Hi Yes! I'm sorry you are suffering, but you've come to the right place. You will get lots of great advice and support from the folks here.
First of all, I'd definitely recommend that you go to a doctor! There really is nothing to be embarrassed about. Doctors see everything - butt problems don't bother them at all! The first thing to do is identify your problem. Are you sure you have a fissure? Have you seen it? You mentioned working out - lifting weights can cause hemorrhoids, so you should make sure that you get an accurate diagnosis - you might have hemmies, fissures or both.
The next step is to make sure that the doctor gives you the right meds. Hemorroid ointments are not the best thing for fissures. Hemmie ointments with hydrocortisone can actually make fissures worse, so make sure that your doctor doesn't send you away with something like Anusol if it's a fissure you've got. If you have a fissure, the doc should give you a topical ointment like nitro or nifedipine or diltiazem ... definitely not a steriod ointment!
Also, I would most definitely NOT put alcohol down there - Yikes!
Please don't do that! You don't want to damage delicate anal tissue - that could cause the fissure to tear more and get worse.
Itching can indicate healing. But it might also indicate irritation or infection, so definitely get your butt checked by a doctor. Also, the pain you experience with BMs might be from sphincter muscle spasms. If that's the case, then it's important that you get the proper meds asap. The spasms will prevent healing because they block blood flow to the fissure. The ointments I mentioned are designed to reduce the spasms and increase blood flow to promote healing. Once the spasms start, the fissure can become chronic and much more difficult to heal.
One more thing: keep your stools very soft. Lots of fruits and veggies and water, water, water! Miralax is a very good stool softener that many of us use if you need extra help keeping things soft and smooth.
I really encourage you to get on top of this asap. These b*st*rds can get really bad pretty quick and the pain is unreal! I don't want to freak you out, but things can get really miserable if you don't take care of this as soon as possible.
Get yourself to a doctor, my friend, and beat the beast before he gets bigger!
Good luck! :D