Hey, so I feel pretty embarrassed even being a member of this site...if any of my friends stumble upon the registration email in my inbox, I'll never live it down! But then again I'm SO GLAD TO HAVE FOUND YOU ALL!
I'm pretty desperate for good, real, honest advice. I'm sick of googling things. So I just wanted to describe my problems and see what you experienced people think...
I've suffered from mild constipation fairly often since I was little, I guess. I will admit my diet isn't that fantastic, I'm naturally thin as a stick and have never been able to put on weight so I tend to eat what I want. My appearance doesn't suffer but my arse does...I think I recall seeing blood on the toilet paper after going a few times during the past year or two, but I don't remember any specific times where it hurt that badly during or afterwards. HOWEVER, recently I've noticed a lump at the bottom of my anus. It's not solid, or really all that sensitive, just sort of like a lump of loose-ish skin. I'm guessing this is a skin tag (after reading ALOT). What's the deal with those?
Anyway, about four days ago after noticing the lump I had a bowel movement - it didn't really hurt that badly. It just burns a little bit while I'm on the toilet and then for ten or fifteen minutes afterwards. But it's not unbearable or anything. Just a bit inconvenient. Also, there's the TINIEST bit of blood. Like a tiny, tiny brownish-red spot or two. Waking up the next morning though, about nine or ten hours after this bowel movement, I had this incredibly uncomfortable feeling. Whenever I moved my legs, or bent over, or lifted something, or made a sudden movement, my anus would sting, really suddenly. It's a really weird pain. What does this mean? It lasted that whole day, and the day afterwards, my anus was a bit itchy at certain times. Sometimes so much it was tempting to scratch but I didn't.
Throughout my life I've only ever had bowel movements every two to four days. This could be really unhealthy seeing as I think most people go every day. Is that bad? So tonight, after holding it in for a while in the hope of 'healing', I went to the toilet again. Again, it didn't hurt very much going. Not like passing glass, or anything like you guys describe. But it just burned again...and there was the tiniest bit of blood. Not even blood, sort of just like, weeping.
Now I'm really afraid I'll wake up with that really annoying stinging whenever I move again. What do you guys think? Going by my symptoms, what stage do you think I'm at? Are things looking good, or not too good? Are they going to get worse? Just going by your experience etcetera. I don't want to go to a doctor - I'm 16, so I don't have an independent Medicare card or anything yet, which means I'd have to tell my parents all about it if I wanted to go. Which means the rest of the family would find out and God knows who else. I can't face that embarrassment at the moment because it's really not hurting that bad!
ANY type of advice or knowledge would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks so much for reading all of that
:D

I am sooo sorry that u r having these problems and r so young. I dont have much tome to qwrite but i could leave with out saying something. Make sure ur bms are soft no junk food and u should maybe have some fibre sups and stool softeners. Also baths are a must with a bit of salt. Dont put off going to the loo when u feel the need just go. U have a good chance of beating this since it has just happened. Ur symtoms sound normal. I am sure others will chime in buit i gotta fly

Thank you for replying even though you're in a rush, that was so sweet of you!
Yup, I think I'll get onto the diet and bath thing asap. Seems like the best option at the moment.

Hiya sorry you're experiencing these issues so young but follow the advice above. Also you could try using a smear of vasaline on your bum, especially before a BM. I also use it after as well because if things are weeping down there it will become sore/irritated and the vasaline will help prevent it. Just in case you wonder my CRS said its fine to use this and I've just come out of surgery but you should first use sparingly in case you react to it.
Also your diet should contain lots of veg and fruit, it all helps the soft poo requirement your bum currently demands. Hope this helps.

Hi. Yes, it's an embarassing topic, and it's nice to be able to be open about things on this forum! I'm rather new to this, but since it is Christmas, and there aren't too many people online probably, I thought I would answer...
Like Newmum said, don't wait to go to the bathroom, and try to get more fiber in your diet. I eat All-bran in the morning, and am starting to actually like it! Also, drink lots and lots of water and avoid things that can dehydrate you (alcohol, coffee, tea, sodas). Especially drinking warm water in the morning is a good idea (I've read). Oh, and after a BM, don't use dry toilet paper. Personally, I wet the heck out of it and just pat. Other peope use the shower or a spray-bottle to wash after a BM.
Maybe if you make these changes, you will see a difference soon. But if you don't, then I would really encourage you not to wait to talk to your parents and to make a doctor's appointment... because it just doesn't help to ignore the problem. I tried to do that myself this time, and it's possible that if I had gone to the doctor earlier, then I wouldn't have the problem and the pain that I do now. It's not a fun problem to have, but the sooner you try to take care of it, the better it will be for you in the long run. That's my two cents...
Take care!

Your symptoms and the order they happened in are very similar to mine before things got worse due to staining.
I think you should get some movicol/miralax asap and not hesitate to use it if you find out you are going to need to strain. The stinging can be relieved by cleaning above the skin tag with salt water.
Whatever you do don't strain. And keeping the area extra clean should relieve the itching and stinging.

Hey there Audrey,
there many thing s that you need to Do and Not do to try and heal your fissure.I'll try to cover a few...But there's some really good info. on this forum so read as much as you can!
Diet is very important! You need to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, and avoid sharp foods like chips, nuts, pop corn, taco shells,etc... also avoid red meats, cheese and dairy that can cause harder stools. A good stool softener such as miralax will help keep your stools soft and regular. It's really important to not hold your bm's even if it may feel uncomfortable. You want to avoid constipation!
Warm baths for 20 minutes at a time- to relax and get the blood flowing promotes healing.
Have you talked to your parents about this? If you haven't already seen a colorectal surgeon then you may need to get an appointment so you are able to get some of the ointments such as nitroglycerin, diltiazem,etc...to help promote blood flow and healing. It's really important to do all this while your fissure is acute(less than 6 weeks old) so that you have a better chance of healing without surgery. Once a fissure becomes chronic, it's much harder to heal.
I had surgery after months of dealing with mine and I've been very happy with my results, so if all else fails-don't be afraid of surgery!
I hope you feel better soon, take care:)

pss....I don't think not going to bm everyday is that big of a deal unless you have a fissure, then it really is important because your stools become harder the longer they're in the bowel and cause more pain/ damage when you go.
You mentioned you've had problems with constipation. That will cause fissures and will be very painful when you already have one.
I didn't mention this but it's really important to drink plenty of water. I drink a gallon a day, maybe too much but you should drink a fair amount to keep stools soft and prevent constipation. Stay away from caffeine!

Thank you so much, everybody, for all your help so far. I didn't know drinking water would help at all! So thanks for mentioning that. I'm trying to keep my diet fruit and vegetable based for now...I don't think I can really avoid red meat however. I've been anaemic in the past so I eat a lot of it to make sure I get enough iron.
Everything is fine today and I haven't had any pain whatsoever...so I do believe I can fix this without going to the doctor. All my little medical problems (and it seems like there's always something wrong with me) I have always fixed on my own. I hope this won't turn out to be a bad thing in this case!
I'm off to have a salt bath...thank you again.

Hiya just thought I would post these alternative options for you. Red meat meat is the best source of iron but there are alternatives listed below, (I'm not an expert I just had a quick look online and found this list, it said women require about 14 mg per day). Thought I would say because red meat seems to make stools harder and larger generally. Hope the feeling better continues but you really should consider the doctors, I'm sure you won't be as embarrassed as you think. I think more poeple would recognise my arse now than my face. Your health is way more important than a few minutes of embarrassment. Anyway list is below, hope this helps.
2 thick slices of lean roast beef 90g 2.3mg, 3 tablespoons of baked beans 120g 1.7mg, Wholemeal bread (1 average slice) 36g 1mg, Sardines canned in oil (average sandwich filling) 50g 1.5mg, An average bowl of fortified breakfast cereal 45g 3mg, 2 dried figs 40g 1.7mg, Dark roast turkey meat (average serving) 120g 1.7mg, A tablespoonful of sesame seeds 12g 1.2mg, Spring greens boiled 90g 1.3mg.