To my surprise I found in more than one source that fissures appear mostly in healthy people aged 20 to 40 - so it is big misconception that it is "old people problem". Babies get fissures VERY often but they heal VERY fast. Probably because their sphincters are relaxed and because they have mostly soft poop and just occasional constipation.

Yes. I've read the same. People 20-40 still have sphincter that haven't realxed with age and that combined with stress and sometimes poor diet makes this group a likely one for fissures.

Yeah, my second daughter had a fissure when she was a baby but it healed so quickly and she didn't express any pain whatsoever.

Whenever I see either of my girls straining on the pot I am like don't sit there too long and lets get you to eat more fruits and veggies because I just get so fearful they could end up like me.

Oh tell me about it !!! My girls are 14 and 20 and I am now asking them every other day "how was their poop" LOL ! Can you imagine being a teen and your Mom checking your poo !?! But, they do not complain because they saw through what I went and they comply with mandatory fruits and veggies. Sometimes I even make them drink small dose of Metamucil if I suspect that they were "straining".
I guess, once you have those problems, you want to protect everybody you know from that happening to them. I sometimes hear people straining in the public restroom and my heart just "cringe" - I want to say something but how could I ??? Maybe there should be little warning pamphlets pasted on restrooms doors ? I know, it would be funny if it was not actually scary and sad :pale: !

Well, you know I didn't stop wiping my daughter's butt until she was like 6! I was so paranoid that she might not get clean or wipe the wrong way and get a UTI.

I know what you mean about wanting to warn people. I especially feel like that when I see a pregnant woman since that is when all my problems started. I want to ask her if she is constipated and to be careful so she doesn't get any hemmies!

Same here LOL !!! I always used baby wipes and thanks god now Cottonelle makes wet flushable wipes and they still use them as well as my whole family. Since I grew up in Europe, washing butt after BM was something that was normal part of life , ha ha, here I had very hard time adjusting with not having bidet so I would jump under the shower or the tub every time. It was especially impractical during pregnancy since I had HUGE belly. I don't know how I survived all of that "hopsing" in-and -out of the tub !?!
I don't know why doctors do not emphasize more how important soft stools are ? My girl CRS said that she uses Metamucil and Citrucal every day even though she never was constipated in her life. She said she is scared to death when she sees what other people had to go through every day. That info should be given us at every physical , same way they warn us to check our breasts !
Fiber protects body from so many other illnesses - from colon cancer, to high cholesterol, to diabetes , I mean , healthy and cheap preventative is available !
Although, for me it would not make much difference fissure vise, since I got it because of sphincter spasming due to stress, it would help others definitely !!!!
Hope that you are doing somewhat better today , and that you will be able to have at least some fun tomorrow .
XOXOOOOOOOOOOOoooooo...

Yeah, I think I have scared every female CRS that I have seen-they all want to have c-sections when they start a family.

I did not know that the spasming associated with anal fissures could be caused by stress. I am a very anxious person, naturally. After my first surgery I got worse, b/c I was constantly worrying about why I was not getting better and maybe having to have another surgery again. Plus, the panic attacks...etc. Once I started my meds...I did notice a definite improvement. My mom even said I seemed like a completely different person. This surgery has seemed to reverse all of that however. I worry all the time about this. The pain doesn't help either. I notice myself tensing my body up and have to make mysef relax down there. I didn't know that stress can actually cause spasms. I guess that's kind of DUH, but I never really thought about it. On another subjec---when all of this first started I told my boyfriend it was because I didn't go to the bathroom enough and he was very suprised I didn't go every day. It's just something I've never discussed in my family or with anybody. I thought it was normal not going days at a time. I've also been an extremely modest and private person. I wasn't even going to tell him what was going on as I thought it would go away in a couple of days. HA! What a joke that is:) All of this has changed that though!! You can't be modest with these problems!! So I'm glad ya'll discuess this with your children. I most certainly will discuss it with mine one day! I'll probably be just as obsessed as yall are!:)

I did not know that the spasming associated with anal fissures could be caused by stress. I am a very anxious person, naturally. After my first surgery I got worse, b/c I was constantly worrying about why I was not getting better and maybe having to have another surgery again. Plus, the panic attacks...etc. Once I started my meds...I did notice a definite improvement. My mom even said I seemed like a completely different person. This surgery has seemed to reverse all of that however. I worry all the time about this. The pain doesn't help either. I notice myself tensing my body up and have to make mysef relax down there. I didn't know that stress can actually cause spasms. I guess that's kind of DUH, but I never really thought about it. On another subjec---when all of this first started I told my boyfriend it was because I didn't go to the bathroom enough and he was very suprised I didn't go every day. It's just something I've never discussed in my family or with anybody. I thought it was normal not going days at a time. I've also been an extremely modest and private person. I wasn't even going to tell him what was going on as I thought it would go away in a couple of days. HA! What a joke that is:) All of this has changed that though!! You can't be modest with these problems!! So I'm glad ya'll discuess this with your children. I most certainly will discuss it with mine one day! I'll probably be just as obsessed as yall are!:)

amber - i was the same way! i went once a week for years and thought that was normal. i never knew anything about fiber or constipation or any of the stuff i've learned since i got this fissure. i wish my parents had discussed proper pooping habits!

when i finally told my bf i was having problems, he was shocked that i didn't go every day too! now he asks me daily "how was your poop?" just like lecia and fissy ask their kids! sighh. needless to say, we have a very "close" relationship. and we've only been together a year and a half! i had these problems before i even met him but didn't tell him for months!

on another note, i am absolutely terrified to ever get pregnant. i've pretty much decided i'll adopt because i don't want to deal with the constipation issues pregnancy can bring on. i'm not planning to have a family for YEARS yet, but still the thought worries me. i just want to be a normal 25 year old!!!! :(