Been dealing with this for a long time (over 4 years now)... tried aloe vera, menthol, vaseline, tea tree oil, a few different GP ointment prescriptions ( and a local botox injection while under anaesthetic.
Recently the feeling of pain is far less intense and goes away quicker. Here's what I've done:
- Vitamin E oil, applied internally (coat finger in it, up it goes), out of all the different things I've ever tried, seems to be having the best effect.
- Taking a selection of vitamin supplements. B complex, C, D and E.
- Avoiding too much fibre, coffee, chilli, spicy curry (korma is fine).
- Changing my 'toilet posture'. Squatting, or putting your feet on a box so you're in a squat position, it really helps your body use the abdominal and internal muscles to move waste out, meaning less pressure around the anus, less tearing.
- Made the switch from toilet paper to chemical-free baby wipes. Toilet paper is pretty abrasive when you think about it. I recommend this to everyone, with or without a fissure. It's more hygienic and actually works out cheaper than decent toilet paper.
- Stopped drinking tap water, only bottled now.
If it ever gets 100% better, or if I find any other things which help, I'll make sure to post here. Either way doing all this brought it from a major, day-ruining pain to a minor, more tolerable one.