What should I do if my child has anal fissure? Why does it happen?

Once it comes to the treatment of anal fissure in children, parents must remain calm and not seek medical treatment blindly. Instead, they must seek targeted treatment methods after finding out the cause of anal fissure in children. There are many causes of anal fissure in children. Parents can cooperate with doctors to analyze the condition to help doctors find the cause and prescribe the right medicine.

Causes of anal fissure in children

1. Anatomical factors: The superficial part of the child's external anal sphincter forms the anococcygeal ligament behind the anus, which is relatively hard and has poor elasticity. The pressure behind the anus is relatively high and is easily damaged, forming anal fissures.

2. Trauma: Some children suffer from constipation. Due to dry and hard stools, excessive force is applied during defecation, which can easily damage the skin of the anal canal. Repeated injuries can cause deep lacerations to the entire layer of skin, forming chronic infectious ulcers. Constipation causes anal fissures in 14% to 24% of cases, but constipation can also be a consequence of anal fissures due to the pain and fear of defecation in children.

3. If the infected child suffers from other anal canal diseases, such as anal sinusitis, the affected area will spread downward and cause subcutaneous abscesses, rupture and become chronic ulcers, which is also the cause of anal fissures.

What to do if your child has anal fissure

1. Keep bowel movements smooth

Let your child take laxatives or paraffin oil orally to make the stool soft and lubricated, increase high-fiber food and change bowel habits to gradually correct the occurrence of constipation.

2. Local sitz bath

Before and after bowel movements, children can take a sitz bath with 1:5000 warm potassium permanganate solution to keep the area clean.

3. Anal canal dilation

If the child's anal fissure is severe, anal canal dilation surgery may be necessary. Anal canal dilation surgery is suitable for patients with acute or chronic anal fissures without concurrent papillary hypertrophy and sentinel piles. The advantages are that it is easy to operate, does not require special equipment, has rapid therapeutic effects, and only requires daily sitz baths after surgery. After anal canal dilation, anal sphincter spasm can be eliminated and pain can be relieved immediately after the operation. After dilation, the anal fissure wound expands and opens, drainage is unobstructed, and the superficial wound can heal quickly. However, this method has its shortcomings. It may cause complications such as bleeding, perianal abscess, hemorrhoidal prolapse and short-term fecal incontinence, and the recurrence rate is relatively high.