Anal Fissure: Symptoms, Treatment, Relief, and Cure

Anal Fissure is a cut or cracks in the anus or in the lining of the anus due to several reasons. Sometimes, this cut or crack is extended into the anal canal. This is a painful situation especially at the time of bowel movement. Due to this condition, the patient may have blood in the stool.

Anal Fissure is not a serious condition but its pain is unbearable sometimes. Usually, this condition is seen in the infants but people of all ages can get the Anal Fissure. For elder people, constipation is the main cause of Anal Fissure.  It’s common in the ladies during pregnancy. Usually, it gets healed by itself but in a few cases, the patients need major treatment like surgery.

In most of the cases, anal fissures are less than one centimeter but it causes an unbearable pain. It is so because the anal is one of the most sensitive parts of the human body, a small tear can result in the big pain here. As we have mentioned above that it’s not so rare disease and easily curable and preventable too if diagnosed at the right time.  But in most of the cases, the patient is not much aware of the anal fissure symptoms, self-care in anal fissure and medicine in this condition.

So in this article, we will cover all the topics related to anal fissure including symptoms of anal fissure, causes of anal fissure, treatment, and medicine of anal fissure and sign and stages of its healing. We will also share some self-care tips with you in the condition of an anal fissure.

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So, let’s start with the symptoms of anal fissure.

Symptoms of Anal Fissure

The most common symptom of anal fissure is the severe pain that the patient faces during a bowel movement.  During a bowel movement, the patients feel a sharp pain in anal. Even afterward the patients feel uneasiness and a long deep burning sensation.  This pain and burning sensation is such a bad experience for the patients that they even start to avoid the natural calls. This action increases the risk of constipation which is not good in the condition of an anal fissure.

Anal Fissure symptoms include one or all of the following signs.

• Pain during a bowel movement, which is severe sometimes.
• A bright red color blood on the stool or toilet paper after a bowel movement and this condition happen very frequently.
• A visible tear or crack on the skin around the anus.
• A small lump or the skin tag near the anus or anal fissure.
• Itching and irritation around the anus.
• In a few cases, some patients feel discomfort while urinating.
• Some patients may urinate more frequently in anal fissure.

Causes of Anal Fissure

An anal fissure is caused by the trauma to the anus and anal canal. There can be many causes of this trauma. In most of the cases, bowel movement is responsible for anal fissure. Many patients have experienced the severe pain during passing the stool and after that particular day, the pain stayed with them. The hard stool or diarrhea can be another cause of anal fissure.

Here are the few causes of the anal fissure.

• The most common root of anal fissure is Constipation. The condition of constipation ends with large and hard stool which affect the anal area and result in a cut or crack in the anus.
• An overly tight anal sphincter muscle spasms can be a reason behind the anal fissure.
• The risk of anal fissure is higher in pregnant women. During childbirth, the lining of the anus may tear and causes the anal fissure.
• Some other conditions like inflammatory bowel diseases may cause an anal
• In a few rare cases, anal sex is the cause of the anal fissure.
• In a rare condition anal fissure may develop due to the following disease; STIs or STDs, anal cancer, HIV, herpes, and tuberculosis.

Types of Anal Fissure

The anal fissure is of two types.

The acute anal fissure: It looks like a paper cut or a fresh tear.

The chronic anal fissure: It has a tear along with two lumps. These lumps are separate as internal and external.

Anal Fissure Treatment

The treatment of anal fissure is done by breaking the cycle of spasm of the anal sphincter. To stop the repeated tearing of the anoderm is also a part of the treatment. The treatment of anal fissure can be done in two ways; either non-surgical or surgical.

Here are the few fissure treatments without surgery as prescribed by the doctors.

For the treatment of the anal fissure, doctors prescribe the blood pressure medicines such as oral nifedipine (Procardia) or diltiazem (Cardizem) as anal fissure medicine. These medicines relax the anal sphincter of the patient. These medicines can be taken orally or applied externally but only after the doctor’s suggestion.

Sometimes in the condition of severe pain, doctors recommend the Botox injection to relax spasms.

To increase blood flow to the fissure, doctors suggest applying Nitro-glycerine externally. But it’s side effects are also severe.

In the condition of the chronic anal fissure, the surgery is most successful anal fissure treatment. In this surgery, doctors cut a small portion of the anal sphincter muscle to reduce spasm and pain. This surgery has a small risk of causing incontinence but still, its success rate is higher than the non-surgical treatment in the condition of the chronic anal fissure.

The Fissure Treatment Home Remedies

Many people suffering from acute anal fissure have got benefited by the fissure treatment home remedies as well. These home remedies involve the following.

The patient in anal fissure condition is suggested to consume 25 to 30 grams of fiber in a day. Fiber will make the stool soft and that will not put extra pressure on the anal muscles.

• Patients are suggested to avoid sharp food like corn, nuts etc.
• The quantity of liquid intake needs to increase by the patient.
• Sitz bath is also a very effective way to get rid of anal fissure. In the method of bathing, the patient needs to soak himself in a tub of warm water. It is advised to take a sitz bath after the bowel movement. This action will relax the spasm and increase the flow of blood to the anus.

The patient can start these tips of self-care in anal fissure. These tips helped many of the patients suffering from the acute anal fissure.

Stages of Fissure Healing

Here are the signs that show the fissure is healing.

• The patient feels the immediate relief in the burning pain, irritation, and itchiness near the anus.
• The patient can experience a painless bowel movement once the fissure is treated.
• The blood stops appearing on the stool and the toilet paper after the successful treatment of an anal

Conclusion

The problem of anal fissure can be avoided by changing the lifestyle. Doctors recommend to eat healthily and to do the exercises daily to stay active and healthy. A balanced diet with lots of fiber will always keep you far from the anal fissure.