I will post to you what I posted to another member.I am right there with you. I've been suffering with the most excruciating and debilitating pain of my life since Mid-October. It started with a thrombosed hemorrhoid which burst before the doctor could lance it. As time went on, the hemmie stayed very painful and it was so raw and tender that the pain turned into severe anal spasms. These spasms literally put me to my knees on many occasions. After trying everything possible...creams, ointments, you name it...I went back to the doctor and he prescribed steroid suppositories, 25 mg, 3 times a day. That is the ONLY thing that gave me any relief. Before that, I was not comfortable in any position. It hurt to walk, sit, lie down...and standing felt like my entire rectum was going to fall out!! The doctor did an exam and confirmed that nothing was torn, no fissures were present, and the internal hemorrhoids were just very inflamed and swollen, along with the external one continuing to stay raw with every BM. Trust me...this experience had me in a depression feeling like I will never recover from this! Now for the good news.....I think I have finally turned the corner toward healing. I now take 1-2 sits baths with epsom salts per day, down from 5-6 times a day. I spent more of my time in the bathtub than out of the tub. I followed the hot baths with ice packs for 10 minutes each time. I have been making a list of what I am eating, any stool softeners I take (Colace is great), and the amount of water I drink. I now drink at least six 12 oz glasses per day with some lemon in it. My BMs are finally becoming regular every morning. I have increased my fiber but I found that the fiber supplements such as Metamucil are NOT my friend. They cause the stools to become thicker but softer, and something that pushes my rectum open even wider is not what I needed. It made the pain worse! So I stay clear of them for now. I can honestly say that as of today, I am STILL scared with every urge to use the restroom. I am afraid of that horrifying pain, but when I get past the anxiety of it all, I see clearly that I AM healing. SLOWLY. I am an RN and pretty adamant about not having surgery for this. I don't want to risk long term complications, not to mention I am not feeling real enthused about going thru any more pain than what I have been through. The key for me is to use the bathroom and even when I feel like I have to go a little more...I stop. I know how painful it is to stop though. It hurts more being sucked back in (for lack of a better term) than it does pushing it out sometimes. When I feel the need to push more out, I don't do it. I will be happy to let you know about my recovery process and I will be interested to hear about yours. The worst part of all this is that people don't understand why I don't socialize and do the things I normally do. How do you tell your friends that you have this problem? I hope you are doing better since your post a couple months ago.

So, depending on how you look at it, Ive suffered from pruritus ani most of my life (now 44 years old, white male). At the start of 2013, I decided finally to go to the doctor to seek relief. I had been assuming for years my troubles (consistently finding blood on the toilet paper, swelling, itching in the middle of the night) had to do with two internal hemorrhoids that were confirmed in a colonoscopy in 2009. I had been a piano mover in my early twenties and knew heavy lifting is commonly associated with hemorrhoids. So, the colon & rectal doctor laser-treated the two hemorrhoids and prescribed me some prescription cream (containing steroids, I do not recall the name). He also instructed me to use an elaborate daily treatment of the area with cotton balls and corn starch to keep the area as dry as possible. He also recommended I avoid spicy foods, fruit with citrus and caffeinated drinks. This is when my troubles REALLY began. I followed his instructions TO THE LETTER and used the cream for several months (not realizing long-term use is contra-indicated with creams containing steroids) with the cotton ball/corn starch treatments (which were messy and humiliating) and tried to forgo coffee (which was miserable in itself). To my absolute horror, after about four months of this I developed anal warts!! At this point I went to a dermatologist, who prescribed imiquimod cream, which cleared up the anal warts (and was rather excruciating in the process, but I was glad it worked). Once the warts were gone, the next several months were so-so with the pruritus ani. I began to get depressed and even sought relief via pain medication. Finally, I went to another, more experienced dermatologist, who examined the area and prescribed Pramasone, which was a big help in relieving the pain and itching. More importantly, however, the dermatologist said he has seen (this condition) before (something NO medical professional/MD had said up to that point) and said that for some reason (he) has seen this condition only in men. With the Pramasone he instructed that I buy a skin cleanser/moisturizer called CeraVe (available in any pharmacy) and use it to clean myself after a bowel movement. MOST IMPORTANTLY the dermatologist advised me my condition was likely a contact allergy to toilet paper! Specifically, he said most toilet paper manufacturers use some amount of chlorine to dye the toilet tissue white. I found some toilet paper made without chlorine, but, decided to take this information further, by NO LONGER USING TOILET PAPER AT ALL. So, my practice has been, after a bowel movement, to clean the area with CeraVe using a latex glove. This necessitates a private restroom with a sink. Finally, I bought a portable bidet at amazon.com and use it daily after the cleansing with water as cold as possible. Basically its a three-step process: bowel movement, cleaning the area, then rinsing the area. Really, it involves only one additional step to normal peoples bathroom activities.
All this sounds disgusting, odd and downright crazy, right? If youve read this Im assuming you are suffering and desperate for help. Ive heard that those in other countries think Americans are crazy for using toilet tissue in the way we do, hence the use of bidets in other cultures. Sure seems like the right assessment to me! If you are a person unaffected by this, count your blessings and go read something else. As I indicated, after suffering off and on my entire life and moreso the past TWO YEARS after seeking help from the medical community I am only too happy to have to go through the routine Ive described to keep the symptoms nearly 100% gone. I have yet to endure a hot summer since using the CeraVe and portable bidet but Im pretty confident. I have a tiny area of psoriasis on my right knee, and this further confounded my efforts to find an answer for my problem, since much medical literature describes inverse psoriasis which can affect the anal area. I also realize the appearance of warts probably indicates the presence of something in my system, but Ive had no recurrence (knock knock) thus far. As Ive indicated, the past six months have been the most symptom-free of my entire life. Ive only realized how much depression and lowering of general functionality was affecting me since the symptoms have dropped to their current levels. I truly hope I can make it to one year; in the meantime, I hope this narrative can be helpful to anyone who is experiencing my type of problem. Hang in there. J in ABQ, NM

I feel you man. It's really frustrating and a big time inconvenience. What I can't stand is the itch from the leaked mucus.

There are several ways to control this though. There are several home remedies you can use to lessen the pain.

You should think about installing a bidet attachment. It worked for me. Instead of using toilet paper (which honestly feels like sand paper), you use water to clean after using the restroom. I got mine from bidetinc.com.. Hope it helps!

Obviously our anal conditions are terrible, but damn it feels good to talk with people who understand!

I've had hemorrhoids before which I finally got to go away after a year, but then it turned into pruritus ani (constant anal itching). I saw three different doctors, none of whom could provide me with a remedy to take the itch away! It was driving me absolutely nuts and I couldn't sleep without waking up several times a night to scratch

About 4 months ago, I figured I had to try something else and took a risk on this ointment I found online called Pranicure. The first week using it was a tad uncomfortable, but I could immediately notice a difference in my urge to itch. 3 weeks later, I was down to applying it only once per day and my anus felt as healthy as it had in years! Now I only have to apply it 1-2 times per weekthe stuff ACTUALLY WORKS and I feel like a new man!

If you guys are still struggling with an itchy anus, I'd highly recommend trying the PRANICURE ointment!

Thanks for the advice guies. You know, I find another thing that helps me really poop is.....COCONUT WATER! Sends me to the bathroom in a matter of minutes! Especially after exercising!