Q. What is an anal fissure?
A. An anal fissure is a small tear in skin that lines the opening of the anus. These are inflamed blood vessels in, or just outside, the anus.
Q. What are the symptoms of Anal Fissures?
- Pain during and after bowel movement that can last for few hours.
- Bleeding along with the stools, in little quantity.
- Itching around anal verge (pruritus Ani).
- Discharge of colorless fluid, pus if infected.
- Skin tags at anal verge
Q. Can anal fissure occur at any age?
A. Yes, Age is not a relevant factor of any anorectal diseases, including fissure. Hence, fissure can develop at any age of you live an unhealthy and sedentary lifestyle.
Q. How are Anal Fissures diagnosed?
Physical examination
Anoscopy
Sigmoidoscopy
Colonoscopy
Q. What foods should avoid if someone have anal fissure?
A. If someone have anal fissure, you should avoid eating foods that lack fiber and increase the risk of constipation, which is one of the primary cause for anal fissure.
Q. How to differentiate between piles and anal fissure?
A. An anal fissure is a tear in the anal lining whereas piles are swollen ad inflamed veins within and outside the anal tract. Piles are mostly painless and unnoticeable unless they become serious whereas anal fissure causes excruciating pain even in the earlier stages.
Q. Why does fissure keep returning?
A. A fissure keep returning if it doesn’t heal properly. Typically, a fissure takes almost 6 weeks to heal properly. But if the heling process is interrupted, fissure will recur and eventually transform into chronic fissure that will need surgical treatment.