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Healing a Chronic Anal Fissure

Posted , 51 users are following.

nazy78
nazy78

I suffered with an anal fissure for almost 6 months. Having bowel movements was like passing shreds of glass & the pain was so bad for hours afterwards. I would wake up the next day dreading the next bowel movement. I actually thought it was piles & didnt know what it was until after about 8 weeks. The doctor gave me the usual creams etc and it did seem to work for a few days but then would come back. I finally was able to somewhat control the pain but the fissure wasnt healing. After reading everything I could about it & peoples trials & errors I wanted to share with you what finally healed the fissure. Please note I have no medical experience and I am just sharing what worked for me. 

First drink lots of water. I drink 12-14 8oz glasses everyday. I ensure I have fibre with all my meals. For 1 week I had a sitz bath with epsom salts in it & use to soak in it for 20 mins. At night before bedtime I took 30ml of Cremaffin stool softner for about 1 month. I know this is too long to be taken this as well as too much but this used to make bowel movements pain free. Afterwards I gradually reduced 5ml every 2 weeks. But what really healed the fissure itself was applying Sudocrem nappy rash cream. I applied it gently (with very short nails to make sure I didnt scratch myself further!!) just inside my anus as well as around the tag.  I read that zinc oxide would help it heal and remembered my sons Sudocrem. I used to apply it about 4-5 times a day for about 1 week then reduced to 2 times a day. So far its been about 2 weeks and I have been pain free. I still take Cremaffin 10 ml every night & apply Sudocrem before bed. I hope this will help someone else too as cos as you know its the worst pain ever!!

9 likes, 85 replies

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  • amala2562
    amala2562 nazy78

    Posted

    Did any of you use the GTN cream? I was given this by a doctor so am wondering if I should tryit.
    • nazy78
      nazy78 amala2562

      Posted

      Yes I think you should try it. I havent. Was told by the opd doc the next step would be LIS here. Are you feeling any better? Am going to give it 1 more month after i got my relapse then will go back to the colorectologist if i dont feel better. Think I slacked on fibre water etc and caused it. Dont want to go back just yet in case he opens up a healing wound. At the moment feel no pain at all so fingers crossed. Let me know how you're doing.
    • amala2562
      amala2562 nazy78

      Posted

      I have days of hardly much pain and then days of half day of pain. But now not so much during a BM. But after mostly. It's so strange. Am also now ensuring diet is what works. And home good.

      What is LIS?

  • topper9
    topper9 nazy78

    Posted

    hi just joined this forum, and boy am I glad that I did as I have found much more info than at Drs well they are busy peeps, they do their best.

    I am now waiting to get myself seen at the hospital but have to wait till 29 october then its just to have a look, my GP advised they would give me a Botox up my anus which should take 2 weeks to heal, I am drinking water, eating fruit and fybergel husks also plenty of veg on days its better on most days its like having a baby only I would not know that, sometimes when the pain is really bad i nearly hit the roof, and I have to help my stouls by straining my arms as if weight lifting which helps me over the pain, after my first lot of stouls pass then the rest of stouls come out easier but what a joy after the first trip to the loo.

    any help would be great 

    • peter97070
      peter97070 topper9

      Posted

      Did the botox work for you? My grandpa is currently passing out with each BM despite having the procedure 10 days ago. He won't eat as is scared to pass out again. Thanks.
  • tim87168
    tim87168 nazy78

    Posted

    Hiya, thanks for all the advice, again seemed to help more than what my doctor gave me. Ive had one come and go for years, only until I started passing a bit too much blood and my iron drop too low did i decide to do something about it.

    It seems eating alot of carbs is what makes your stool hard, something ive done all my life :-/ so now im moving to a more vegetarian diet. I did the bath with epsom salts and used the creme around my anus and it seemed to help greatly.

    I also used zinc tablets as it helps healing and have been taken something called gut relief which has a lot of glutamine in it and other things that repair gut membrane. So far so good, i will post any changes but am very happy with the results and hope that this may be helpful for others too.

  • bob45546
    bob45546 nazy78

    Posted

    I'm so grateful to you for this.  Was in horrible pain despite doing all the usual things that are recommended.  Have had lots of experience with this, but this time nothing was working.  Happened to have some zinc oxide (Ihle's Paste 25%) lying around and tried it.  Wow.  Instant relief.  You really have saved the day! 

  • brendo87
    brendo87 nazy78

    Edited

    Hi there! So glad I found this post.

    Iv been suffering from Fissures for the past 2 weeks. Have had the odd external Hemorrhoid before but have either disappeared on there own or a few doses of Proctosedyl suppository.

    Today is the first day Iv been able to sit down without being in super pain as yesterday's BM wasn't solid. I had been using a cream version of Proctosedyl off the shelf for a week which helps calm the pain around the area but still not great.

    Just got back from the doctors and I thought I had internal piles but seems I have internal and some external anal fissures. Have been prescribed:

    1. Movicol - constipation relief which draws liquid to your bowels and soften stool. It's a powder you dissolve with water and drink.

    2. Zinc tablets - help heal the fissure and mucous glands

    3. Lignocaine 5% Ointment - pain relief and dumbing ointment to allow the wound to relax and skin to heal

    Have taken everything when I got home so will see how it is after a week. Totally didn't think about Sudocream!! Was sitting in my cabnet the whole time and never used it! Not sure wether to alternate this Lignocaine ointment and sudocream morning and night or just stick with the Lignocaine for a while?

    Like everyone else I'm hating the cream between the cheeks every day especially as I travel for work. And am so nervous to poo that Iv gotten slightly constipated with cramps because I'm afraid of a solid BM.

    Also not sure how to get the cream up inside without putting a finger up there which is going to hurt like crazy!?

    And I can't go without my carbs I love pasta too much and dropping back the chilli is a struggle lol

    • nazy78
      nazy78 brendo87

      Edited

      Hi when the initial pain I had in was so terrible I realised the best thing I could do was to cut down on my cards drastically and fill up on fiber rich food. Of course you do need to then ensure you have tons of water so everything flows out nicely.

      Don't try and suppress going to the loo when you need to cos this will only harden stools which is a huge no no!

      Not sure of the names of the creams you've been subscribed. I used xylocaine which is a numbing cream. I used this sometimes before a bowel movement. The sudacreme I used was cos of the zinc oxide it had to promote healing. Yes inserting a finger inside can be painful and you need to be careful you don't open up your fissure more. I was only able to do this once the fissure healed a bit. Before I used to just apply it around the anus.

      After my relapse I was told I would have to have a dilation as it hadn't healed in almost 10 months. As a last resort I was told to try self dilation using my index finger upto the first knuckle and xylocaine cream while lying on my side. I was told to strech the spincter muscle in a morth to south direction 20 times and then east to west 20 times.

      After a few days I felt a huge relief. I have now been pain free for over a year. I am still extremely careful with my diet having lots of fibre with all my meals and upto 14 glasses of water a day. I stopped taking cremaffin around d the same time. Hope this helps with your healing.

  • amie80177
    amie80177 nazy78

    Posted

    Hi all, I was only diagnosed about 2 weeks ago after finally plucking up the courage to see my gp, but I've been suffering a good 3-4 months before that with the pain coming and going. Some weeks were good others not so much but when it got to the point I couldn't sit down or drive and even standing up was an issue I couldn't take it anymore sad

    I was prescribed the useual suspects and told to use anusol and while it's getting better it still takes a good couple of hours after each BM for it to go.

    After another visit to my gp she has now prescribed me rectigesuc! Which while I'm anxious for it to work I'm nervous about applying it.

  • eddy82965
    eddy82965 nazy78

    Posted

    Hi Nazy78 just wondering whethee your fissure remained healed or did you need medical intervention? I too have been using sudacrem which seems to be helping reduce the soreness of a BM! Cheers
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