by happyass » 20 Aug 2007, 08:08
yeah, val, don't get too alarmed.
i think your chances are higher if you don't keep your area clean. because when the fissure is active and open, then if you don't keep the area clean, fecal matter and other debris can get into the opening of the fissure.
at first, this can develop as an abscess if it keeps pocketing fecal matter and other bad stuff. without treatment, then all the bad stuff accumulates and has no where to go. because the bad stuff creates a biological chain of events, the molecules then start to erode and make a pathway deeper into the fissure and collects more bad stuff.
when this happens, bad stuff just gets pushed deeper and deeper, trying to find a way out..ie, making a tunnel, which then this has become a fistula. usually you can tell you have a fistula when you see the other exit opening around or outside of the anus. some people have fistulas that exit somewhere else on the buttcheek.
there are horseshoe fistulas which make a tunnel around your anus. that would be intense to treat as i think the would have to open the whole tunnel.
anyway, not all fissures lead to abscesses.
and not all fissures lead to fistulas.
just keep the area clean. and its always best to take a shower/bath after your BM to make sure you can cleanse the area well without irritating it with soaps and toilet paper or baby wipes.