Can An Anal Fissure Heal On Its Own
Yes, some anal fissures can heal on their own if you are able to avoid constipation and with proper self-care. Constipation, if not managed, can hinder the healing of fissures because the pressure from the bowel movement constantly damages the fissure site.1
References:
1. Anal fissure Better Health Channel . Betterhealth.vic.gov.au . Available from:
2. Anal fissure. NHS . NHS.uk . Available from:
3. Anal fissure. Treatment. NHS . NHS.uk . Available from:
4. Anal fissure. ndirect . Nidirect.gov.uk . Available from:
5. Anal fissure. healthdirect . Healthdirect.gov.au . Available from:
6. Dietary fibre Better Health Channel . Betterhealth.vic.gov.au . Available from:
7. Anal fissure: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia . Medlineplus.gov . Available from:
Disclaimer: The information included at this site is for educational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for medical treatment by a healthcare professional. Because of unique individual needs, the reader should consult their physician to determine the appropriateness of the information for the readers situation.
What Is An Anal Fissure
An anal fissure is a tear of any size in the anus. If you’ve ever noticed a spot or two of bright red blood on your toilet tissue after having an uncomfortable bowel movement, you have likely experienced an anal fissure.
An anal fissure can lead to burning, stinging, or sharp pain during bowel movements. The pain can last anywhere from a few seconds to a few hours. In severe cases, the pain can cause a spasm of muscles that surround the rectum, which can cause the pain to intensify.
Fortunately, most anal fissures heal rapidly on their own. When a fissure doesn’t heal within a few weeks, it’s usually because one or more root causes continue to aggravate the fissure.
How Do I Get Treated
Talk to your health care provider! People shouldnt suffer in silence, said Crouch. If youre experiencing pain from anal sex, get it checked out by a queer-friendly health care provider.
If youre in the San Francisco Bay Area, access treatment for anal fissures at the sexual health clinic Magnet, at Strut , a program of San Francisco AIDS Foundation.
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Diagnosis Of Anal Fissure
Your GP will usually be able to diagnose an anal fissure by asking about your symptoms and examining you. Theyll ask you to describe your symptoms and how long youve had them. They may also ask you about your health in general and your medical history.
Your doctor will examine you by asking you to lie on your side with your knees bent towards your chest. Theyll then gently part your buttocks to examine the area and see if theres a fissure.
If theres any uncertainty about whats causing your symptoms or if initial treatments dont help, your GP may refer you to see a colorectal surgeon. This is a surgeon who specialises in conditions affecting your bowel and back passage.
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What Does Surgery For An Anal Fissure Involve
Before surgery is considered, your doctor will re-examine you and may conduct other tests to determine why other treatments have failed to heal the fissure.
A fissure may fail to heal because of scarring or muscle spasms of the internal anal sphincter muscle. Surgery usually consists of making a cut to a small portion of the internal anal sphincter muscle to reduce pain and spasms and allow the fissure to heal. Cutting the muscle rarely results in the loss of ability to control bowel movements.
The surgery can usually be performed on an outpatient basis . Pain is relieved after a few days and complete healing takes place in a few weeks.
Surgery To Heal Fissure Fast
When a patient does not respond to home remedies or medication for anal fissure, surgery becomes necessary. If an anal fissure doesnt heal within 8-12 weeks, then doctors prescribe that the surgery is the only option.
- Less operation time
- Go back to a normal routine within a day or two
- Great surgical precision
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What Are The Symptoms Of An Anal Fissure
An anal fissure can cause signs and symptoms such as:
- pain during or after bowel movements, which might last for several hours
- a feeling of cramp around the anus
- blood on the stool or toilet paper after wiping your bottom
- itchiness around the anus
- a small crack or tear in the skin around the anus
- a small skin tag or lump near the anal fissure
How Are Anal Fissures Diagnosed
Initially, the doctor will diagnose constipation from your childs history. They may look at the childs anus to see if any anal fissures are visible. Occasionally, the doctors may suggest a child has an examination under anaesthetic, to check the anus more closely and confirm that it is otherwise normal.
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How Long Does A Fissure In The Anus Take To Heal And Heal
A fissure in the anus can occur for many different reasons and, basically, its duration will depend on the correction of the cause for which it appeared .
You can use creams, ointments, increase your fiber intake and even resort to surgery, but if you do not correct the reason why the anus has been injured, it is very difficult for everything to really return to normal.
Lets see what causes an anal fissure and how long it might take to heal.
Pay attention if you have one or more factors that can cause it, as this will directly affect its resolution. If you take steps that can reverse the cause, you will improve faster than you thought, even if the fissure is chronic.
Questions To Ask Your Doctor
Once your doctor diagnoses an anal fissure, ask them these important questions:
- Can I expect this fissure to heal on its own?
- How can I treat an anal fissure at home?
- Do I need medication?
- Do I need to make changes to my diet?
- How long should it take for the fissure to heal?
- Am I likely to get more anal fissures?
- Will I need surgery? What are the risks of surgery?
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How To Treat Anal Fissures
Although anal fissures are not dangerous, you should always see your doctor if you have any blood in your stool or rectal bleeding. Your doctor can usually diagnose an anal fissure from your history and a rectal examination. The other common cause of rectal bleeding is hemorrhoids. Hemorrhoids also cause bright red bleeding during a bowel movement, but the bleeding is usually not painful. Bleeding from a rectal or anal cancer can cause bright red blood, but not the severe pain of a fissure.
Causes Of Anal Fissure
For most people who develop an anal fissure, there isnt any obvious reason why. This is called a primary anal fissure. Its often thought to be the result of a hard or painful bowel movement damaging your anal canal. This can cause the muscles around your anus to spasm and tense up, making you more likely to tear. It also reduces the blood supply to the area, which makes it harder for any tears to heal.
Sometimes, there is a clear underlying cause for your anal fissure. This is known as a secondary anal fissure. Causes of secondary anal fissures include the following.
- Constipation passing a hard poo can cause a tear.
- Being pregnant or giving birth this can put pressure on your perineum .
- Having an inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohns disease.
- Having a sexually transmitted infection or a skin infection.
- Having a skin condition such as psoriasis.
- Taking medicines such as painkillers containing opioids or having chemotherapy.
- Having had trauma to your anus for example, through having anal sex or through surgery.
- Having bowel cancer.
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What To Tell Your Doctor
In most cases, discussing your symptoms can give your doctor enough information to diagnose an anal fissure. Be sure to tell them:
- When you have pain, burning, or itching
- How bad your discomfort is
- How long the pain and discomfort usually lasts
- What type of bleeding you’ve seen
- What, if anything, improves your symptoms
Your doctor may ask about your diet, your bowel habits, and if you have any other medical conditions or intestinal problems.
Who Is At Risk For An Anal Fissure
Certain factors raise the risk for anal fissures, including:
- Constipation with straining to pass hard stool
- Eating a low-fiber diet
- Intense diarrhea
- Any inflammatory condition of the anal area.
Anal fissures may also result from inflammatory bowel disease, surgery or other medical treatments that affect bowel movements or the anus.
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Are Anal Fissures Dangerous
It cannot be said that anal fissures are dangerous in themselves, but they can be really annoying for the sufferer.
These types of injuries warn that your body is out of balance. You can pay attention to that warning and correct the habits that have generated that problem or just attend to the fissure as an isolated event that has nothing to do with your habits.
When you only see the fissure and you dont see your body as a whole, two things can happen:
- That the fissure heals with treatment, but later other disorders related to your imbalance appear, for example, you continue with constipation and after a few years diverticula appear in the colon.
- That the fissure does not heal and worsens, affecting the muscle layer and becoming chronic.
Of course, you should pay attention to whether an anal fissure becomes chronic, does not heal, bleeds frequently and, even worse, if it does not hurt, because it can also be a case of anal cancer . Although it is rare, it must be diagnosed early to make treatment easier and more effective. That is the only case in which a fissure can be dangerous .
Medications For Treating Anal Fissures
- Nitrate ointment: Your doctor may prescribe one of these to help raise blood flow to the anal canal and sphincter, which helps fissures get better faster. Some side effects may include headaches, dizziness, and low blood pressure. Nitrate ointment should not be used within 24 hours of taking erectile dysfunction medicines like sildenafil , tadalafil , or vardenafil .
- Calcium channel blockers: These are blood pressure-lowering medications. Some of the topical ones can treat anal fissures, too. Side effects may include headaches.
- Botox injections: When topical treatments don’t work, injecting botulinum toxin type A into the sphincter is sometimes the next step. Botox injections temporarily paralyze the sphincter muscle, relieving pain and encouraging healing in 60% to 80% of patients. You may not be able to control your bowel movements or passing gas, but it’s temporary. The dose is extremely low, so there is no risk of botulism poisoning.
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What Are The Home Remedies For Anal Fissures
Some remedies that you can follow at home to relieve anal fissures are increasing your fibre intake, increasing your fluid intake, regular exercise and taking a Sitz bath. Measures like high fibre intake, increasing hydration and exercising regularly will help you relieve constipation and get the fissure time to heal on its own. Doing a Sitz bath 2 to 3 times a day will clean the fissure and promote its healing.1,37
How Common Are Anal Fissures
Anal fissures are common and probably affect about 1 in 350 people each year. They are more common in people aged between 15 and 40 years but can occur at any age, including in very young children. Women who are pregnant or have recently had a baby are at higher risk of anal fissures, while they are much less common in the elderly.
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Follow Proper Bathroom Hygiene
People suffering from anal fissure should make sure that they follow the below-mentioned hygienic measures-
- After every bowel movement, clean the anal area gently and dry it properly.
- Every time you have the urge to pass stools, dont ignore it. Controlling the urge results in constipation which makes the fissure worse.
- Do not apply soap or take bubble baths as it can irritate the skin in the anal canal.
- Avoid excessive straining or sitting on the toilet for too long as it puts extra pressure in the anal area.
Symptoms Of Anal Fissure
Anal fissure symptoms may include the following.
- A sharp, searing or burning pain in or around your bottom when you poo. Some people describe this as feeling like passing broken glass. You may continue to feel a deep, burning pain for several hours afterwards.
- Bleeding when you poo. Not everyone has bleeding with an anal fissure. But if you do, you might see blood in the toilet bowl or on the toilet paper after youve had a poo.
- Spasms in the muscles around your anus when you poo.
- A tearing sensation in your anus when you poo.
These symptoms may not always be due to an anal fissure. Other conditions, like piles can cause similar symptoms. If you have any of the symptoms above, contact your GP for advice. Its always important to seek medical advice if you notice bleeding from your bottom.
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Stages Of Fissure Healing
How long do fissures take to heal?
How do you permanently heal a fissure?
How do you know if a fissure is healing? How to heal anal fissure? How to cure fissure permanently? Do fissures itch when they are healing?
Signs indicating a fissure is healing:
About 9 out of 10 short-term fissures heal with home treatmentincluding using stool softeners or fiber supplements and taking regular sits baths. And about 4 out of 10 long-term anal fissures will heal after home treatment is used.
But not all fissures will heal with just home treatment. If a fissure lasts more than 8 to 12 weeks, you may need prescription medicines. These may include nitroglycerin cream, high blood pressure medicines in pill or gel form, or injections of botulinum toxin .
If medicines don’t stop your symptoms, you may need to consider surgery. The most commonly used surgery is lateral internal sphincterotomy. In this procedure, a doctor cuts into part of the internal sphincter to relax the spasm that is causing the fissure.
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What are the Symptoms and Signs of Anal Fissures?
. Severe pain during a bowel movement followed by continuing pain is the classic symptom of an anal fissure.
. There is a vicious cycle of constipation causing pain, which makes the anal sphincter muscles go into spasm.
. This causes more pain and spasms, which makes having a bowel movement more difficult and worsens the constipation.
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Drink Plenty Of Water
You have heard it before, but it really is something so simple that you can do to really make a difference in your overall health. Water helps to carry nutrients to your bodys cells as well flushing toxins from your bodys vital organs.
The most common approach to knowing how much water to consume every day is what is called The 8×8 Rule.
You want to drink at least 8 ounces of water 8 times per day. I cannot stress enough how important it is for you to drink plenty of water every day, so if you do nothing else on this list, please make sure you at least drink plenty of water.
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Medicines And Ointments To Heal A Fissure
The following medicines can provide quick relief from fissure pain and help in anal fissure healing.
These non-surgical measures will help provide relief from pain and bleeding and, potentially, heal acute fissures with virtually no side effects.
