Rectal Prolapse

Home Treatment

Home treatment for children

If your child has a rectal prolapse, you can help prevent the prolapse from coming back.

• Push the prolapse back into place as soon as it occurs. Wear disposable latex gloves and use lubricating jelly. Apply an ice pack to help decrease swelling.
• Have the child use a small toilet that is placed on the floor. This will help support the child's buttocks so that he or she will not have to strain while having a bowel movement.

Home treatment for adults

Protruding tissue caused by rectal prolapse often can be pushed back into place. Stand with your chest tucked as closely to your thighs as you can. Using a wet, gloved finger or a soft, warm, wet cloth, gently reinsert any tissue that comes out of the anus. If the rectal tissue cannot be inserted easily into the anus, see your doctor.

Other measures you can take at home that can help rectal prolapse include the following:

• Drink plenty of water. And eat fruits, vegetables, and other foods that contain fiber. A high-fiber diet can help prevent constipation and reduce the need to strain during a bowel movement. Changes in diet often are enough to improve or reverse a prolapse of the lining of the rectum (mucosal prolapse), which does not always protrude from the anus.
• Do Kegel exercises to help strengthen the muscles of the pelvic area. Although these exercises usually are used to help prevent urinary incontinence and prolapse of the uterus, they also can strengthen muscles in the pelvic area and may improve symptoms of rectal prolapse in both men and women.
• Do not strain while having a bowel movement.
• Use stool softeners to prevent straining. Stool softeners include lubricants, such as docusate (for example, Colace), and fiber supplements, such as psyllium (for example, Metamucil).
• Sometimes you may need to use a laxative or an enema if diet alone will not relieve constipation.

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Author:	Monica Rhodes	Last Updated: July 23, 2009
Medical Review:	Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine C. Dale Mercer, MD, FRCSC, FACS - General Surgery
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