Anal skin tags (possible tmi)

[Whoknows36]

Hi.

Whilst pregnant on dc I suffered very bad piles. Since then I've had the odd flare up and what I thought were constant piles. My gp referred me to a bowel consultant where I had a camera examination and was found to have internal piles and external skin tags. Apparently these are left over old piles!! My internal piles were banded and even though I still get flare ups they aren't too bad.

But I'm really embarrassed about the skin tags, i dont feel clean and they make my sex life suffer too. Does anyone know how I can get these removed?

The banding was so painful I didn't hang about long enough to ask the gp.
Thanks

Bump!

be interested in the answer as I have these & am considering installing a bidet as never feel clean, too many crevices :(

I have some of these delightful things as a leftover from very bad pregnancy piles. I asked my GP about them as I find its more difficult to keep clean (oh, the shame!).

Anyhoo....she referred me to consultant and he basically said that external skin tags aren't the same treatment as banding internal piles. Would be too painful to do an external one - and the internal ones I had done were certainly no picnic!!!

Basically he said I would have to have an operation (not sure whether general anaethestic or local) but would require cutting away and stitches etc. They would class it as 'cosmetic' too - possibly because I only complained about them being unsightly (not that I look!) and difficult to keep clean (he suggested best thing was to just wash with water rather than soap....I was very and wondered whether he used just water on his bottom!!!!)

He was not advocating it all....more trying to make me see that it really wasn't a bit deal and something I should just live with. Suggested I try on private insurance if it was something I wanted to pursue. Which ultimately I didn't - if it was another banding fair enough, but dont wnt a proper op.

If I get piles nowadays then its worse with the tags and fairly sore. But steroid pile stuff sorts it out.

I think there is also an element of if you're prone to piles then you could get them treated but its likely to reoccur, so even if you corrected it, the next time it happens you could be back to square 1. And seeing as my gran and mum have had ishoos I think its just par for the course for me unfortunately.

I too suffer with this problem and was also referred to a consultant.He gave me almost identical information -I had also assumed the skin tags could be banded along with the piles ( which i am supposed to be having done when my appt comes through) but was advised otherwise.
The difference was though,that I was told the skin tag op could be done on the NHS in day surgery but what rather alarmed me was the wound is left open,no stitching, as apparently this promotes better healing! Well,considering the position of the tags I was quite shocked due to risk of infection,pain, etc but he brushed this aside.
It would be very interesting to hear from anyone who has had the op done,and whether the outcome was successful..and also is the internal banding procedure really painful?..I was told this would be painless!

I really hope my namechange has worked...

I went to the doc with a similar problem, she diagnosed 'piles' and referred me to a consultant.

He did the camera up the bum thing, said no piles, just a big skintag, which i could have removed under general anaesthetic. I asked about local and he said this was also possible, so i had it done under a local anaesthetic. It was burned off, the experience was fine, except when the surgeon tried to cauterise a bit that wasn't anaesthetised when i jumped and screamed. They injected a bit more anaesthetic then carried on.

The surgeon did express surprise at the size of the skintag ie apparently it was quite small, but it wasn't to me, and it's much better now it's no longer there!

I had such an aching bumhole all that evening. After that it was fine, except when i needed to use said bumhole. It was the most painful thing ever to do a poo, i frightened 3-year-old dd pooing in front of her and turning a funny colour with the pain.

Re healing, i put a couple of inches of water in the bath and washed it after every poo until it healed and suffered no infection, despite the wound's location...

It sounds like i was lucky to have been given the operation from what people on here have said.

Bumtags..that's really interesting,there are different ways of dealing with the little blighters then obviously! Was this on the NHS btw and also was it a recent op?-I must say I much prefer the idea of cauterisation to slicing it off and leaving the wound open -I thought that sounded horrific!

I'm not liking that nickname abbreviation...

This was on the nhs, yes, i think it was nov 2009, but i'm not positive.

And i've only just realised that the excruciating bum-pain i suffered afterwards felt exactly like a bad burn, which of course it was. I didn't realise till your comment seaoftroubles that i did not actually have an open wound.

Gp told me that my skin tag would be very painful to remove and to leave alone less it became a problem - ie bleeding a lot.

So sorry,am new and still trying to work things out..thanks for the information though, I expect cauterisation is not offered now due to cut backs.I agree you were fortunate to have yours done when you did!

I saw a gyny, worrying I had perineum cancer as had 2 lumps on it - the bit between anus and vagina- having had a couple of stitches after child birth. Was told one was a skin tag. I was concerned and only noticed it when I couldn't get my self clean with just toilet paper wiping

I now use baby wipes, but would also love a bidet. Never had piles but have had anal cramp.

She couldn't see the 2 lumps lying down so had to get up and squat as if on the loo which is when I first felt them

Ok so which one of us is going to go on embaressing bodies to get an accurate answer?
I'm afraid I look awful on camera & have a teenage son who would be mortified so I'm out! :)

And I'm too old and wrinkly

I had surgery on the nhs as a day case last week...it was a new surgeon and when I saw him on the morning of the op he gave me the chance to back out, explaining the pain during recovery would be bad....how right he was. My wounds from 3 skin tags are open, and still bleeding - but the worst pain is when going to the toilet. I left hospital with 60 sachets of Fybogel and 2 bottles of Lactulose, and I still scream the place down. A salt bath helps, wiping your bum is just agony, I find cleaning up in the bath a lot easier....and the whole area looks 10 times worse than it did before I had it done, I really hope that's down to the swelling....
Knowing what I know now I'd definitely think twice about having it done.

Thankyou for the information StillAgony, so sorry you have had such an ordeal.It was fear of this kind of post op pain that made me hesitate to proceed-and reading your post confirms why! I do hope you feel more comfortable soon and that the pain and swelling reduces asap.Also that in the end it was worth it!

Does anyone have any more up to date comment on this? I have what I "lovingly" describe as a flower coming out of my backside, I too have to wash after going to the toilet, and I too would avoid sex at all costs because of the embarrassment. And yes, I'm happy to go on embarrassing bodies, anything to get them sorted.

Hi all I just wanted to share my experience I found a lump and ashumed it was a pile I felt embarrassed don't no why after having children but after a few years i decided it was affecting certain parts of my life as it had started to sit out side the anus a little, so I went the doctor and found out it was a skin tag (never thought they were white colour but I'm no doctor lol) and was referred to cororectal surgery to see the surgeon who agreed it needed to be removed and it would be a quick and easy operation under GA and that was it, well I was booked in on the 16/10/2014 Thursday just gone as a day case thinking I'll be fine by the next day well how deluded was I , dont get me wrong the operation was all done in less than 45 mins and I was in recovery and all staff were lovely but know one had mentioned that I'd have stitches never mind signed off work for two weeks untill I asked after the surgery and why they had given me a sick note with my discharge letter but I guess they can't predict how u will feel but with the pain and bleeding I see why I mean every time you go the toilet its horrible and 4days later ie today I go to my GP as I get woken up with the pain (possibly due to moving in sleep not sure) to be told this is what happens it's a sensative area and my stitches had came out as I was constipated but just carry on with paracetamol and ibuprofen and ice compression with 4 baths if possible a day and a high fiber diet and no stronger pain killers due to chance of constipation well that's loads of help concidering I thought I'd be fine and back in work today (like everyone made out) sorry for the long winded post just really upset I guess what I'm trying to say is don't be deluded like I was I wish I would have known how painful it was going to be and that I'd be signed off work for 2weeks at least with hindsight I may have booked holidays in work instead of losing pay and I wish I had of researched abit more so I had more questions to ask at the consultation app, but I'm glad I've came along this thread as I will be going back to my GP and be asking for help with stool movement and other forms of pain relief I just hope it was all worth it in the long run as so far its not been a pleasant experience x

Wow Milli30 that sounds horrid! How are you now? You are "lucky" in that you got referred for removal, I am in Suffolk and they don't - NHS consider it to be cosmetic, not quite sure I'd agree with that.

Hi not to worry anyone but post natal I had a perineal skin tag removed by the gynae had it done under local anaesthetic (which wasn't pleasant) and that was 3 weeks ago and it's still sore but from the skin tag they took off they found AIN 3 cells which are the same as CIN cells which ladies can have on their cervix (iv had Cin 2 previously) thankfully they were in the tip of the skin tag not the base so I feel happier they have gone but I still have to have 3-6 monthly surveillance appts with the colorectal surgeon. Apparently women who are hpv positive who have had CIN cells are at risk of getting AIN due to the hpv. I have also like many of you on here got what I thought were piles as they appeared at 38\39 weeks pregnant but when I was examined by the colorectal surgeon he said they were skin tags, due to the AIN 3 cells in the other skin tag, I have opted to have these removed also even though I'm aware it's in an even more sensitive area :-( basically I'm just saying if you've ever had CIN cells on a smear then just read up about hpv and the different neoplasms it can cause and speak to your Gps again, im not trying to scare anyone as each person is different but this might fit with someone and save them a bit of hassle :-)

Oh hiya everyone I'm GAY I seen a colorectal surgeon who banded my internal haemorrhoids. It was successful but one haemorrhoid remained as you can only have so many done at a time. He said he could remove my skin tag but it would be an operation so I declined. I returned to have more banding and it was a different surgeon who seemed totally uninterested I'm my sexual orientation or my haemorrhoid. Before I even asked him about my skin tag he's like that must come off. It did look like a clitoris and was annoying but anyway yeah it was Day surgery and a GA and I was left with an open wound. It's only been 3 weeks, the first 2 weeks were miserable with the wound leaking lots and lots this past week it's not been too bad and GP trying to get me to go back to work but he doesn't understand the Gay way. IDK why the surgeon felt it was essential to remove it. It's not a nice experience I've still got a bit of healing to go but hopefully it'll worth it. It was a bit annoying and you'll all be wondering, no I've not found the right man yet so that's not why I got haemorrhoids.

Hi all. I'm sorry to hear how many of you have had serious issues. I recently had anal SkinTags removed. The specialist told me that I had a choice in the matter but they were bleeding and getting anal fissures as frequently as I was just meant I was a bit fed up having lived with them for almost 10 years (yeah it was pretty silly of me to have put up with them that long). The surgery was done under general due to the prevalence of mine, and were confirmed to be haemorrhoids in origin (biopsy). It's been 6 weeks and I'm experiencing discomfort sitting or pressure on my bottom but the pain for me wasn't ever horrendous after the first day. There was a complication with the tube down my throat (for the general) and that gave me a very sore throat. I was prescribed lactulose but being lactose intolerant and the cramps I got after taking it I switched to Laxido to keep the bowels soft. I use baby wipes instead of toilet tissue - Johnsons have ones that are made of just water and fruit extract (water wipes), the chemically ones stung (extra sensitive ones less so). But all in all, the pain has been manageable with the stool softer and wipes. I do a warm salt and a splash of dettol bath daily too. Very early on the wound was oozing yellow pus and I was convinced it was infected but the GP did several swabs none of which came back positive so if you see yellow seepage/weeping don't automatically freak out but go see your GP it just might be normal wound weeping. Other then that I found its just been a waiting game. Pain killer wise I've only been taking ibuprofen. Hope that helps. Take care

Hi all, I just wanted to give my experience with getting them removed on the NHS.
Had AST for about 5 years at least now and I find it unsightly and embarrassing so I went to my GP. She told me it was a hemorrhoid and referred me to the hospital. It took 6 months for my appointment to come through for an assessment! The doctor at the hospital was very nice and helpful and told me it was a skin tag not hemorrhoid so that was that. He asked me what I wanted to do and I said I'd there anyway to remove it and he said they can chop it off. So he tells me recovery time is about a week, it's done in day surgery, it's going to hurt, done on general anesthetic. So now waiting for my opp date to come through! Will update after I have it done , I'm terrified. And I can't really afford the time off work but hopefully it will be worth it.

Just had my ast removed....a week before christmas.
like so many people on here I was embarrassed by not feeling completely clean and worried about it growing larger. mine started as an anal tear through which the skin prolapsed. had it about 18 months before plucking up the courage to go to the gp. was referred the the hospital and saw a consultant within 2 months. decided to have it removed under general anesthetic and managed to get seen within 6 weeks, after which the procedure was scheduled in a month later. surgery itself was less than 30 mins and after 2 hours I cwas awake. 2 hours later, once I had eaten a sandwich, had a cuppa and been for a wee, I was allowed home. I was discharged with paracetamol, ibuprofen and tramadol for the pain and antibiotics to prevent infection. passing the first poo after surgery was quite scary, but luckily for me not too painful. I was advised to use a shower to clean myself with after each poo. I dried with a clean flannel each time.
After 2 days I had stopped the tramodol and 2 days later was not on any meds at all. Luckily for me, I was driving in 4 days, back to work in 5 days, and fully recovered enough to have a drink over christmas. 10 days on, aside from the occasional spot of blood on the tissue I am fine (touch wood), recovering well. I'm really pleased with how quick and efficient the whole process has been.
Good luck charlibabs - hope your recovery goes well.

Thanks - wannajoinin that was helpful information! I'm having it done tomorrow. I will update in a couple of days of my experience, hopefully a speedy recovery like yourself.

Hope you got on OK, Charlibabs - I had it done about fifteen months ago (picked up the original haemorrhoids from having typhoid a few years ago): I was back at work the next day, and all the terrifying stuff I had read on the internet turned out not to apply. The first big poo was a bit ouchy, in all honesty, but I never took the strong painkillers as I was waiting for the pain to start - and I didn't take anything at all after the first two days.

I kept the wound clean using the shower head, as the surgeon suggested, took the stool softeners and the Fibrogel, and had no weeping or blood etc at all after about 3 weeks or so. I have the luck that everything that can go wrong with me will, so hopefully, you will also have a much less daunting experience that you may have been expecting!

Thanks hefzi - I had it done today and all went great!

It was very fast, they were removing a skin tag and having a look for internal haemorrhoids but I didn't think I had any.
I awoke from the anesthetic only to find that I did in fact have an internal one that they banded while "down there" as well as removing the skin tag. I'm not in much pain at all, kind of a dull ache. Very happy with the results (although I've not tried to poo yet!) they left the sking tag as an open wound so there's a bit of oozing blood but no pain