Hi everyone!

I am a 29 year old female. I have been healthy my entire life up until a few years ago, when I got really sick on a Europe backpacking trip (pneumonia, bronchitis, a virus ... Treated with strong antibiotics and steroids and got much worse, and adrenal fatigue, histamine issues, copper toxicity from an iud, SVT ... Just have felt terrible since then!!) I have had issues on and off with sometimes bleeding and hemherroids.

Anyway! This past end of Dec I took antibiotics for a tooth abscess and then developed c diff. It was traumatic. I went on more antibiotics and the D went away, thank goodness. THEN a couple weeks later, I developed shingles (end of Jan).

Maybe a few weeks after having shingles, I developed acute constipation and I think aggravated an old fissure. Since then, I have had bleeding with bowel movements (a bright red strip down one side and sometimes in bowl) and occasionally TERRIBLE sharp pain upon exiting. No symptoms outside of bowel movements.

I had assumed hemherroids so I've been doing apple cider vinegar (which stung so bad), ice, hemhorroid cream, sitz baths, witch hazel.

I made an appt with a gi doctor but can't get in until July.

My lovely husband offered to look at it for me to see if he could see anything, which was totally embarrassing but so nice of him haha!

He said there is a half inch cut on the right side and a little skin tag looking thing on top at midline (maybe a hemhorroid?)


Now I'm thinking it makes more sense this is a fissure that I have been making worse with my hemorrhoid treatments.

Anyway I am freaking out a bit that fissures on the side can mean cancer, stds (have been checked though), chrons, or something viral / infection. How worried should I be about this?? I got bloods done recently and my blood counts were all in range... If I had something like cancer etc it would likely show up slmehow on the bloodwork?? I know I'm overreacting probably, I have just been through hell the last few years and especially last few months.

Could either c diff or shingles cause an off midline fissure that is not really healing even though I'm doing psyllium each am and some sitz baths??

I prefer more natural methods... Is there anything I can try? I'm generally having blood with every movement. I also was on a liver cleanse per my dr which was making me go 3-4 times a day and that's when it really flared.
Please help?!!

Hi and welcome to the forum,

From what you stated, it indeed sounds like fissure, of course only doctor can confirm this by having a look. Probably you overreact, but again it is worth to check with doctor.

As you experienced sharp pain during BM, most likely fissure is still in acute mode, meaning it is easy to heal it w/o surgery or additional medicine. It is also important you don't strain during BM, as it may damage your fissure more.

Keep you diet, you can also try to do enema each time before your BM religiously for 1-2 weeks. If you have pain after BM currently don't tolerate it and take ibuprofen, so there is no spasm and normal blood flow, leading to healing.