R&r. Could someone talk to me about piles, please?

[BusyCee]

Morning all. I'm 29wks pregnant with DC3 and think I've just discovered my first pile (and I know how lucky I am to have got away with it this long..). Its not causing any discomfort at the moment (I found it in the shower, more of a new large tag of skin than anything else), but have some Qs if anyone would care to answer;

• will it go away on its own, or do I need to take acton
• I've had the dreaded pregnancy constipation, and therefore having a poo has taken longer than usual. Assume this is related?
• but is my pelvic floor a factor too? It's got progressively weaker with each pregnancy and while I'm not having any major problems at the moment I know it's going to need post-baby
• why do piles hurt? What causes the actual pain?
• how does pile cream help? Does it just numb the area or does it help clear them too?

Thank in advance for any help - and sorry for the fairly graphic nature of an early morning post...!

[Clarella]

It does help shrink them and you can push them back in. They're swollen veins. The pessaries do seem to help do this too so use both. (If ok to do so according to pharmacist!)

When you've given birth and if they're still really bad I can recommend a prescription cream/ pessary with a mild steroid in, though try the anusol for a while. I don't think the steroid one is ok for bf.