Thanks for your question. Constipation can be caused by many things. It can also cause a lot of abdominal (belly) pain as well as pain by the anus. The pain by the anus can be due to fissures (tears in the skin) or a hemorrhoid (swollen veins near the anus). Things that may help:
- Sitting in a warm water bath. This can sometimes help reduce the pain in the area. It’s important to make sure the water is warm, and not too hot.
- Medicine. There are some over the counter medicines (i.e., you do not need a prescription) that can help decrease the pain related to a fissure or hemorrhoid. These are available at your local pharmacy.
- Time. Fissures and hemorrhoids usually heal on their own within a few weeks.
- Prevent more constipation. It’s important to stay hydrated and eat fiber to help prevent more constipation, irritation, and pain.
We recommend seeing a health care provider if:
- Your stool (poop) has blood in it. This can sometimes mean stool has red streaks or it can look black.
- The pain is getting worse or not getting better.
- The constipation is getting worse or not getting better.
- You have other symptoms, including decrease appetite, weight loss, vomiting, or fever.
Our health guides are developed through a systematic, rigorous process to ensure accuracy, reliability, and trustworthiness. Written and reviewed by experienced healthcare clinicians from Boston Children's Hospital, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital and consistently ranked as a top hospital by Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report, these guides combine clinical expertise, specialized knowledge, and evidence-based medicine. We also incorporate research and best practices from authoritative sources such as the CDC, NIH, PubMed, top medical journals, and UpToDate.com. Clinical specialists and subject matter experts review and edit each guide, reinforcing our commitment to high-quality, factual, scientifically accurate health information for young people.