The 12 things I did to heal my anal fissure

I am a 41-year-old male living in the UK. My experience of anal fissures occurred in January of 2018. Indulgence over the Christmas period and a change of diet (less fibre and less water) led me to experience a very painful bowel movement (BM) and endure a few miserable weeks following it. Whilst I would not class my fissure as chronic by any stretch, it did leave me curled up in bed for a few days on high-strength pain-killers. The following is an account of what I did to cure myself. Please note, I am not a medical practitioner, nor is this medical advice, it is simply a description of the things I did to heal myself. I did not see a Doctor at any time, but I gained a great deal of knowledge from books, websites and online forums. It’s amazing how much we can teach ourselves when the need is great. Having been through the pain and misery of an anal fissure, I thought I would share my experience to help anyone in a similar position.

You will recognise the pain of an anal fissure. Some people describe it as passing razor-blades. Others say it is more painful than childbirth. Fissures can be caused by hard stools, too much straining on the toilet, childbirth and even by diarrhoea.  A fissure is a little cut or tear to the anus. A similar cut anywhere else on the body would probably barely trouble us and heal quickly. However, down there, that small cut can cause excruciating pain as the need to open our bowels daily only serves to aggravate it, reduce its ability to heal and in some cases, make it worse.  Here’s what I did to heal myself:

1. I ate plenty of fibre and drank plenty of water

I cannot stress this enough. If there was no medicine or painkillers in the world, I honestly believe that this one practice would help to heal most anal fissures. Have you heard of the Bristol Stool Chart? Google it. The type of stool you are aiming for is ‘like a sausage or snake – smooth and soft’.  This type of stool will cause the least amount of pain to pass and offer the best opportunity for healing. You need this kind of smooth soft stool EVERY TIME you have a bowel movement. For me, this meant eating a high fibre breakfast cereal with added fruit, eating a vegetable-based lunch (vegetable soup is a good option) and eating a vegetable-based dinner. In addition to this, you MUST drink plenty of water. Fibre alone is not enough. I have been drinking approximately 3-4 pints a day. I found that filling up several bottles each morning with my daily water requirement and keeping those bottles with me throughout the day acted as a reminder of how much water I had drunk / needed to drink.  My high fibre, high water diet gave me smooth soft stools every time. You will need to work out how much fibre and water you need to intake each day to achieve the same.

2. I took Fybogel / DulcoEase

Some days I could not eat enough fibre, so I would take Fybogel which is a high-fibre drink that doesn’t taste too bad. I actually only took DulcoEase once as I am not good at swallowing tablets / capsules. DulcoEase is a stool softener which, from my online reading, benefitted many people. I also noted from my online reading that other anal fissure sufferers took magnesium citrate, milk of magnesium, cod liver oil, movicol powder, metamucil and 3 ballerina tea. Not all at the same time I might add! I did not try any of these products so cannot comment on their effectiveness.  

3. I reduced my caffeine intake

Tea and coffee dehydrates you which is not good when you are trying to heal an anal fissure. I cannot live without tea or coffee completely so I would have a decaffeinated tea in the morning and a coffee in the afternoon but that would be it. I found this reduction in caffeine helped me a lot.

4. I took Ibuprofen before a bowel movement

As an anal fissure sufferer, the time of day you come to dread the most is the daily visit to the bathroom. It is a necessary evil that you know is probably going to hurt. A lot. However, you cannot put it off. Putting off a BM causes more trouble - your stools become dry and hard and even more difficult to pass the next time you sit on the lavatory. What I found helped the pain was taking Ibuprofen painkillers approximately 2 hours before a bowel movement. A lot of people take Ibuprofen to treat pain but it also helps with the prevention of pain.  

5. I applied Vaseline before a bowel movement

Passing stools is painful enough with an anal fissure so anything that eases the process is a Godsend. I found applying Vaseline to my anus a few seconds before a bowel movement helped a lot. By the way, I purchased some latex finger caps which made the application of ointment and Vaseline to my anus far more hygienic. I didn’t even know these things existed until this episode of my life! I purchased a pack of 100 from Amazon. I read that other sufferers applied coconut oil or lidocaine to their anuses before a bowel movement. I did not use lidocaine but I believe that it contains a numbing agent.

6. I didn’t sit, I squatted for a bowel movement

This one may sound odd but there is an awful lot of literature online that suggests squatting for a BM is more natural and aids the process better than sitting. I would literally put the seat up of the toilet, take my socks off for better grip, and squat on the toilet rim. It took some balance-ability to begin with (the side of the bath helped!) but I quickly got used to it. As unorthodox as it sounds (and is!) it benefitted me in two ways; firstly, I found it easier to pass stools (gravity did more of the work) and secondly, the slightly uncomfortable position meant that I could not stay there for long. As the passing of stools should take seconds and not minutes, the squatting position (and a high fibre, high water diet) facilitated a quick process.   

7. I sat in a hot bath with coconut oil 2 or 3 times a day  

The Chinese have recognised the soothing and healing qualities of coconuts for thousands of years. Two or three times a day, I would sit in a hot ‘sitz’ bath with a tablespoon of coconut oil. I found it extremely soothing and at times, it almost took my pain away completely. Make sure that you have a bath with coconut oil ready and waiting for you the minute you finish your bowel movement. Run the bath first and then use the toilet. I found this invaluable. I read of other people online who also ran baths with epsom salts, aloe vera, lavender oil and tea-tree oil to sooth their pain. I didn’t try any of these products as the coconut oil did such a good job for me.

8. I applied ointment to my anus 2 to 3 times a day

There is a myriad of creams and ointments on the market that help with hemorrhoids and anal fissures. I used natural ointment (Hemosan) from plant extracts and Anusol cream. I applied these 2 to 3 times a day after bowel movements, after baths and before going to bed. The latex finger caps came in handy here again.  Other people used Preparation H cream which I didn’t try. Did they work? I am honestly not sure. I can’t help feeling the high fibre, high water diet was the biggest contributor to me getting better but I continued to use the creams regardless. After all, I wasn’t about to stop using something that might be helping.  Please note, as I did not see a Doctor, I was not prescribed any cream or ointment. If I had, I would probably have been prescribed a cream or ointment containing the active agent nitroglycerin. This is far more potent than the over-the-counter creams available but can also cause some side effects.

9.  I froze coconut oil capsules and used them as suppositories

This was an idea that I pinched from a contributor to an online medical forum and I’m glad I did. I purchased a tub of coconut oil capsules and stuck them in the freezer. Then, whenever my anus was burning or stinging, I would take one of the capsules out of the freezer, peel of its coating (admittedly a little fiddly) and use it as a suppository – instant relief!!

10. I put baby wipes in the fridge and used them to soothe

On the days where I was feeling really uncomfortable, I would put take a pre-chilled baby-wipe, dab it in some coconut oil and gently push it against my anus and leave it there. The coolness and coconut oil would add some welcome relief. I would always purchase Water Wipes as they are the purest of all wipes on the market (99.9% water, 0.1% fruit juice). I figured that any other wipes containing fragrances or other chemicals were best avoided.

11. I exercised

This is not strictly 100% true. When I was in too much discomfort to even sit down, I definitely did not exercise. There was no way I could have exercised. But as I started getting better I began to exercise. I’m sure you don’t need me to harp on about the virtues of exercising but let’s just say it helped to keep me regular.

12. I stayed positive

Again, not strictly 100% true. The days where I was curled up in bed, I just felt miserable and sorry for myself wondering what I had done to deserve such an awful infliction. But then one day I read on an online forum about the power of the mind and how a positive mindset is so important for recovery. I must admit, it is difficult to feel positive when your anus feels on fire and you can’t even sit down but instead of focusing on the current situation, I tried to focus on the future situation. I thought about being pain-free again and living my life again. Just know that, if you do the right things, you will cure yourself and you will start to feel better.

About 2 weeks after that painful post-Christmas visit to the toilet, I experienced a relatively pain-free bowel movement. I never thought that something as simple as passing a stool could provide so much joy! I am now into my 3rd week of recovery and I would say I am 85% healed. I am still on a high fibre, high water diet but I have stopped the baths, creams, ointments and coconut oil suppositories. I still get a little reminder from down there now and then that I am not 100% fixed but I am confident that I will get there.

There has been one big realisation for me throughout this experience and that is that I need to make a lifestyle change. In a world full of processed and convenience foods, it would be all too easy to fall back into my old habits and trigger episode two of this horrible ailment. So, from here on in, it’s water, fruit, vegetables and exercise all the way for me. 

?I hope my account of my experience helps someone somewhere.  

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