What should I do if my child’s anus hurts?

In life, whether adults or children, the body will always encounter various problems. Take the anus for example. Sometimes we feel itchy and sometimes painful. In fact, there are reasons for this. Whether it is a disease or not, it needs to be checked and treated in time, especially for children who don’t know how to take care of themselves. So, what should parents do if their children’s anus hurts?

Anal pain often occurs in babies, mainly caused by anal fissures and perianal abscesses. Anal fissure refers to the cracking of the skin at the anus. Long-term constipation and dry stool are the main causes of anal fissure.

In addition to anal pain, symptoms include blood dripping after defecation or blood on toilet paper. Because defecation will aggravate the pain of anal fissure, babies are unwilling to defecate normally, which aggravates constipation and makes the stool drier and harder. As a result, the anal fissure is aggravated or the wound that has just healed cracks again. Therefore, anal fissures often occur repeatedly, and babies often complain of anal pain.

Perianal abscess refers to an acute or subacute suppurative infection occurring under the skin around the anus, which manifests as a red nodule in the anus. As a result, the anus is painful, especially when sitting, often causing the child to cry and be restless, and sometimes also causing fever and other systemic discomfort.

Because newborns have delicate skin, frequent bowel movements, and unformed stools, improper cleaning methods around the anus after bowel movements (using coarse paper or cloth, using excessive force) can damage the skin around the anus, lead to bacterial infection, and cause local inflammatory reactions. It manifests as a red nodule in the anus, which may rupture and discharge pus in severe cases. If the local inflammation is not treated and controlled in time, the baby may develop symptoms of systemic infection such as chills and fever.