Sitting continuously for 5 or more hours a day seems to increase the risk of developing hemorrhoids and/or anal fissure. It is hoped that this information helps in primary prevention of these common anal conditions and prevents recurrence after treatment.
Sitting can be quite painful with an anal fissure. You may see a few drops of blood in the toilet bowel or when wiping.
Causes and Risk Factors
Passing a hard stool or prolonged episode of diarrhea. Lack of fiber in the diet and/or water with that fiber. Food that creates a rough passage through the digestive system, such as popcorn, nuts or tortilla chips.
Alleviate the pain associated with the anal area by sitting on a soft or gel-filled pillow. “But avoid doughnut-shaped pillows,” cautions Gerken, “because they may restrict blood flow to the area.”
Do not use over-the-counter ointments or creams without talking to your doctor. Some of these preparations may not help. Use baby wipes or medicated pads, such as Preparation H or Tucks, instead of toilet paper to clean after a bowel movement. These products do not irritate the anus.
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.
Correct sleeping position for fissure
HOD also advises you to sleep on your stomach to reduce anal fissure pain and place a pillow under your hips. Taking a fully body warm bath before bed is recommended for reducing the pain levels and helping you fall asleep better.
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.
Sitz baths
Sitz baths involve soaking in warm water in a tub for 10–20 minutes. Baths relax the sphincter muscles and help soothe the pain from fissures. For maximum benefits, a person would do this several times daily, especially after every bowel movement.
A topical medicine is one you rub directly into the affected area. It will not help fissures heal, but it can help ease the pain. Lidocaine is the most commonly prescribed topical anaesthetic for anal fissures. It comes in the form of either a gel or an ointment, and is usually only used for a short time (a few days).
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.
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.
How do you know if a fissure is healing? You'll start to notice your symptoms improving as your fissure is healing. Your pain should lessen and if you had any bleeding, this should stop too. You should have a follow-up appointment with your doctor after six to eight weeks.
Too much pressure, tight anal sphincter muscles, and poor blood supply to your anus may lead to their development and poor healing. Anal fissures don't usually give way to more serious problems. They don't cause cancer. But they can be very uncomfortable.
See your health care provider if you have pain during bowel movements or notice blood on stools or toilet paper after a bowel movement.
Most cases occur in people who have constipation, when a particularly hard or large poo tears the lining of the anal canal. Other possible causes of anal fissures include: persistent diarrhoea. inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
If your anal fissure fails to heal within eight weeks, we may recommend more aggressive treatment such as surgery to stop the muscle spasms, thereby allowing the tear 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.
Pain Relief
Simple analgesics such as paracetamol or ibuprofen may be helpful in relieving the pain of an anal fissure.
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.
Treatment. The fissure won't heal without good blood supply, not unlike any other wound on the body. Unfortunately, the spasm caused by the exposed muscle keeps blood away from the area, making it unlikely to heal.
Some of the home remedies you might want to try to treat anal fissures also may help to prevent them in the future. Drinking more water and choosing foods with more fiber and water content will help to make your stools softer. Passing stools more easily will reduce the discomfort that comes with fissures.
Chronic fissures typically have a cyclical history of intermittent healing and recurrence, but about 35% will eventually heal, at least temporarily, without intervention.
Itching. Itching can also be another sign that the anal fissure is healing. The skin typically itches as it heals. Inflammatory cells flood the wound site to eliminate bacteria and other infections.