Hi!
first of all, trust me - i know smoking is bad for you.
But does anyone know if smoking is good or bad for the fissure? I stopped smoking a month ago, HOPING it would help. The sad truth is.. doesnt seem like it did ;( and smoking is the only 'good' thing i had left in these times of agony.. (i know, it sounds terrible). Shouldnt it heal faster when you don't smoke? or could the nicotine help reduce the spasms?
i remember when the pain was at its worst.. after a BM, i would lie down, the pain would get a tiiiny tiny bit better, but as soon as i got outside for a cig, it got worse.. it was either the cigarette, or the fact that i was walking.. (standing and walking is always way worse than staying in bed).
so.. it might be a silly question, but does anyone know?

Nicotine is a muscle relaxant. There are experiments showing that nicotine applied to strips of internal anal sphincter, caused the upper part of the sphincter to relax.......the pharmacology of the anal sphincter is quite complicated, but at any rate it seems likely that smoking may help to relax the sphincter.

There is also the question of whether you feel less or more tense and stressed when you smoke?
In the long run, of course, it's better if you quit.

I'm not recommending or condemning smoking, but the lesson to be learned is that relaxing the muscle and increasing blood flow is quite effective at reducing pain. The trick is to find out how to accomplish that. Nifedipine, diltiazem, nitroglycerine, gentle heat, botox - they all have this goal.

thank you! :) you wouldnt know any tips to relax the muscles? except warm baths.. is it good to walk around alittle or should i stay in bed.. forever? -_-

Walking seems to help some people.............made me feel worse though. A warm bath never helped me at all, but it does help others. A warm hot water bottle worked best for me.

walking makes it worse - alot worse for me. actually, seems like the only thing that worked when the pain was very bad, was an icecube wrapped in a wet towel.