Berkeley Parents Network: Anal Fissure

Berkeley Parents Network

Anal Fissure

Berkeley Parents Network > Reviews > Health & Medical > Anal Fissure

December 2003

A week or so after I delivered my baby (vaginal delivery, minor tearing healed quickly), I developed an anal fissure. I saw my primary care doctor, who said there was not really any treatment for it and it would go away on its own. And, she was right, it did go away, but then it came back. Then it went away. Then it came back. Then it went away. Then it came back. My baby is now 7 months old, and this is still happening every few weeks. Has anyone else experienced this? Will it eventually go away for good? Is there really no treatment, even for what seems to be a chronic condition?

Recommendations received for physicians:

Dr. Bitar

Michael Verhille

This happened to me when I was 17. I actually saw a proctologist who performed an outpatient procedure on me to heal the fissure, and release some pressure in the area, and the fissure never returned. I suggest seeing a specialist for another opinion.

As someone who has struggled with anal fissures since the tender age of six months (I'm now 41), I feel qualified to give you some advice! Here's what you have to do: take hot sitz baths twice a day when you have a fissure, 5-10 minutes each time. Dose yourself with Metamucil, prunes, bran cereal, lots of water, etc. Avoid sharp foods like popcorn and seeds (i.e. rye bread). Once the fissure is no longer hurting or bleeding, you can stop the sitz baths but continue all the! other remedies for...well, about a year. The key is to completely, absolutely 100% avoid the possibility of a hard stool opening the fissure again. You have to be very dilligent. But if you can keep up the routine for a year, you probably won't have to deal with the problem again. Good luck!

I can relate- I got anal fissures when I was pregnant & in the early postpartum months, too. My Dr gave me some cream for it- maybe hydrocortisone? But the most important thing is changes to your diet- lots of water, fiber, etc- so that your stools are soft. Also my midwife said it probably had to do with pregnancy & breastfeeding hormones, so if you are breastfeeding it may improve once your baby slowes down. Good luck!

I also had a fissure after my first child. After suffering for many months I went to a proctologist. He gave me two options. One was to use this vasaline type ointment that had nitroglycerin in it (required a prescription) and to up my fiber intake greatly. This is what I did and I haven't had a fissure in 3 years. The other option was surgery which I've heard can also work.

I now eat multigrain oats with flaxseed meal with some almonds and fruit in it just about every morning. Also lots and lots of water. Good Luck and hope it heals!

Heavens! No treatment? Please go see a proctologist. I also developed an anal fissure after (or during?) the birth of my first child and I spent about 9 months trying to get it fixed via primary care physicians. (They all said I had hemorroids.) You don't mention the pain of an anal fissure--I was in agony--so getting the right professional to help you is really important.

Going to a proctologist is not fun--I'd suggest developing a sense of humor right off the bat. But there are things that can be done. I had one surgery that, unfortunately, didn't ''take'' and the fissure opened up again. (This is not usually the case.) Then the doctor did another procedure involving ''freezing'' the fissure back together. Neither of these procedures were fun, believe me, but the latter one did work and I've never had a problem since.

In addition to having a sense of humor about your butt problem, it's really good to have a few confidantes with whom you can giggle, talk about the pain, and maybe even discuss your embarrassment about the whole issue. Anal fissures don't make good cocktail chatter--my sister and my best friend really helped me get through this ordeal with my dignity (and eventually my bottom) intact!

oh boy do i know what you are going through. i had the same thing happen to me after my daughter was born. i eventually went to see a proctologist when my daughter was about 8 months old. he had me eat a high fiber cereal every morning with millers brand sprinkled on top. i also had to drink lots and lots of water. the reason your pain keeps coming back every couple of weeks is because it isn't completely healed. this takes a while to happen so you need to keep your stools VERY soft. now! , 16 months later i think my fissure is finally healed, but i am still very careful about re-tearing it. good luck!!

I used to get anal fissures a lot in my early 30s, before having kids. It was caused by passing hard stools. They took a VERY long time to heal (at least 1 month to really). The problem is, if you continue to have hard stools, they keep opening up.

If you are breastfeeding and not drinking enough water then you may be having hard stools.

To get them to heal, I would take Colace (or the generic equivalent) until they healed completely and also use Hydrocortizone suppositories (prescription strength) for a week or two. (The suppositories may have helped me because I also had hemmorhoids.) Use the Colace WITHOUT the laxitive. Colace simply helps you keep water in your stools so they stay soft.

To stop getting them altogether, I had to change my diet. Drink tons more water, less caffiene. More insoluble fiber (whole wheat bread, fruit, veggies, etc). Less white bread, white pasta, white rice. I also took Colace for years...I later switched to Citrucel. I still take this.

Once it heals, you want to try and keep your stools soft so that they don't reoccur.

Also, don't delay going to the toilet...go when the urge strikes.

Note, that some doctors don't really know what is soluable and what is insoluble fiber in foods. Soluable fiber (like Oatmeal) does not help your stools stay soft. You have to have an insoluble fiber like wheat bran. (That said, I am always confused by the label on the Citrucel bottle...it says insoluable fiber, but it works.)

I did a lot of research on the web. Things are much better now, even after having children.

I just posted a response...I wanted to add a few more things...

Learn to pass stools without straining...learn to relax the muscles, this can be very helpful especially when healing.

Also, some high-fiber snacks are raw carrots, nuts, high fiber cereal such as SmartStart, Mini-Wheats, dried apricots, prunes etc. But make sure you drink lots of water (a glass an hour) or you may make things worse, rather than better. Anon

I know that frequent, long, warm baths work wonders at promoting relaxation and thus healing of the area. Good luck. Anon.

I had the same experience a year ago and went through terrible pain. I pushed my primary care physician to get a referal for a specialist (see recommendations for Dr. Bitar.) Take as many warm baths as you can and try to relax.

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