i am getting so annoyed now. today i had an appointment with the head colorectal surgeon at my local hospital and he has referred me to a dermatologist .
i wont go into the story as it takes too long, but i have been back and forth to the hospital for nearly 2 years now, being told by several different people that i have fissures, then i do, then i dont.
the surgeon today said because the creams didnt work then it may well NOT be fissures. do these creams ever work ?!

i have taken a photo of my anus, compared it with google photos of 'fissures' and its almost identical to them, a classic case.

how much longer am i going to have to put up with this?! when it stops me doing certain things, which it does, then its interfering with my life and i can feel my confidence ebbing away day by day

please someone inject me with positivity and tell me there is actually something a skin doctor will be able to do about my problem before i go completely loopy?

Hi Jay,
It's rubbish to say that the creams not working suggests it's not a fissure. What a load of claptrap. Yes, the creams work for some (did for me), but no, they don't work for everyone.
I think it's a good idea to see a dermatologist. Your skin could be irritated and/or weakened by an infection or allergy?

Maybe your fissure is opening and closing, so sometimes they can see it and sometimes they can't. Is there a skin tag? Is there blood? Do you have pain with BMs, and spasms afterwards? Are you eating a good fissure-friendly diet and keeping your stools soft?

When is your appointment with the dermatologist?

Scientist2516 wrote:Hi Jay,
It's rubbish to say that the creams not working suggests it's not a fissure. What a load of claptrap. Yes, the creams work for some (did for me), but no, they don't work for everyone.
I think it's a good idea to see a dermatologist. Your skin could be irritated and/or weakened by an infection or allergy?

Maybe your fissure is opening and closing, so sometimes they can see it and sometimes they can't. Is there a skin tag? Is there blood? Do you have pain with BMs, and spasms afterwards? Are you eating a good fissure-friendly diet and keeping your stools soft?

When is your appointment with the dermatologist?

hey. i have a very healthy diet and lifestyle in general.
i have not used toilet paper for 2 years and have a kind of sitz bath thing, there are occasions where i have dapped tissue on the area just to check if there is blood, and about 7 times out of 10 there IS. not heavy bleeding, just traces of it.

i am awaiting a letter through the post with my dermatologist, but short of giving steroid creams (which i have used severeal times already) im not sure what else they can do? unless anybody can shed some light..

Well, I don't think those steroid creams are good for a fissure. They make the skin thin - not what you want at all. Also, suppose you had a yeast infection, steroid cream is a terrible choice.

Did they give you nifedipine, diltiazem or nitroglycerol? Those are the actual anal fissure creams, that relax muscle, increase blood flow and help healing? They are not magic ointments and do take a few weeks to work (and don't work for everyone). But those are the creams to try.

The dermatologist could see if there is a yeast infection or other irritation causing inflammation and pain, drying the skin and making it crack easily.

Hi Jay - just wanted to contribute.

I was told my fissure had healed by my first CRS then by a chance of fate she went off on Annual leave leaving me with another surgeon. he did my EUA and said I did have a fissure and was able to do botox. It's really worth getting a second opinion and it's something your entitled to. Maybe ask for an EUA to be sure?
I know exactly how it feels - your not going mad I promise! pain is the bodys way of saying something is wrong.

J x

Fissurefrustration wrote:Hi Jay - just wanted to contribute.

I was told my fissure had healed by my first CRS then by a chance of fate she went off on Annual leave leaving me with another surgeon. he did my EUA and said I did have a fissure and was able to do botox. It's really worth getting a second opinion and it's something your entitled to. Maybe ask for an EUA to be sure?
I know exactly how it feels - your not going mad I promise! pain is the bodys way of saying something is wrong.

J x

hey. yeah basically i get told something different by a different member of staff each time.
i even once got told i had ''sore bottom syndrome'' which made me LOL, but also showed the incompetence of the person i was seeing at the time, which made me change hospitals. i mean is there even such a 'syndrome'
and its not a 'fissure' theres one recurring very sore crack which keeps coming and going, and then there are SEVERAL tears in the skin all around the anal area which keep coming and going. not sure what could cure it now

So sorry to hear that, you tried honey?

Fissurefrustration wrote:So sorry to hear that, you tried honey?

Yes. It made me flare up bright red. I have pretty much tried everything , pure aloe from the plant as well which irritated the area chronically ! Tho I now use the plant for sun burn and it's fine on other parts of my skin.

Coconut oil seems to be the only thing which doesn't irritate the area, so I use it for dryness

Have you tried an antifungal cream down there? That 'lots of little cuts' makes me wonder if that may help.

That may be right MS, Carsten anti fungal from over the counter helped me out loads... I had almost the same symptoms of bright red sphincter, lots of superficial tiny cuts and it fixed me. Now just have the one fissure left