Anal fissures often heal within a few weeks with appropriate home treatment. Take steps to keep your stool soft, such as increasing your intake of fiber and fluids. Soak in warm water for 10 to 20 minutes several times a day, especially after bowel movements. This can help relax the sphincter and promote healing.
Support your feet with a small step stool when you sit on the toilet. This helps flex your hips and places your pelvis in a squatting position. Your doctor may recommend an over-the-counter laxative, such as Milk of Magnesia or Restoralax.
The exposed internal sphincter muscle beneath the tear goes into spasm. This causes severe pain. The spasm also pulls the edges of the fissure apart, making it difficult for your wound to heal.
Most short-term anal fissures can heal with home treatment in 4 to 6 weeks. Pain during bowel movements usually goes away within a couple of days after the start of home treatment. There are several steps you can take to relieve your symptoms and help the fissure heal: Try to prevent constipation.
Anal fissures are typically painful, with sufferers often describing the pain as 'sharp' and the passing of a bowel movement like 'passing glass'. Sometimes the pain is experienced mainly after the bowel movement has passed (often described as 'throbbing') and can last for hours.
Numbing cream can also make bowel movements less painful. Petroleum jelly, zinc oxide, 1% hydrocortisone cream, and products like Preparation H can help soothe the area. Instead of toilet paper, use alcohol-free baby wipes that are gentler on the area. Sitz baths can help heal fissures and make you feel better.
Walking promotes overall good health. It lowers the chances of formation of hard stools and stimulates and promotes blood flow which is helpful if you have a fissure.
Some fissures can be minimally symptomatic, but most patients present with severe pain, bleeding, or itching. The pain can be localized to the anus but can radiate to the buttocks, upper posterior thighs, or lower back. Often the pain is triggered by a bowel movement, can last for hours, and can be severe.
Many times, the scratching of the anal area makes the problem worse. It often occurs at night. If we could just eliminate the nighttime scratching, things often improve.
Sitting can be quite painful with an anal fissure. You may see a few drops of blood in the toilet bowel or when wiping.
Over-wiping with rough and dry toilet paper can lead to itching, pain, and bleeding. In fact, improper wiping is the leading cause of America's most common bum-related injury – anal fissures (aka anal tears). Other common problems include UTI's and hemorrhoids.
See your health care provider if you have pain during bowel movements or notice blood on stools or toilet paper after a bowel movement.
A fissure that fails to respond to conservative measures should be re-examined. Persistent hard or loose bowel movements, scarring, or spasm of the internal anal muscle all contribute to delayed healing.
Dairy products: Milk, cheese and other heavy cream products should be avoided while you are suffering from symptoms of anal fissure. Red meat: Red meat is the hardest to digest and can delay stool passing, thus is not advisable to consume for people with symptoms or tendencies of anal fissure.
Piles are mostly painless and unnoticeable. Fissures cause a lot of pain.
Some people get fissures once in awhile and others can become chronic, lasting for years.
The pain may make it hard for you to have a bowel movement, causing constipation (having fewer bowel movements than usual). They can also cause bleeding from your anus. Anal fissures don't cause colon cancer or increase your risk of getting colon cancer.
Keep the anal area clean by washing with water every day. Don't use soaps as they will reduce the natural oils that protect the anus and may make the area dry and itchy. Use aqueous cream or a soap-free cleanser instead.
Anusol Cream is a medicine which is used to relieve the swelling, itch and irritation of internal and external piles (haemorrhoids) and other minor ano-rectal conditions such as anal itching and fissures.
Do fissures ever fully heal? Most acute anal fissures heal within a few weeks, similar to other minor wounds or cuts. Even 35% of chronic anal fissures heal, even temporarily. However, it is not uncommon for a fully healed fissure to recur after another injury or hard bowel movement.