Usually, a visit to the specialist is enough to address the fear and solve the underlying problem with conservative means, or -when necessary- to plan its surgical treatment.
The temporary, brief presence of anal pain is usually not due to something that needs medical help, but pain that persists and / or is accompanied by other symptoms such as blood loss, may be due to a condition that requires treatment. Although anal pain is rarely a sign of a serious health problem, it can cause difficulties in our daily lives, such as sitting in a chair or going to the toilet.
But what are the cases where we need to seek help? Where should we go?
As a rule, when the anal pain persists for more than two days, it is good to visit our doctor. Blood loss from the rectum, of any amount, should also be investigated immediately.
Hemorrhoids
An extremely common condition that manifests with pain and often blood loss is hemorrhoids. This happens when blood vessels in the rectum and anus clog blood, creating painful swellings called hemorrhoids. There are many ways to approach this problem, and the choice depends mainly on the characteristics of each patient and his condition. It is very important to seek medical help early, because it is one of the diseases whose progressive worsening makes its final treatment less painless.
Peripheral abscesses & fistulas
Peripheral abscesses and fistulas are also a common cause of anal pain. They are caused when an area inside or around the anus becomes infected. This leads to the creation and collection of pus, ie the creation of an abscess. This abscess often finds its way to the skin and expands to the environment. This is called a fistula. Abscesses and fistulas present with pain, itching, bleeding, and even fever. Usually, the doctor will solve the problem by draining the abscess and giving antibiotic treatment. Longer-term cases, as well as neglected abscesses, require more complex surgical solutions and detailed mapping of the fistulas with sophisticated imaging techniques.
Stretch mark
One of the most common causes of anal pain is stretch marks. Anal fissures are small elongated sores, small tears that occur after hard or diarrhea, but also after a prolonged period of stress. The pain they cause is usually acute during defecation and lasts for several hours afterwards. Also, very often, the pain is accompanied by a small loss of blood. Because the mechanism is related to bowel movements, it is not uncommon for stretch marks to persist and bother us for many days, weeks or even months. In this case, too, a visit to the specialist will solve the problem.
A common feature of the above diseases in addition to being common, are benign diseases that rarely cause serious problems when identified and treated early. Rarely, however, anal pain is the result of more serious conditions. In some cases, it may be their first manifestation. Such diseases are inflammatory bowel diseases, ie ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, anal cancer, rectal ulcers, proctitis, etc.
It is easy to see that, although usually a mild and brief pain is probably not a cause for concern. On the contrary, persistent pain, or it is very intense, or complicated by bleeding, foul-smelling secretion, fever or malaise, should lead us to an appointment with a specialist, in order to make the diagnosis and begin the final treatment of the underlying problem. In these cases, we should not allow the feeling of shame to stand in the way of solving a health problem, as, usually, the timely search for help means easier and more painless treatment.
Written by:
Konstantinos Mavrantonis Surgeon
Director of the 6th HYGEIA Surgery Clinic
Sotirios George Panousopoulos Surgeon
Associate of the 6th Surgery Clinic HYGEIA
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