We have a very thick barrier cream we use on our patients. You do not remove all of it each time at soiling... only the top stuff and feces. Then you reapply it. If you scrub it all off, each time, you increase the irritation of the skin underneath.

I have a fistula and love my Sitz bath when it gets sore or irritated. You might try that. Others rave about bidets. Just a thought. Works better to soothe than a shower.

Oh, and I've never used Nupercainal, but I'd likely use it first, then Calmoseptine. I hate Calmoseptine myself, preferring things like A&D ointment and Bag Balm.

Thank you Rachel. I hear what you are saying about not wiping it all off or you irritate the skin. But my only was of knowing the feces was gone was wiping till toilet paper was clean. By that point I'd scraped off the top layer. And that was happening many times a day for several days.

I started using a squirt bottle last night as a way of removing a lot of the debris without all the wiping. Don't have a bidet, but if this was a more common problem for me I would probably have to get one.

And like you said, I used Nupercainal first. So glad I chose correctly. When I am in that much pain it really is hard for me to think clearly about what is best for me. Also the pain pills I took helped too. I was off the charts.

I'm pretty sure I can attribute this event to the huge amounts of tomato sauce I have eaten in the last week. I've been using big bowls of angel hair pasta and red sauce as a coping mechanism. I suppose Ice cream would have done about the same amount of damage if I remember correctly from the days before I became a vegan.

A bidet is pricier, but look into a Sitz. Very cheap, can get it at any pharmacy. I fill it with really really warm water and some Epsom salts for my fistula... Plop my butt right in it, and soak. Very soothing.

I bet that would soak just the right spot. I'll have to make myself get over the whole sitting on the toilet to soak, though. Kind of yucky to me, but when you are in enough pain, you can accomplish great things

Are you using regular toilet paper? I only use Cottonelle wipes now and very gently. Toilet paper is much too abrasive and contributes to the irritation.