Serious condition - a running partner of mine had it and needed surgery. Your "friend" needs to se a doctor.

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David
* Ironman for Life! (Blog) * IM Everyday Hero Video * Daggett Shuler Law *
Disclaimer: I have personal and professional relationships with many athletes, vendors, and organizations in the triathlon world.

Yeah, a "friend" of mine also had it. I'd also go see a doctor.

I had/have them. No itching or anything like that just blood in stool sometimes. Kind wild the first few times and still freaks my wife out a bit. Saw the doc and he basically said because no pain/discomfort to not sit on the toilet as long, ha. I have had them on/off for a few years and have never had any pain in that area or anything. But I would echo what others have said and have your friend see a doctor.

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Twenty some years ago I had surgery for hemorrhoids and the doctor's promise that I would never have them again has turned out to be true!!!

While I was battling them in the years before surgery, adding a lot of roughage in my diet seemed to help.

I never attributed mine to riding the bike. If your friend's saddle is putting pressure there, he/she might consider a different saddle. If the bike is causing the problem, your friend might get some relief by switching to a TT bike where with the right saddle and position, your friend's weight would be shifted even further forward away from that area.

Your talking about two different things. Hemorrhoid's can be internal or external and both are treated differently. A fissure (a fistula) is a hole or tube between two different places that shouldn't exist.....its an abnormal connection. Sometimes they resolve on their own others need surgery. An itchy anus can be a few different things but in this case sounds hemorrhoid related.....just so your "friend" knows.

Had it all about 15 years ago. Not from cycling. Severe bouts of constipation caused hemorrhoids and a tear. Tried fixing the tear with a nitro glycerin compound that would relax the muscle to allow it to heal. Didn’t work. Surgery to remove the rhoids and clean the tear so it could heal. Worst 2 weeks of my life I think. Pooping felt like passing hot barbed wire. Doctor even said I would hate him. Some time during the healing process developed a fistula and had to have a string put in that slowly cut through the fistula allowing it to heal as it cut through. Finally got all that wrapped up and been good ever since. Tried everything before surgery but ultimately that was the only fix for me.

Ron

Hi, I have endured this nasty business and will offer my personal solution. I'm not a doctor.
Step 1 - taking medical advice, baths, over the counter treatments, witch hazel, no cycling, obsessive wound cleaning until back to normal. keep the area very clean, and anti-infection cream, etc.
Step 2 - if you can get it to heal w/o doctor, I started taking "calm" it's magnesium and makes stool very soft, I found that once this issue started it was more likely to appear after any minor issue. the magnesium helped create a very soft stool. so tears less likely which then helps prevent things from starting to go sideways. A tablespoon before bed helps set things up and also it is effective for better sleep, win/win.
Step 3 - keep area clean, i use witch hazel to keep area clean, always!! after every bathroom deal.
Step 4 - get outta cycling shorts ASAP, clean up right away. NEVER sit in shorts after riding. and yes sitting on the can, NOT helpful. no reading ;).
Step 5 - cycling shorts, ASSos saddle cream, saddle, and bike fit !! worth every penny!!!

I hope this helps, it is a miserable experience, and for some reason after it happened once, it seems there is no room for error. fortunately i didn't have to go to dr. for surgery, but I've had a few close calls after being lazy about protocol (my fault).
Wouldn't want anyone to go through this .. ugh.

A fissure and a fistula are actually two different things, especially in that area. A anal fissure is essentially a tear in the lining of the anus, whereas a fistula is an abnormal connection between two sites as such. It would be very unlikely at this point in time that the OP has a fistula.

So a few things to note: surgery for haemorrhoids is bloody rough. There are some newer therapies which apparently are no where near as bad but by in large surgical options are not pleasant and you will be out of action (and in pain) for quite some time. Hence do all you can to try and manage them conservatively. If you are getting fresh blood in your stool from them or the fissure it would suggest you really need to be on some stool softeners so you are not straining and pushing out massive poops! Have you or your friend tried any haemorrhoid creams yet? They are generally reasonably effective depending on what you have down there....

In terms of not cycling....your primary care doctor will probably say to avoid the bike but in reality if you are careful with what you do you can probably see how things go and as long as the overall trajectory is that they are getting better then I would carry on. Good luck.

My esteemed colleague and gas passer is correct. (I was trying to keep it simple.) Tear, hole, tunnel....all = ouch on a bike. A fistula (may) not be far off if the OP is a female?

I've had two instances of the fissure. Using Miralax for a few days (recommended by Dr. who fingered my anus) fixed it right up both times.

TMI lol