I had my second surgery in September and since then have been suffering from anal burning, sometimes it is very painful. I'm not sure if they are fissures. I suppose food must play a part but I can not find the culprits.. any ideas on how to get rid of this problem?

To treat the symptoms, try a sitz bath or two a day, followed by a complete dry and some zinc cream. You may need a good barrier cream, like Calmoseptine, by try regular zinc cream first. (No point in spending the money if the cheaper fix works...)

How thick is your output? Runny output can cause the anal itching/burning. Try to thicken things up with metamucil and yogurt. Also maybe cut back on spicy foods and other foods that do have a tendancy to irritate (berries, etc.)for a while to see if that helps. Too much sugar in the diet can also cause runny output.

Most fissures are tiny and heal by themselves, but a larger fissure needs to be treated. If, after trying everything, you're not getting any relief (or definitely if you see blood consistently!), then you need to contact your doctor.

Hope you feel better soon,
Gin

Hi Jane,

Gin has given you some excellent advice and I would just like to add one or two more suggestions.

If you had a fissure you would experience excrutiating pain every time you emptied your j-pouch. I really hope that this isn't the case but if it is then the treatment that helped heal my fissures was nitroglycerine ointment. It stings like billyho when applied so I used to apply some Xylocaine cream about 10 mins before applying the nitro. Also the nitro can cause a severe headache, but this only lasts about 10 minutes and really isn't worth taking a pain pill for.

The other thing that springs to mind is that you may have a yeast infection. If this is the case then you need some anti-fungal cream and maybe a course of Diflucan to clear it up. Once it's cleared up then taking a good probiotic and/or eating a good quality live yoghurt will help to keep it at bay.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Shell

For butt burn and itching, I've found the hotter the water applied, the better the relief. After....pat dry, cream up really good and try to relax. After each B.M.....repeat, if necessary. At the least, reapply the barrier cream. Best wishes!

Thank you everyone for responding, Ceecee what kind of barrier cream do you reccomend? Also has anyone noticed what foods make it worse? thanks so much

The food thing is totally individual, unfortunately. What works or doesn't work for one person, doesn't work or works for the next.

The barrier creams I use are Ilex and Nupercainal. I don't know if either is available in Switzerland though. You might want to try clicking on the icon on the top of this page to see if Ilex will ship to you.

Good luck and I totally empathize with you!

kathy

I have found using the aveeno anti itch cream has worked wonders along with straight cornstarch powder aftewords before bedtime, it has relieved me alot. Super spicy food tends to win over everything for me though. Good luck.

Regarding barrier creams: Each of us seems to have a favorite. I guess I tried them all and found Calmoseptine to be calming and barrier creating. There might be slight burning when first applied to irritated skin. I also found the creamiest diaper rash cream (original Desitin) to be just as good. I really never had to use Ilex after trying it even though I have it, just in case. I really don't use any creams unless I need them. Because they tend to be rather messy to apply, I purchased some of those "finger gloves" Then I'm not washing and washing my hands in order to get the cream off. Another plus for having the pouch is that if I find my bottom getting irritated because of something I ate or drank, I know for sure that once the "culprit" passes out of me completely, the burning/irritation will also be gone! Amazing!