Anal Pain

• Anal cancer
• Anal fissure (a small tear in the lining of the anal canal)
• Anal sex
• Anorectal fistula (an abnormal channel between the anus or rectum usually to the skin near the anus)
• Coccyodynia/coccygodynia (tailbone pain)
• Colon cancer
• Constipation
• Crohn's disease (a type of inflammatory bowel disease)
• Diarrhea
• Fecal impaction (a mass of hardened stool in the rectum due to chronic constipation)
• Hemorrhoids (swollen and inflamed veins in your anus or rectum)
• Levator ani syndrome (spasm in the muscles that surround the anus)
• Perianal abscess (pus in the deep tissue around the anus)
• Perianal hematoma (a collection of blood in the perianal tissue caused by a ruptured vein)
• Proctalgia fugax (fleeting pain due to rectal muscle spasm)
• Proctitis (inflammation of the lining of the rectum)
• Pruritus ani (perianal itching)
• Solitary rectal ulcer syndrome (ulcer of the rectum)
• Thrombosed hemorrhoid (blood clot in a hemorrhoid)
• Trauma
• Ulcerative colitis (a type of inflammatory bowel disease)

When to see a Doctor:       

Seek immediate medical attention

Have someone drive you to urgent care or the emergency room if you develop:

• A significant amount of rectal bleeding or bleeding that won't stop, particularly if accompanied by lightheadedness, dizziness or feeling faint
• Anal pain that gets much worse, spreads or is accompanied by fever, chills or anal discharge

Schedule a doctor's visit
 

Make an appointment with your doctor if your pain lasts more than a few days and self-care remedies aren't helping.

A hemorrhoid that develops quickly or is particularly painful may have formed a blood clot inside (thrombosed). Removing the clot within the first 48 hours often gives the most relief, so request a timely appointment with your doctor. The blood clot of a thrombosed hemorrhoid, although painful, can't break loose and travel, so it won't cause any of the complications — such as stroke — associated with blood clots that form in other parts of the body.

See your doctor for rectal bleeding, particularly if you're older than 40, to rule out rare, but serious, conditions, such as colon cancer.

Self-care

Depending on the cause of your anal pain, there are some measures you can try at home to get relief. They include:

• Eating more fruits, vegetables and whole grains, exercise daily, and take stool softeners, if needed, to facilitate bowel movements, reduce straining and ease pain.
• Sitting in a tub of hot water up to your hips — known as a sitz bath — several times a day to ease the pain of hemorrhoids, anal fissures or rectal muscle spasms.
• Applying over-the-counter hemorrhoid cream for hemorrhoids or hydrocortisone cream for anal fissures.
• Taking an over-the-counter pain reliever such as acetaminophen (Tylenol, others), aspirin or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others).

Reference: MayoClinic. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/anal-pain/MY00427