Lump on my anus

[whoahnelly23]

I am a 20 year old male, no real health problems.

For the past year or so (maybe 2?) I've off and on experienced bleeding when defecating.  I always assumed it was an anal fissure because the blood was on the poop and not in it, and because the painful feeling that came with it just felt like my anus could be tearing.  This would happen every once in a while (once a month-ish?) and last a few days.  It usually helped to eat more fiber and soften my stool.  Due to the infrequency and relative manageability of this problem, I never got it checked out.

A couple days ago I felt a lump on my anus while wiping.  I had felt the same area raised a bit before when I was going through a bleeding/tender-anus episode and had assumed it was swelling due to the fissure.  This time I noticed how big and round it felt.  It felt like a huge swollen blister.  The interesting thing is that I don't remember my stool being particularly hard and I don't remember any bleeding during that time (though if it wasn't a lot I may have looked over it as a minor occurrence), nor have I bled since.  My anus, as it has been before during these episodes, is tender and it is uncomfortable though bearable to defecate.  The lump itself does not hurt to touch.

Anyway, I'm wondering what this is!  Could it be swelling from an anal fissure or what?

I have some pictures (I was curious to see if it was a blister or not--it wasn't).  I wasn't sure if you'd want them posted here or not.  Should I post them?

[mammo]

I think it's a hemorrhoid, with the swelling, blood and pain.  You can buy Preperation H to shrink them, and then keep vaseline on that area to allow the area to heal.  Anytime you have a flare-up keep vaseline on the area, you don't need much.  Often when they're healing they can itch, buy Cortizone 10 cream for this, it's far better than the Prep H for itching.  It comes in a very small tube so you can toss it in your pocket to keep the itch away all day.  If in 2 weeks you're no better, you need to see a doctor.

[whoahnelly23]

update: I did some looking around and what I have looks pretty similar to the "external hemorrhoid" pictured on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemorrhoid . Do you think that's what I have?  Would it explain the bleeding and tightness and all that?  Does this fit better than an anal fissure?