Hello. I see that sitz baths are recommended but one of my major symptoms is a burning feeling. I tried a warm sitz bath yesterday but could only stand a few minutes as the burning intensified in the warm water. Today is the first day I am missing work because of this. I just started diltiazem which seems to have lessened the spasms but the burning does not seem to go. I've tried desitin, a&e ointment, Vaseline. I would appreciate any and all suggestions.

Hey flamingo - I'm not sure why there'd be burning with a stiz bath, but I found that they were pretty uncomfortable - The sitting position was not good for me. I would soak in the bath tub so that I could stretch out and take the pressure off my butt. Maybe it's the sitting that is causing the burning? I also found that the only thing that really helped me with the burning and the general pain was extra-strength Robaxacet. It's a muscle relaxant and a painkiller (but it didn't constipate me). It didn't completely eliminate the pain, but it really helped take the edge off.
I hope you find relief soon!

Ok, please listen to me:
Sitz baths were TERRIBLE for me using epsom salt. Are you using Epsom Salt? If so, watch out how much you use! I made a tragic mistake of using waaaaaaay too much during my sitz baths.
What happened was I soaked in too much Magnesium (from the epsom salt). On top of that, the salt literally sucked up all the water and moisture in my bung-hole and made it burn and hurt like HELLLLLLLL!
I just use warm-to almost hot water now. Much better.

Echoing AFpitb, I was using table salt and I used too much. Boy that was horrible. I got horrible burning sensations with that. As I corrected the concentration, within days I began to feel relief