is hemorrhoid treatment.

MedlinePlus says to see a clinician if symptoms last past a week of home care, or if you have rectal bleeding. Hemorrhoids are a common reason for bleeding, and so are other diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer ¹⁴. Screening for that cancer is recommended from age 45 for adults at average risk ¹⁵.

If a vinegar video is what brought you here, the next useful step is the week of fiber and warm water above, not a weaker acid. What to expect at a visit is in when to see a doctor for hemorrhoids.