Definition
Many people suffer from pain during bowel movements. This affects both women and men and can have various causes, ranging from poor nutrition to pregnancy and anal diseases. The faeces, also known as feces, should normally have a soft to medium-hard consistency and come off easily during bowel movements without causing any discomfort.
If the faeces are too hard or there are injuries in the anal area, this can cause pain when defecating. The faeces consist of indigestible food remains, intestinal bacteria, rejected intestinal mucosa and to a large extent water. The water content is responsible for the consistency of the stool, which is why nutrition plays an important role in the consistency of the stool. Pain during defecation belongs medically to the rectal complaints, the so-called proctalgias, which include anal and anal pain.
Causes
The causes for pain during bowel movement are very diverse. People with chronic constipation often complain about these complaints. In these people the faeces are very hard and dry and a relatively high effort is required to squeeze the faeces out.
The pressing is often associated with severe pain. Chronic constipation also favors the development of hemorrhoids, which can also lead to problems with bowel movements. If haemorrhoids are present, pain during bowel movement can occur regardless of the constipation.
Anal venous thrombosis, which causes similar symptoms to hemorrhoids, can also be the cause of pain. Small tears in the mucous membrane of the anus or in the mucous membrane of the rectum can cause stabbing pain during bowel movement. These are called anal fissures.
In addition, anal fistulae, i.e. inflammations that run tunnel-like under the skin in the area of the anus, or anal eczema, which is a skin rash in this area, can cause pain. Also encapsulated purulent inflammations in the area of the anus, so-called anal abscesses, can cause pain during bowel movements. In addition, venereal diseases such as syphilis or genital warts can also cause pain during defecation. In addition to harmless causes, such as spicy food or prolonged diarrhea that irritates the mucous membrane of the anus, malignant diseases such as anal cancer (anal abscess) or rectal cancer (rectal cancer) can also be responsible for the pain in rare cases.
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