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Anal fissures are common in people with constipation and are typically not a severe condition but an annoying experience. This is usually a tear or cut occurring in the anus (the opening that allows stool to exit the body) that extends upward into the anal canal. People of all ages and gender are affected by fissures. They cause rectal bleeding in infants.
Fissures are a common condition in the anus and anal canal and are responsible for 6% – 15% of the visits to a colon or rectal surgeon. They cause pain during bowel movements that are often severe.
Anal fissures occur in specialized tissue called anoderm that lines the anus and canal. Within the anus (the anal verge or groove), the skin (dermis) of the inner buttocks changes into an anoderm.
Anoderm does not have hair, sweat glands, or sebaceous (oil) glands, and it contains an increased number of sensory nerves that can detect light touch and pain. A hairless, glandless, extremely sensitive anoderm spreads the entire length of the anal canal until it meets the dentate line that separates the rectum from the anal canal.
Causes of Anal Fissures:
Anal Fissures are mostly caused by trauma. Anal fissures can be associated with any number of non-traumatic conditions and should be suspected when they appear in unusual locations.
Inflammatory bowel disease, constipation, and straining are some common symptoms. Anal fissures can occur as a result of HIV, anal cancer, and tumors in rare cases.
Symptoms:
Pain following bowel movements is the most common symptom of anal fissures. Bleeding, itching and foul-smelling discharge are other symptoms that may occur.
It can be so painful that patients are unwilling to have a bowel movement, leading to constipation and fecal impaction. It further results in the passage of a larger, stiffer stool that causes further trauma and makes the fissure more severe.
Additionally, the pain can affect urination, causing discomfort, frequent urination, or inability to urinate. Due to the discharge of pus, an odorous discharge may occur along with small amounts of bleeding and itching.
Diagnosis:
Anal fissures are often detected by careful history and gentle examination of the anus. Following a topical anesthetic to the anus and anal canal, a more vigorous examination may be needed if gentle eversion (pulling apart) does not reveal a fissure. A cotton-tipped swab may be gently inserted into the anus to locate the source of the pain.
The acute anal fissure looks like a linear tear. Symptoms of an anal fissure often include a tag of skin at the edge of the anus (sentinel pile), thickened edges of the fissure, visible muscle fibers of the internal sphincter at the base of the fissure, and an enlarged anal papilla at the upper end of the fissure.
It is necessary to use a rigid or flexible viewing tube during an endoscopic evaluation if there is rectal bleeding. This is to eliminate the possibility of a more severe disease of the anus or rectum. A sigmoidoscopy that examines only the distal part of the colon may be appropriate in patients younger than 50 years old with a typical anal fissure.
Patients with a history of colon cancer or older than 50 (and therefore at higher risk for colon cancer) should undergo a colonoscopy that examines the entire colon. Atypical fissures suggestive of other conditions deserve further testing, such as colonoscopy, upper gastrointestinal imaging, and small intestinal radiography.
Medical treatment should be recommended based on the patient’s condition after diagnosis. Additionally, some natural methods are also suggested, but they can sometimes make things worse than they already are.
Vitality’s Laser Piles Clinic understands your pain and offers you the most effective treatment to resolve your problems with Anal Fissures, Hemorrhoids, Fistula, Pilonidal sinus, and Rectal Prolapse. You can visit https://laserpiles.com/ for more information.
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