Smoking is terrible for you and not something I recommend. I used to have a clove cigarette on occasion, but hadn't in a long time. One day recently I tried one and was surprised that it seemed to reduce the feeling that my anus is swollen. I've tried it a couple more times and if I'm not crazy its provided some temporary relief. Now, my guess is that in the longer-run, CIGARETTES OF ANY KIND WILL SLOW THE HEALING PROCESS because they reduce circulation and are generally poisonous. But since I've been suffering for years and I've read and tried all the usual advice, I need to learn everything about how my body works and how its similar and different from other people suffering from similar things. My theory is that So my question to everyone out there is have you ever felt that a cigarette or clove cigarette gave you some relief? I'm especially interested in responses from people who aren't regular smokers, but any thoughts would be appreciated. Regardless of what replies I get, I will not be turning to cigarettes because I'm sure they aren't helpful in healing longer term. I'm only seeking understanding.

Clove cigarettes have nicotine in them. Nicotine is a muscle relaxant. There are experiments showing that nicotine applied to strips of internal anal sphincter, caused the upper part of the sphincter to relax.......the pharmacology of the anal sphincter is quite complicated, but at any rate it seems likely that smoking may help to relax the sphincter.

I wouldn't recommend smoking either, but the lesson to be learned is that relaxing the muscle and increasing blood flow is quite effective at reducing pain. The trick is to find out how to accomplish that. Nifedipine, diltiazem, nitroglycerine, gentle heat, botox - they all have this goal.