I am so upset. After 3 months of dealing with my own fissure and now recovery from LIS, I thought fissures would soon be a thing of the past.

Then, today my 5 month old baby started crying when having a BM. When I changed her I noticed blood on the wipe. I called her pediatrician and she said it is most likely a fissure. I couldn't believe it. I feel so helpless and so sad for her. I know how horrible that pain is and to know my baby is experiencing it is horrible. I feel like it is my fault somehow. All the doctor said was to put Vaseline on her butt... I don't feel like that is going to do any good and I don't know what to do for her to help it heal.

Hi,

My son got fissure at similar age too, I was so frustrated knowing what this disease is about. Suggestion from doctor was quite similar, put some vaseline and panthenol. We also change diet for him and introduced more vegetables. Also wife was helping him to have bm with fingers putting pressure on the place where fissure is, so it is not affected so much.

Things are healing much faster for babies, as they are growing, and after 3 weeks fissure suddenly healed, so he is not crying anymore and not afraid having BM. BM consistency is much softer now, and we continue diet we introduced.

Broncosgirl I am so sorry to hear of your baby's fissure. I can only imagine how horrible that was for you to discover. I have to agree with pinpin though...I have heard that fissures are very common in babies and children and they do seem to heal really fast so try not to worry. And certainly don't blame yourself! As you know, these things just happen. How is the consistency of her BMs? Sorry but I don't have children and don't know much about diet progression so I can't be of much help there. I also don't know how often you bathe a baby or if they like/dislike them in general but I would think some frequent warm soaks would be really helpful if you can manage. That and a barrier cream. I really like something zinc based myself. Vaseline may help to protect it as well. Something with both zinc and petroleum jelly would be my choice. Well, I hope things get better really soon.

Also, it might be a good idea to eliminate the wipes and just use tissue and water, because you wouldn't have to press as hard on her skin to clean the last stubborn bits of stool, and of course a soppy, wet Kleenex would also do a better job of cleaning the area more thoroughly. Right from day one, our paediatrician recommended that we keep a small bowl of water, and a box of tissues on the change table, instead of baby wipes, because back then (my kids are in their late teens/early 20's now), wipes were mostly scented, and even the non-scented ones could cause diaper rash. My boys never had one rash either, by using the water and tissue combo, which makes sense too, because as us fissure sufferers know, a wet wad of toilet paper is easier on our holes than a wipe, which in turn is better than dry toilet paper. Maybe the softest, wettest option to wipe with would be best for your baby girl too.

I'm also so sorry that this has happened to you, because I can't imagine how you must feel, knowing that your baby is suffering from something that we know is so awful. I even worry that my adult-ish boys may someday suffer with this too, but them doing so as babies would have would been much harder for me to experience. I also agree that babies would probably heal faster though, so please don't worry too much just yet.