Hemmorrhoid / Fissure?

[crp59]

I'm a 26 year old male in overall good health (run frequently, eat reasonably healthy).

I have never been diagnosed with hemmorrhoids, but infrequently over the past decade I would have some bright red blood in my stool.  It would happen once every couple of months and last a couple days at maximum, but always went away.  It was never a significant amount of blood.  I'm not sure if I have thin blood vessels there or what.

About 6 months ago, I began having a itchy/burning/discomfort around my anus.  I noticed it after having sex with my girlfriend.  I don't know if some of her vaginal fluids dripped down on me or if it is even related at all.  Since then I've had a number of symptoms, including bloody stool, itching, and pain but usually not all at once.  There have been two occasions were there was a lot of blood, and one occasion where the pain was so tremendous that I had to hop in the shower and rinse it (which helped).  The vast majority of the time I experience minor discomfort while passing stool with small traces of blood on the paper.  The most common symptom is itching.

I have been reluctant to visit a doctor or clinic (due to health insurance), but do you have any idea what this could be?

Thank you.

[crp59]

Thank you ggreg.

[ggreg]

More than likely all along the probem has been hemorrhoids, altho I cannot discount a fissure.  Hemorrhoids are very common, it comes from straining during constipation.  Constipation is where waste won't come out for a couple days or so, and it piles up and gets larger and harder, so when we strain to get it out, the vascular tissue there bulges out into a hemorrhoid.  These hemorrhoids will then bleed as waste goes by, and often will get to itching and stinging like mad.  Hemorrhoids come and go, fortunately, as our digestion works better.  The solution to make it stop with the hurting is to put something like plain KY jelly on there in the blue and white tube at the pharmacy.  Put it on after you bathe, and reapply as needed, it eases chafing.  Others like to put ye olde Preparation H on their hemorrhoid area, it causes them to shrink and thus not be as vulnerable to waste passing by.

To prevent constipation, the three standard ways are:  Drink extra water, and exercise regular, and eat enough fiber foods (like oat cereal, whole grain breads, dark green vegies and salads).  Also, if you find you are getting constipated, take the natural Senocot laxative, and you'll get rid of all that stopped-up stuff.

If it turns out these things don't work and perhaps you do have a fissure, you would need to see a physician, but since you have no insurance, you can go to the county health department and be seen by a doc there, bring your W-2 and they'll charge according to what you make, which happens to be a very small amount no matter what you make. You can go as a walk-in and be seen the same day usually.  Each free clinic has its own rules.  But try the other things I suggested, and if you are still suffering, then you can go to the clinic.

As for relations with your girlfriend, hemorrhoids once healed will give you no further trouble.  While you're healing, you can put the plain KY (not the flavored kinds) on there after you bathe, as I said, and it will last until next time you shower, since it's water soluble, so that will "protect" you from fluids and such.  One tip:  Sometimes I have to pass waste after I shower, so I'll squirt some KY on a damp tissue for the final wipe, and it stops the hurting and protects the area.  They also come in little portable packets for when you're away from home.