This is week 4 and my AF is improving greatly. Soft stool, no pain, but still I have some tingling and stinging down there. I assumed it was just irritated skin. I went to my primary for an entirely different reason, but he wanted to check out my bum. He said "the swelling went down, there's fissure and lesions...looks like herpes." Then he did a culture test. That really freaked me out because I'm very careful and safe. The results won't be in until after the holiday. Ugh, the dreadful wait! When i think about it, my primary wasn't the dr who originally examined my AF and he's probably no expert in the field. I had one other general practitioner, an ER dr, and a GI surgeon all look at my bum during the first week. And they didn't suspect anything like an STD. I looked at my bum and saw a couple of minor sores, one looks like it busted open. As far as I know, they could be from chaffing or something. Are sores normal when it comes to AF?

Hey there,
I never had any sores or read of anyone else having sores w/ a fissure. If I were you, I'd go see a colorectal surgeon- and have it checked out. They specialize in butt problems and have more knowledge than a GI or Primary care doctor.

well boxxer for now just try to enjoy the holidays and perhaps it will resolve on its own by the time you get your results.
the only thing that came to my mind that my resemble a sore is an abscess or fistula or perhaps a busted vein but if there are more than one, then maybe it could also be some irritation from rubbing with toilet paper or what have you.
good luck.

Thanks for the feedback, i doubt i have std, but you never know. I checked this morning and there's only 2 or 3 sores looking like canker sores. Then again, my bum has been through a lot the past month, with suppositories, sitz, ointments, creams, medicated wipes, etc. If i got a std, nothing to do but bear and grin it. Rather have that than anal cancer, which also shows up as sores.

Hey boxxer, when I was in the ER, the doc there examined my fissure under sedation and the report said there were ulcerations surrounding it that looked like ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease. But later on I had a colonoscopy and a proctoscopy by a GI doc and a CRS and neither one found any evidence of inflammatory bowel disease. One remarked that ER docs and primary docs "see all kinds of things" and to not get too worried when they get freaked out about something that's better left to a specialist. I think your doc was right to do the culture (better safe that sorry) but if the other doctors didn't see anything, you probably don't have much to worry about.