Surgical Treatments

The condition can be made worse by heat, moisture around the anus which may be caused by sweating or incomplete drying after washing, poo coming into contact with the skin around the anus, stress and anxiety. Be careful to wipe your bottom thoroughly after going to the toilet and always dry yourself properly after washing. Try to avoid scratching the itch which can make it worse.

It is believed that up to five in every 100 people may suffer from an itchy bottom. The condition is more common in men than women and most often affects people between the ages of 40 and 60. However, anyone can be affected, including children.

Certain foods when they are not fully digested are known to irritate the skin around the anus when you go for a poo. These include: citrus fruit, grapes, tomatoes, spices and chilli, milk, beer and caffeine. There are lot of other potential causes too so it is a good idea to talk to your doctor to try and identify the root cause.

Anal pain can be caused by a number of factors including haemorrhoids, anal fissures, anal spasms, and other less common causes including cancer, prostate problems and foreign bodies.

You should not need to seek urgent medical attention for anal pain unless: you start to bleed from your bottom, or the pain is becoming severe, or you have something stuck up your bottom.

When you have an anal spasm attack, it is normally short-lived although it can be intensely painful. Your doctor may suggest muscle relaxers, asthma medication, ointments to improve blood flow to the anus or Botox.

The cream appears to boost your immune system to help your body fight the virus that causes warts. While using the cream you should avoid sexual contact as it can weaken condoms and diaphragms and may irritate your partner’s skin.

Trichloroacetic Acid (TCA) is a chemical treatment that is used to burn off genital warts, including internal warts. It can cause some skin irritation and pain but is an effective treatment.

No, these treatments are not suitable for the delicate anal or genital area and may cause irritation and pain.

Pilonidal cysts normally occur either when:

• a hair follicle becomes irritated or stretched, which may occur during certain types of exercise such as horse riding or cycling
• a loose hair gets trapped in the crease between the buttocks

Your doctor will carry out a physical examination.

Keep the area dry and clean. If the cyst becomes infected, soak it in warm water several times a day and use antibacterial soap or an alcohol swab to clean the area if your doctor instructs you to do so. You can take over the counter painkillers if necessary.

There is currently no known cure for Crohn’s Disease. However, there are treatments to help you manage the symptoms and prevent complications. These include anti-inflammatory drugs, immune system suppressors, antibiotics, nutrition therapy and surgery. Your doctor will advise on the best type of treatment for you.

Some foods can trigger the symptoms of Crohn’s Disease. You should try and avoid: alcohol, butter and spreads, carbonated drinks, high fibre foods, coffee tea and chocolate, dairy products. It is a good idea to keep a food diary so that you can identify the foods that are triggers for you.

Yes. Inflammation in the digestive tract can result in serious complications such as infections, fistulas, bleeding and perforation of the intestinal wall. When the condition flares up you may need to spend time in hospital, leading to disruption in your everyday life.

A range of treatments can help to treat incontinence, including biofeedback therapy, which is used to treat urge and passive incontinence. The treatment works by slowly increasing how long you can wait before having to open your bowel.

This is a technique for learning to control a bodily function that is not normally under your conscious control.

There are a number of diagnostic tests. Your doctor is likely to perform a rectal examination to evaluate the strength of your sphincter muscle and check for abnormalities.

Other tests include the anorectal manometry and endoanal ultrasound. These tests involve first inserting a small pressure recording device into the rectum, which is then removed and an ultrasound probe is then inserted into the rectum. These tests take approximately 5 minutes and give detailed information about any abnormalities of the sphincter muscle.

Complications can include vaginal pain, infection, abscesses, abnormal discharge, damage to adjacent organs, or urinary fistula. For this reason we avoid using MESH in prolapse repair surgery.

A prolapse tends to cause discomfort rather than acute pain. Very rarely a prolapse will become extremely painful and it will not be possible to push it back into the pelvis because the blood supply is blocked, if this occurs you must go to accident and emergency immediately.

A prolapse does not generally improve without surgery. In most cases a prolapse will worsen over time and surgery becomes essential.

There are steps that you can take to reduce your risk of developing colon and rectal cancer but you cannot alleviate it completely. You may want to consider: reducing your consumption of red and processed meat, eating more fruit and vegetables, reducing your alcohol intake, taking regular exercise and losing weight if you are obese.

No. Blood in your stool can be caused by other conditions such as haemorrhoids and anal fissures but it is important to get it checked out as blood in your stool can be an indicator of bowel cancer.

It is important to catch bowel cancer as early as possible to stand the best chance of successful treatment. Bowel cancer affects around 41,000 people every year. It can be successfully treated if identified before it has had a chance to spread. If polyps are found in the bowel early enough they can be removed even before they become cancerous.

The majority of colon and rectal cancers occur in people with no family history of the disease. However if you have a close family member who developed the condition before the age of 60, you will be at increased risk and may be offered additional screening.