by VeronicaLikes » 04 Jun 2014, 01:25
Hi Everyone!
Despite the missive above telling me that I should be going to bed, haha!, I am writing this post both as a new member and hopefully as someone who will retire her status as AF sufferer and won't need to be here.
For about a year now, I have been suffering 24/7 with this dreadful AF condition, which started when I mistakenly cut myself in the shower when shaving my bikini line. Got a little too close to my "parts" there and knicked myself. Not thinking much about it, I went on with my life, not knowing that it would quickly escalate into this huge drama that would, up until this point, completely rule my existence. The shaving cut got irritated, which set off a trainwreck of circumstances that made me an ideal candidate to develop AF.
Over the course of this time I was forced to become a DIY alchemist, researcher and guinea pig, leaving no stone I could find unturned. I come from a family of physicians and I knew straightaway that traditional medicine is great for some things and not so great for others. For myself, the thought of going to a M.D. for this was a last resort, as it seemed far too daunting a task to research who would be the most competent, only to endure the pain of traveling to their office for a 15 minute looksee and hear the usual protocol...take baths, use epsom salt, use A and D ointment, use a vasodialator cream, use hydorcortisone cream, use tucks pads, use ibuprofin, use a heating pad, keep the area clean, keep the area dry, keep the area moisturized, eat fiber, don't eat too much fiber, blah blah blah...then I of course imagined the prospect of hearing the classic go-to recommendation of surgery, which for some people has probably worked, but not without a great deal of even more pain, debilitation and recovery time. Then there are the stories you hear about the unsuccessful or botched surgeries...where people are left with pain and/or incontinence as a matter of course, with very little hope for reversal or recovery.
I had done all of the AMA recommendations listed above, none with sustained success for long term, or even short term, healing. In addition, I have tried countless other applications and permutations, also to limited avail, including, but not limited to, in no particular order and in every combination possible:
manuka honey, organic unfiltered honey, burts bees all purpose ointment, bag balm lanolin ointment, aveeno oatmeal moisturizing cream, extra virgin coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, sesame oil, witch hazel, hydrogen peroxide, sinus cleanse salt mixture, aloe, olive oil cream, calmoseptine cream, lidocaine cream, ice packs and probably 50 other things I cannot recall.
Yesterday, and even more significantly, today are the very first days in about a year when I have had relief and believe I am on the mend to recovery.
1. Debridement/exfoliation of scab/dead tissue to enable healthy skin to form.
What would continue to happen to me was that every time I would begin to heal, I would start to get these stabbing pains from the fissure sites and I would regress...something would inevitable tear or get irritated when I went to the bathroom or even if I sat the wrong way, and the fissures would ITCH ITCH ITCH to the point where I literally thought I was going insane.
As I researched the AF treatments and studies compiled on the peer reviewed medical studies out there, I realized that one of the secondary, not often mentioned courses of treatment that is used is surgical debridement of the area, often accompanied by the horrific-sounding cutting of the sphincter muscle surgery. The idea of sloughing off dead skin cells to stimulate the creation of new healthy cells is used in skin care treatments all the time, so it seemed to me that whether it be ass or face, it makes sense to do this treatment myself at home. From what I was reading, it was primarily done at the crisis stages of AF treatment, in-hospital, invasively, as part of a last resort treatment plan. This seemed counter-intuitive to me, as it makes more sense to do gentle exfoliation along the way, rather than backtrack with extreme surgical debridement later on.
So, as comical as the process may seem, I set out to exfoliate my fissures, without injuring myself and doing damage in the process. This is what I did:
a. Applied Burt's Bees All Purpose ointment inside and outside the area, took a LONG, hot sitz bath, and gently but firmly massaged/rubbed the fissure areas between my index and thumb to loosen up the scabbing skin and the muscles. This promoted blood flow to the area as well, which is essential for healing. The ointment made it easy to do with not a great deal of pain or discomfort. I can only compare this process to what is done when tenderizing meat...marinate and manipulate in such a way that the skin is maliable.
b. I then got out of the sitz bath, applied more ointment, squatted, like in a frog yoga position, relaxed my muscles to expose the fissures more, and then gently rubbed the fissures in alternating circular motions with a hot washcloth, also covered in the all purpose ointment. This whole process served quite well to remove the scabbing dead skin that forms on the fissures, which is what impedes full healing and also is the source of great pain and itching. If fissures are left to just become dry and stiff on their own during the healing process, my experience has always been that of regression. This method though was immediately successful in the fact that I had absolutely no itching and pain afterwards, even when I woke up this morning. I also believe that the removal of the dead skin allowed my wounds to be receptive to the ointment and the healing protective properties therein.
2. Application of PurO3 Ozonated Organic Olive Oil Skin Salve
I was then lucky enough today to receive my order of PurO3 Ozonated Organic Olive Oil Skin Salve, which I had researched and purchased on Amazon as yet one more way to potentially remedy this problem.
Simply put, I applied the salve inside and out of the area this morning, and have had a really great day today with no pain. I can totally feel the fissures healing, and have made certain to reapply the ointment regularly, especially when feeling that the area is getting dry from it being soaked into the skin and no longer acting as a protective layer.
I really suggest that anyone who is interested in this salve read about it on their site at puro3.com, where they have all kinds of information about how they make it and what the benefits are. I also ordered the sample kit of their other ozonated creams which are great for all kinds of things.
3. Probiotics
Taking a good colonized probiotic is so great for all kinds of processes- healthy bowels, nutrient absorption, etc. When I slack off, I notice that I expose myself to a higher irritation potential. I already have a high fiber plant based diet as a vegan, which can cause a lot of intestinal distress as a matter of course. The probiotic helps with all of that.
I have great hope that this is a problem that I now have under control and is managable/curable. I extend my greatest empathy to you all, anyone who experiences this nightmare, and I also hope that you are freed from it immediately and forever by whatever means necessary.