When there is a break in the skin of the anus, known as an anal fissure. This can affect all age groups of people. In simple terms, an anal fissure is a small cut or tear in the lining of the anus which causes severe pain or bleeding during and after bowel movements. However, it is most common in middle-aged adults and infants.
Majorly, this is not a serious condition and most of the time people prefer to treat or cure it at home but surgery is the most effective way to treat this as it is a very short procedure that can help you get rid of anal fissure easily. Various treatments can help in healing or treating discomforts such as topical pain relievers and stool softeners. Let’s know about anal fissure and its treatment in detail.
Treatment for “Anal Fissure”
An anal fissure often gets cured in a few weeks if you consider steps for keeping your stool soft like increasing the intake of fluids and fibers. Soaking in warm water, especially after bowel movements can be helpful for you to relax the sphincter and promote healing. But if your symptoms don’t get cured you may likely take further treatment. This can be treated or healed with the help of nonsurgical treatments which are the following:
Topical anaesthetic creams, like lidocaine hydrochloride, can help relieve pain.
Botulinum toxin type A (Botox) injection, is a kind of injection that helps in paralyzing the anal sphincter muscle which further helps in relaxing spasms.
Externally applied nitroglycerin (Rectiv), is a very effective non-surgical treatment that helps in increasing the blood flow to the anal fissure and helps in healing or treating the anal sphincter.
Blood pressure medications, like diltiazem (Cardizem) or oral nifedipine can help relax the anal fissure or anal fissure. These medicines can be taken through the mouth and can also be applied externally.
Best Anal Fissure Surgery
If you are having a chronic anal fissure that can not be treated with other treatments and if you are having severe symptoms, then you must recommend your doctor for surgery. Doctors generally perform lateral internal sphincterotomy (LIS) procedures, where they make a small cut or incision for reducing pain and spasm and to promote healing or curing. Most probably, surgery is commonly recommended by doctors for chronic or severe fissures as it is the most effective way of treating anal fissures.
Types of Anal Fissure
1. Chronic Anal Fissure
This kind of anal fissure persists for more than six weeks that’s why it is known as chronic anal fissure and heals in different periods. If this type of treatment is not treated then there is a possibility that it will take a few years to heal.
2. Acute Anal Fissure
This type of anal fissure clears up majorly in six weeks. This is a very general kind of fissure that commonly appears as linear with clear edges.
Symptoms and signs of anal fissure
The common signs and symptoms of an anal fissure are the following:
- 1. Some bleeding, usually bright red.
- 2. Itching around the anal.
- 3. A sharp, searing, and burning pain around the bottom and even inside which becomes worse when passing faeces for about an hour or more.
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Important:- Anal fissure sufferers frequently faces difficulty in bowel movements, which creates a worse situation where stool become harder and drier, which causes more anal fissure pain and constipation. This condition can effectively be treated with surgery within a day or less. For this, you can feel free to connect with Glamyo Health, India’s favourite destination for healthcare facilities, and get your treatment done with personalised care and satisfactory facilities.
Causes of anal fissure
When the anal canal is overstretched and the lining tears, an anal fissure can develop. Common reasons include anal penetration or a hard stressful bowel movement. The causes of anal fissure may include the following:
Constipation
Majorly anal fissures occur because of constipation. Many factors cause constipation such as not drinking enough fluids, not eating enough fiber, not exercising or being less active, changing diet or daily routine, etc. all these can cause constipation and further may lead to anal fissure.
Anal fissure postpartum
This can also occur in pregnancy. It has been seen that about one in 10 women has to face anal fissures after childbirth.
Persistent diarrhea, inflammatory bowel disease, anal cancer, and more are the causes of anal fissures.
Anal Fissure Diagnosis
Your doctor may diagnose an anal fissure as per the description of the symptoms or by conducting a physical examination. The physical examination mainly involves gently separating the buttocks so that your doctor can see the area around the anus. There are many other ways of diagnosing anal fissures such as,
Anoscopy – A thin, flexible tube with a light and camera on the end will be inserted into the anal canal to diagnose an anal fissure. An anoscopy may sometimes be facilitated by topical anaesthesia.
Colonoscopy – Anal fissures can sometimes be diagnosed through a colonoscopy in the presence of an underlying disease, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). This is very similar to sigmoidoscopy and an anoscopy, but it also looks at the entire colon.
Sigmoidoscopy – this procedure is used when you are having chronic or people who are facing this even after the fissure surgery then it can be evaluated with sigmoidoscopy and anoscopy but it will then also examine the lower colon.
What does an anal fissure surgery involve?
Before starting the surgery, your doctor will re-examine to determine why other treatments have failed. A fissure may not heal or fails to heal because of muscle spasms or scarring of the internal anal sphincter muscle.
Moreover, at this point surgery can help you out and the procedure of the surgery involves making a small incision of the internal anal sphincter muscle for reducing spasms or pain and helps in healing the fissure. The surgery can majorly be performed on an outpatient basis and the patient can go home on the same day. After the surgery pain gets relieved within a few days and properly healing may take a few weeks.
Risk factors
Common risk factors which develop anal fissure involves:
- 1. Frequent diarrhea
- 2. Chronic constipation
- 3. Women who just gave birth to a child
- 4. Anal trauma
- 5. People with Crohn’s disease (Crohn’s disease is one of the forms of inflammatory bowel disease).
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There are some less common risk factors such as:
- 1. Elderly adults
- 2. HIV
- 3. Infants
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Complications
Failure in healing – this is the major risk associated with anal fissures as if it fails to heal within eight weeks then you may chronic symptoms and may need further treatment. At this point, surgery can be an effective way to heal this.
A tear that extends to surrounding muscles – there are chances that an anal fissure may extend to surrounded muscles of the anus which makes it very difficult in healing the anal fissure. This can be treated with surgery or medications for reducing pain or for removing the fissure.
Recurrence – if a person once has experienced an anal fissure then also there are chances that you may anal fissure again.
Prevention
You can prevent an anal fissure by considering some measures for avoiding diarrhea or constipation. Such as you can increase the intake of high-fiber foods, exercise regularly, and drink more fluids as it will help in avoiding strain during bowel movements.
Best Exercises for anal fissure
The five best exercises for people who have anal fissures are:
- 1. Dhanurasana
- 2. Trikonasana
- 3. Pelvic exercise
- 4. Walking
- 5. Viparita Karani (legs up the wall pose)
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When should I talk to my doctor about anal fissure?
When you feel that symptoms of an anal fissure are not controllable and creating difficulties for you, then you must be having chronic symptoms. At this point, you must consult your doctor and if your doctor recommends surgery then you should not wait much as if it is not treated as soon as possible then it may extend to surrounding areas of the anus.
Why Choose Glamyo Health for anal fissure Treatment?
Glamyo Health, India’s leading healthcare network can help you out with this problem in just one day. This surgery will not even take a day and you can go home on the day of surgery. Glamyo health will provide you with a hassle-free experience with personalised care. We are a technology-driven healthcare provider which will offer you laser fissure surgery where our expert doctors will take care of minimally invasive treatment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are there any possibilities of recurrence of anal fissure after surgical treatment?
Yes, there are chances of recurrence of anal fissures even after surgery. It has been estimated that around 1.6% of people have a recurrence of their anal fissures.
Is it dangerous to undergo open fissure surgery?
No, it is not dangerous but you may feel very mild pain or discomforts in your rectal area.
Can anal fissures lead to cancer?
No, anal fissure doesn’t cause colon cancer or it doesn’t even increase the chances of colon cancer.
How to heal an anal fissure?
You can reduce the pain, itching, or any discomfort if you have an anal fissure but surgery is the one effective way to heal properly.
Why Do People Get Anal Fissures?
Anal fissures are majorly caused by damage around the lining of the anal canal. Constipation, anal trauma, childbirth, etc are the major causes of anal fissure.
How Do I Prevent Anal Fissures?
You can prevent anal fissures by increasing your intake of high-fiber foods, exercising regularly, and drinking more fluids.
Are fissures and hemorrhoids the same?
Fissures and Hemorrhoids are quite similar but not the same as anal fissure shows symptoms during bowel movements while hemorrhoids tend to be painful all day.
What foods to avoid in anal fissures?
You must avoid having popcorn, tortilla chips, or nuts as you have to avoid foods that can cause constipation.
Can anal fissures be cured at home?
Most of the time anal fissures can be treated at home if it is caused because of constipation or diarrhea but if you have anal fissures because of any medical condition then surgery can be the most effective way to heal this.
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