Fissure in Ano -  Conventional Treatment

• To relieve constipation: Medicines used to relieve constipation are either bulk-forming agents or stool softeners. These agents usually produce soft stools that gently dilate the anal sphincter. Common Bulk-forming agents including bran, ispaghul husk, sterculia etc. The only shortcoming of these agents is that they do not relieve habitual tendency of the patient to have constipation. Hence individuals usually get used to or habituated to such kind of medicines.
• To relieve pain: Creams or ointments that contain pain-killers are used. These include NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) and corticosteroids. However, their role in healing the fissure-in-ano is unclear. Moreover, they cannot be used for more than 5-7 days, as they may irritate the skin around the anus.
• To control infection: Antibiotic creams are used to control local infection.
• To assist healing process: Glyceryl trinitrate ointment helps the healing of the fissure. The side effect of this treatment includes headaches. If the headaches are troublesome, this may not be the right treatment for you.