ABSTRACT
In viewing the spectrum of human illness, there is probably no area in which self-treatment occurs more frequently than in diseases of the anorectal region. Fear and embarrassment associated with this part of the anatomy often result in delay by the affected individual in seeking medical attention. In addition, the ready availability of over-thecounter preparations makes self-treatment easy. The troubled individual often is influenced to a great extent by the unsupported advertising claims that some manufacturers make for the efficacy of their medications. Undue reliance on these preparations, combined with the universal belief that almost all symptoms originate from hemorrhoidal disease, leads to failure to seek medical advice, and this failure may have serious consequences.
