Editorial Office. Pain coming from the bottom area is not something that we are used to feeling and, as a consequence, anal pain can cause a lot of worries. An anal fissure is a split in the anal skin, just inside the anus, usually towards the back. The pain of an anal fissure feels like being cut with glass when you have your bowels open and afterwards. It is worse when you have had a hard bowel motion. You may notice some bright red blood on the lavatory paper at the same time.
Anal fissures are most common in teenagers and young adults, often after a period of constipation. Sometimes they follow childbirth. They usually heal on their own, but this often takes several weeks and the scar may split again. What you can do. Do not feel anxious about the fissure. Although it is horribly painful, it is not a dangerous condition.
How your doctor can help. You should see your doctor if the problem is not improving after two weeks. If you feel anxious about this, look at the section on seeing your doctor about an anal problem. For some treatments, your doctor will need to send you to the colorectal specialist. Some of the treatments your doctor may use are listed below. A herpes virus infection can produce a pain similar to an anal fissure.
Herpes can infect the anal area, either spread by the hands from a cold sore on the face, or transmitted as a sexual infection. At the anus, herpes often forms a crack rather than the small ulcers that tend to occur elsewhere. It can occur in individuals who have never had herpes elsewhere. The soreness occurs in episodes, each lasting for a few days. A genitourinary medicine clinic will be able to take a swab to check for the virus if you visit the clinic as soon as an episode starts; if you are worried about the thought of visiting a clinic, take a look at the section on visiting the clinic.
An abscess close to the anus produces a throbbing pain that worsens over a few days, and is usually bad enough to disturb your sleep. You may be able to feel a tender swelling in the skin beside the anus, or the abscess may be hidden inside. This is unlikely to go away on its own; it usually needs to be drained by a suitably qualified medical practitioner.
