Conditions
Anal Fissure
An anal fissure is a small tear of the skin just inside the opening of the anus, which are very common in people of all ages, but are most common in teenagers and young adults. Frequently no cause is found for an anal fissure, but they can occur on other parts of the body (the image above shows one on the tongue). However, it is commonly linked to constipation, where straining on hard stools (a feeling akin to trying to pass a house brick) can tear the skin of the anus. The resulting fissure can cause a sharp, knife-like pain, especially when opening the bowels. It may also bleed a little and stain the toilet paper with bright red blood. But before you declare the toilet a crime scene, it’s worth remembering that an anal fissure, whilst painful and sometimes upsetting, is very rarely serious and will usually heal on its own in a couple of weeks. But if it doesn’t, then get your GP to have a look – they’ll have seen it all before.
Comments and Questions
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Please note: Unfortunately Channel 4 cannot respond to individual inquiries. If you have any concerns, you can check out NHS Choices, but ultimately it is always best to check with a health professional.
Hello im a 36 year old woman i have been diagnosed with an anal fissure and will be having treatment in october, i just wondered would an anal fissure cause weight gain.. i feel fat and bloated all the time and in the past 2 months ive put on about a stone with no change of diet and not eating extras... i exercise regular as well... thankyou
I have had one of these on and off for years but in the last year or so it has been pretty much permanent. I went to see a doctor who diagnosed anal fissure and prescribed me lactulose. I tried drinking the stuff (it was a powder you mix with water) but it was so vile, I can drink far more fluids without it. I'm not particularly constipated, and am quite regular. When the doctor examined me apparently my muscle wasn't spasmed or anything, it was relaxed. All the treatment seems to be to soften your stools or to cut your muscle. I'm used to living with this condition (painful as it can be), and don't particularly fancy surgery with the associated risks of incontinence, so my question is, what are the risks if I don't treat this? Thanks.
im 16 and female and recently as i go to the toilet and deficate brigth red blood comes up on the toilet paper, i am very worried and i am very shy to see a doctor or tell my mum, is there anythign to stop it on my own? thanks.
Hi. I have had an anal fissure for over a year..I kinda hoped it would go on it's own. The tear has eventually healed recently but I have been left with a skin tag/sentinel pile. I went to the g.p and waited for an hour for her to have a 'look' which lasted about 10 seconds. She basically said yes it's a skin tag, leave it alone. I asked if it would ever go and she said it may get smaller but surgery may damage the muscle for something that is meerly cosmetic. Well, I am really upset as this make me so self conscious.. I know it's only my other half 'goin down there' but it looks like somehting is hanging off my ass!! When I have kids I am also going to be very self conscious and am really annoyed now!! Is there any options? I don't know whether to make an appointment with another doctor because she seemed no help at all! She didn't even check to see if the tear had healed. Thanks :-)
Thank you for visiting our web site and for discussing your problem so openly. If you would like the opportunity to be seen by one of the Embarrassing Bodies Doctors and have your problems assessed and treated by a specialist, then why not apply for the chance to take part in the programme. Please visit the following link and click ‘Apply to be on the show’ where you can fill in an application form: http://www.channel4embarrassingillnesses.com/features/be-on-embarrassing-bodies/
I am 52 1/2 and just post menopausal. I have had a lot of problems over the last 4 months as I have over a few years. One being: Initially I had to have a D and C through excessive bleeding, thickening of the womb wall. Just prior to this my bowels had literally just got right and I was really happy with my bowel pattern. I have had anal bleeding regularly in the past and do suffer from recurring polyps/have them removed - used to be every 5 years I haven't had them done since 2002 they changed re-removal of recurrences to every 10 years (cutbacks). Since the D and C (coincidence??) my stools have turned to large peas and they are rock solid but normal generally in colour except odd times they go chalky. They only ever come out as pebbles. I hate to say but I have had to resort to removing contents manually as the stools do not seem to trigger the normal pushing motion. I bleed a good deal which is hardly surprising and I have enough wind to sail the Cuttysark. I drink water regularly and tea.I have done 5 a day veg vits longterm, 3 pieces of fruit a day, spicy food, fibre, oats all on a regular basis but nothing changes the stool size and structure and side affects. All that used to work has stopped working. This is just one of many problems I have at the moment but this problem is the one that tends to make me late for work, can't sleep, afraid to eat too much, afraid to start trying to go to the loo in case I end up in a mess with a load stuck inside that I haven't got time to remove for fear of being late. This year I have had a D & C, bowel problems, weight gain - about 1 1/2 stone, headaches,symptoms of abcess in lower jaw but no findings, long term sore throat on and off, permanent tinnitus pulsating tinnitus and crashing noises in my head, vertigo, a (now resolved) double ear infection, kidney and urinary tract infection after D & C, falling asleep at the drop of a hat at work,lethargy and fatigue, difficulty expelling a lot of air from my lungs and limited size of breath intake (genuinely I smoke 7 cigarettes a day - it has been worse/ noticeable since I put on weight, I have a beer gut but don't drink alcohol, pustular psoriasis. I personally cannot see how these things can be linked but I thought I should point them out. Any more time off sick with another doctor's note and I will lose my job/face a disciplinary. Can you help.
Thank you for visiting our web site and for discussing your problem so openly. If you would like the opportunity to be seen by one of the Embarrassing Bodies Doctors and have your problems assessed and treated by a specialist, then why not apply for the chance to take part in the programme. Please visit the following link and click ‘Apply to be on the show’ where you can fill in an application form: http://www.channel4embarrassingillnesses.com/features/be-on-embarrassing-bodies/
I am female aged 38, no children or pregnancies. I have had a deep anal fissure that simply won't heal for nearly two years. Blood and pain all the time. I ended up never wiping at all but simply jumping in the shower and washing gently, anything else hurt too much. My doc repeatedly prescibed a steroid cream - the instructions said using for more than 5 days could result in thinning of the skin. This seemed a bad idea to me as the skin was pretty thin already, but I used it for four weeks as she prescribed. No good. My diet was already good, fibre, healthy etc. Mine began after a long spate of diarrhea whilst having gastroenteritius. I researched the cause on the net and so much information related it to an over tight sphincter muscle. The cures all seemed to involve an operation to cut that msucle to loosen it. It seemed logical to me to try to stretch the muscle myself. So gently every day in the shower, with a little KY I slowly and gently inserted a finger, leave it for about a minute then go about my day. It was painful, and I only went in about a centimeter to begin with but have continued building up to two fingers and about an inch in. In a month my fissure has gone. All that misery and all that pain gone just like that. Nothing else has changed. I continue to do the slight stretching every time I shower (being careful not to get any soap in) I appreciate this may not be to everyones taste, but by a certain point of pain and desperation why not. If you try always use a lubricant and wash your hands before and after. Good luck and my sympathy to all.
Hi, I have just got this and I am very worried because it has been bleeding alot and is hurting so much that i am trying to stop myself from going to the loo. Please could you help thankyou.
You need to see your GP
Thank you for visiting our web site and for discussing your problem so openly. If you would like the opportunity to be seen by one of the Embarrassing Bodies Doctors and have your problems assessed and treated by a specialist, then why not apply for the chance to take part in the programme. Please visit the following link and click ‘Apply to be on the show’ where you can fill in an application form: http://www.channel4embarrassingillnesses.com/features/be-on-embarrassing-bodies/
i have been having probs since i was pregnant with my 1st child but has got a lot worse since my 2nd arrived. i suffer with internal piles, when i do pass a stool it never feels finished (even when the stool is soft) and i am never ever properly clean, i use more baby wipes than my baby and am constantly aware of it, i thought it might be my pelvic floor muscles but now i am starting to think i may have an anal fissure.
I am a 62 year old male who has been suffering from agonising bowel pain for several years, despite help from my GP. It had gradually forced me to lead an unnatural life , eating too many high fibre foods and taking loads of Ibuprofen to reduce the pain that followed every bowel movement, sometimes right through the day. This affected not just my social life but also holidays as well .But in February this year I finally was admitted for a lateral sphincterotomy in my local NHS Hospital. And at the moment I have been pain free ever since .And so I wanted to share this with others who are still in this awful state .They might consider it useful when trying to weigh up what they should do next . This is intended for all those who have already been diagnosed as having an Anal Fissure and who are currently experiencing extreme pain every time they go which can continue for up to 2 weeks before easing off for a short while - only to return to "ballistic" levels a few weeks later.And when I say extreme or ballistic pain I mean the sort of pain that makes you scream with each stool passing.The sort of pain that makes you put off going each morning.Sometimes I would pace up and down for half an hour before going because my body knew what was coming.Sound familiar? On a scale of 1 to 5 my pain level was often a 6 !I couldn't dare to try to go when anyone else was around.I would often take two Ibuprofen 30 minutes before I wanted to go.And I used to read comedy on the toilet and found that forcing yourself to laugh out loud as you "went" helped alot.But it didnt stop the spasms of pain afterwards which often forced me to go and lie down on the floor for some 15 - 30 minutes.Not something you can do at work!I used to increase my fibre levels to well over 30g per day, and drink bottles of water every day .This helped when you actually started going each time,but it never stopped the initial constipating "plug" that seemed to reform every day . By this time ,over 2 or 3 years ,I had tried all other treatments recommended by my GP.She was most helpful and we went through several creams and ointments before eventually getting me onto GTN and lactulose as last resorts. While these worked to some extent they didn't stop the daily pain , which just kept coming. Finally I got to see a consultant in my nearby NHS Hospital and he put choices before me (live with it, Botox, or the lateral spincterotomy operation) .I chose the latter, got admitted as a day patient and have had no pain ever since.All they do is lightly cut the muscle around your anus ,and this allows the muscle to be more relaxed when you go .While I was aware of the cuts for the first few days after the operation I have had no constipating blockage each day as before.Going is now easy and pain free.Sometimes I want to go more than once a day , and sometimes I get more wind than before, but I can put up with both these . I still take the lactulose but will try to wean myself off that soon. My quality of life has gradually returned and my day is no longer centred around visits to the toilet!. If you have been suffering similar daily pain levels then I would recommend that you get your GP to refer you to a clinic with your local NHS consultant . Even if your pain levels aren't that bad , don't suffer in silence .At least tell your GP and be prepared to keep nagging away at them .It's your life which is being messed up ,after all. (I would be happy to try to answer any specific queries you might have about any of this embarrassing business .I know that it is not something which is easily talked about - even with friends and family .But unfortunately there seem to be thousands out there with similar problems .)
i have been applying pressure with my hands thru the front passage to push the stools out for years ive grown to live with it but i havnt been to the toiloet for 9 weeks and my tummy is so bloated im scared to see gp tried lotions potions and laxatives all to no avail.. i am disabled with spinal injury and i thing my anal muscles just dont work.. would i end up with a stoma bag thats wat scares me the most
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