What causes anal pain when having frequent bowel movements?

Frequent bowel movements and pain in the anus are usually caused by hemorrhoids or anal fissures, or may be caused by diseases such as colitis. It is best to go to the hospital for a check-up. Try not to do strenuous exercise, pay more attention to bed rest, avoid spicy and irritating foods, try to reduce gastrointestinal irritation, drink more water, eat more crude fiber foods, and keep your bowel movements smooth.

Anal fissure is a common anorectal disease with a high incidence rate, only lower than hemorrhoids. Its incidence rate ranks second among anorectal diseases, accounting for 15% to 22% of anorectal diseases. The disease mainly occurs in young and middle-aged people, with more females than males. It is common to occur in the anterior and posterior median of the anal canal. More than 75% of anal fissures are located in the posterior median of the anal canal, followed by the anterior median. Women often suffer from both anterior and posterior fissures at the same time. Anal fissures occurring on the left and right sides of the anal canal are rare. Traditional Chinese medicine figuratively calls anal fissure "fissure hemorrhoids" or "hook intestinal hemorrhoids".

The main symptoms of anal fissure are:

1. Anal pain

The anal pain caused by typical anal fissure is characterized by cyclical pain. The specific manifestation is anal pain during defecation, which is paroxysmal knife-like pain or burning pain. The pain will be reduced or disappear within a few minutes to more than ten minutes after defecation, which is called the pain interval. This is followed by severe pain due to continued spasm of the sphincter, which often lasts for several hours before gradually subsiding. When the disease is serious, coughing and sneezing can cause pain, which radiates to the pelvis and lower limbs. The pain will not be relieved until the anal sphincter gradually relaxes and the contraction becomes weak. It presents a vicious cycle of "pain - relief - severe pain - stop", which makes people suffer endlessly.

2. Bleeding during bowel movements

It manifests as bright red blood, usually dripping blood, but the amount is small, or it is only attached to the surface of the stool, and sometimes it is just toilet paper stained with blood. It should be pointed out that the characteristics of anal fissure and bloody stool are: bleeding during defecation, the blood is bright red, and accompanied by anal pain. This characteristic is different from internal hemorrhoid bleeding.

3. Constipation

Many patients cannot bear the pain caused by anal fissures, so they often habitually hold their stool and urine. Over time, the stool becomes dry and difficult to excrete. The stool accumulates in the intestines for a long time, causing constipation. Constipation can make anal fissures worse and more painful, making it difficult for the anal fissure to heal on its own.

If you have these symptoms, you should go to the hospital and ask a specialist to see if you have anal fissure. Because these symptoms alone are not enough to diagnose anal fissure. On the basis of these symptoms, local examination is also required. This is very important. Only when the local examination and symptoms are consistent with anal fissure can the diagnosis of anal fissure be made.