Painful Pooping | Causes & When To Be Concerned - Buoy Health

Home » Why Does My Butthole Hurt When I Poop » Painful Pooping | Causes & When To Be Concerned - Buoy Health

Maybe your like

Skip to main contentRead about5 Causes of Painful PoopingFind out what is causing painful bowel movements and when to see a doctor.EnglishWritten by Shria Kumar, MD.Therapeutic Endoscopy Fellow, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TXMedically reviewed by Andrew Le, MD.Last updated November 7, 2024Heart Icon.28Tooltip Icon.Speech Bubble Icon.0Share Icon.ShareFacebook Icon.FacebookLinkedIn Icon.LinkedinPinterest Icon.PinterestPocket Icon.PocketShare Link Icon.Copy linkCopied to clipboardClose Icon.On this page
  1. Most common questions
  2. Causes
  3. When to seek medical care
  4. Treatments
On this pageMost common questionsCausesWhen to seek medical careTreatmentsHeart Icon.28Tooltip Icon.Speech Bubble Icon.0Share Icon.ShareFacebook Icon.FacebookLinkedIn Icon.LinkedinPinterest Icon.PinterestPocket Icon.PocketShare Link Icon.Copy linkCopied to clipboardClose Icon.Written by Shria Kumar, MD.Therapeutic Endoscopy Fellow, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TXMedically reviewed by Andrew Le, MD.Last updated November 7, 2024

Painful pooping questionnaire

Use our free symptom checker to find out what's causing your pain.

Buoy Chat Icon.Take symptom quiz

4 most common cause(s)

ConstipationAnal FissureHemorrhoidsIllustration of a doctor beside a bedridden patient.Anal cancer

Common Causes of Painful Bowel Movements

  • Constipation
  • Anal fissures
  • Hemorrhoids
  • Diarrhea
  • Irritation of the skin around the anus
  • Anal cancer
  • Endometriosis

Painful pooping questionnaire

Use our free symptom checker to find out what's causing your pain.

Take symptoms quiz

If you feel pain while you are having a bowel movement, you shouldn’t ignore it. Pain that affects the anus, the opening at the end of the digestive tract, can be uncomfortable but isn’t usually a sign of a serious illness.

It could be caused by constipation or irritation or small tears of the tissue surrounding the anus. Less commonly, pain while pooping can be a sign of anal cancer or other conditions that need to be treated by your doctor, so it’s important to know when you need medical attention.

Is painful poop something to worry about?

"Painful poop is always caused by something. Even if it’s not 'serious,' it’s important to evaluate your bowel habits, as it can be a sign of gut health. Pooping should not be painful." —Dr. Shria Kumar

Causes

1. Constipation

Symptoms

  • Pain while having a bowel movement
  • Hard, dry stool
  • Pain in your abdomen
  • Having fewer than 3 bowel movements a week
  • Straining to have bowel movements
  • Feeling as if there’s a blockage in your rectum that prevents bowel movements

Constipation is a common cause of pain while having a bowel movement. Ideally, your bowel movements should be soft and occur regularly (at least every 1 to 2 days). But when you’re constipated, your stool is harder and drier and you have less frequent bowel movements.

Constipation can cause pain in your abdomen as it travels through your intestines and hurts your anus when you’re having bowel movements.

The main causes of constipation are:

  • Lack of fiber in your diet
  • Not drinking enough water
  • Lack of exercise
  • Bowel surgeries
  • Recent infections or antibiotic use (both can change your stool’s consistency and frequency)
  • Iron supplements
  • Pregnancy
  • Changes in hormones (you can have changes in your bowel habits at certain times of your menstrual cycle)

Constipation can sometimes be a sign of a more serious problem, such as blockages in the colon or rectum or problems with nerves or muscles control pooping. See your doctor if you have constipation and symptoms like weight loss, severe pain, or bleeding.

You can treat constipation by adding more fiber to your diet, increasing water intake (aim to drink 2 to 4 liters per day), adding stool softeners, and getting regular exercise.

Stool softeners like Dulcolax and laxatives like Miralax are available at your pharmacy without a prescription, but your doctor can prescribe stronger laxatives if needed.

2. Anal fissures

Symptoms

  • Pain while having a bowel movement
  • Pain after bowel movements that can last for several hours
  • Bright red blood on the stool or toilet paper after wiping
  • A crack in the skin around the anus
  • A small lump or skin tag near the anal fissure

Anal fissures are tears in the skin and tissue around your anus. They usually occur when you have to pass hard stool. Other causes include chronic diarrhea and anal intercourse.

Anal fissures usually heal on their own within 2 to 4 weeks. If they don’t, or you have severe anal pain or bleeding, see your doctor. Depending on the cause of the fissures, you may need to apply prescription creams to the anus, take medications or receive injections that relax the anal sphincter, or undergo surgery.

3. Hemorrhoids

Symptoms

  • Pain while having a bowel movement
  • Itching or irritation in your anal area
  • Swelling around your anus
  • Bleeding

Hemorrhoids are swollen and inflamed blood vessels around your anus (external hemorrhoids) or inside the rectum (internal hemorrhoids). If you have external hemorrhoids, they’ll likely be visible and easy to feel. This type of hemorrhoid hurts when you have a bowel movement and even when you sit.

The main causes of hemorrhoids are constipation and straining during bowel movements. Others include pregnancy and eating a low-fiber diet.

Hemorrhoids often go away when constipation and straining are treated (with fiber, drinking more fluids, exercise, etc). Over-the-counter (OTC) hemorrhoid creams, ointments, suppositories, and pads can also help.

If lifestyle changes and OTC treatments don’t work, your doctor may recommend an in-office procedure such as injections or using rubber bands at the base of the hemorrhoids to shrink them. In some cases, surgery may be needed.

4. Irritation of the skin around the anus

Symptoms

  • Pain while having a bowel movement
  • Redness, burning, or soreness around the anus

The skin around the anus can become irritated, usually from hard or large bowel movements and toilet paper wiping. Other causes include:

  • Diarrhea
  • Skin conditions like warts or eczema
  • Tight-fitting clothing that irritates the anal area
  • Trauma to the anus

If you are noticing pain or discomfort as you wipe the area, or if you are having persistent pain, you should see your doctor. Your doctor may recommend topical creams to help healing and stool softeners so that bowel movements won’t irritate the area more.

5. Anal cancer

Symptoms

  • Pain while having a bowel movement
  • Bleeding from the anus or rectum
  • A mass or growth in the anal canal
  • Anal itching

It’s not common, but anal cancer can cause pain during a bowel movement. This type of cancer is linked to an infection called human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV is a common sexually transmitted infection. The virus is found in most cases of anal cancer. (In fact, HPV is linked to several types of cancers and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends older children and teenagers are given a vaccine against HPV.)

Anal cancer is usually treated with a combination of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery. The treatment depends on the stage, size, and other characteristics of the tumor.

Other possible causes

In women, endometriosis may also cause painful bowel movements. Endometriosis is when the normal uterine tissue (the endometrium) grows outside the uterus.

It’s often more than one cause

"A lot of the causes of painful poop overlap. For example, if you have an anal fissure, this is the likely cause of your pain. However, the underlying cause is likely constipation. There may also be associated hemorrhoids. Treating the anal fissure will improve the pain, but treating the constipation is also a key component to ensure healing and future prevention." —Dr. Kumar

When to call the doctor

You should call your doctor if you have persistent pain (meaning more than one or two episodes of pain). Other reasons to call the doctor include:

  • Weight loss
  • Small amounts of blood or dark, tarry stool

Should I go to the ER for painful poop?

You should go to the emergency department if you have any of these signs of a more serious problem:

  • High fever
  • Severe pain (anal or abdominal)
  • Nausea
  • Dizziness
  • Vomiting
  • Lightheadedness or dizziness
  • Large amounts of bleeding or bleeding that won’t stop

What do you need to know to make a diagnosis?

"The first things I want to establish are what your bowel habits are like, and if there are recent changes to your bathroom habits. I also want to know about other symptoms, are you having fevers or chills? Weight loss? Abdominal pain? Have you traveled or taken any medications recently?" —Dr. Kumar

Treatments

Treatment depends on the underlying cause. Options include:

  • Eating more fiber
  • Drinking more water
  • Exercising regularly
  • Taking stool softeners
  • Topical creams or ointments
  • Sitz baths (warm shallow baths)
  • In-office treatments such as injections
  • Surgery

Painful pooping questionnaire

Take a quiz to find out how to treat your symptoms.

Take treatment quiz

Share your storyShare your story below!First name initial (required)Email (required; not displayed)Title for your story (required)Once your story receives approval from our editors, it will exist on Buoy as a helpful resource for others who may experience something similar. Submit storyRequest sent successfullyAn error occurred, please try again laterThe stories shared below are not written by Buoy employees. Buoy does not endorse any of the information in these stories. Whenever you have questions or concerns about a medical condition, you should always contact your doctor or a healthcare provider.Andrew Le, MD.Dr. Le obtained his MD from Harvard Medical School and his BA from Harvard College. Before Buoy, his research focused on glioblastoma, a deadly form of brain cancer. Outside of work, Dr. Le enjoys cooking and struggling to run up-and-down the floor in an adult basketball league.

Was this article helpful?

28 people found this helpfulHeart Icon.28Tooltip Icon.Share Icon.ShareFacebook Icon.FacebookLinkedIn Icon.LinkedinPinterest Icon.PinterestPocket Icon.PocketShare Link Icon.Copy linkCopied to clipboardClose Icon.Read this nextSlide 1 of 4Constipation: 4 Ways to Treat ItConstipation is when you have less than three bowel movements a week or if it’s incredibly hard to push stool out when you go to the bathroom. There are many causes, including a poor diet, immobility, a side effect of medication, or another underlying medical condition.Read moreAnal Fissure: A Treatable ConditionAn anal fissure is a small tear or crack in the tissue of the anus. It makes bowel movements hurt and bleed. Fissures are easy to treat and take just a few weeks to heal. But they will happen again if you don’t fix the cause. Here’s how.Read moreHemorrhoids: How to Get ReliefHemorrhoids cause itching and pain around your anus. They happen when the small blood vessels become swollen, from straining and other reasons. The discomfort can be treated with over-the-counter medications, and you can learn how to prevent them.Read moreIrritable Bowel SyndromeIrritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common, chronic disorder of the gut (primarily the intestines) that causes abdominal pain and constipation, diarrhea, or both. There is no cure for IBS, but there are many treatments to reduce symptoms.Read moreConstipation: 4 Ways to Treat ItConstipation is when you have less than three bowel movements a week or if it’s incredibly hard to push stool out when you go to the bathroom. There are many causes, including a poor diet, immobility, a side effect of medication, or another underlying medical condition.Read moreAnal Fissure: A Treatable ConditionAn anal fissure is a small tear or crack in the tissue of the anus. It makes bowel movements hurt and bleed. Fissures are easy to treat and take just a few weeks to heal. But they will happen again if you don’t fix the cause. Here’s how.Read moreHemorrhoids: How to Get ReliefHemorrhoids cause itching and pain around your anus. They happen when the small blood vessels become swollen, from straining and other reasons. The discomfort can be treated with over-the-counter medications, and you can learn how to prevent them.Read moreIrritable Bowel SyndromeIrritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common, chronic disorder of the gut (primarily the intestines) that causes abdominal pain and constipation, diarrhea, or both. There is no cure for IBS, but there are many treatments to reduce symptoms.Read moreConstipation: 4 Ways to Treat ItConstipation is when you have less than three bowel movements a week or if it’s incredibly hard to push stool out when you go to the bathroom. There are many causes, including a poor diet, immobility, a side effect of medication, or another underlying medical condition.Read moreAnal Fissure: A Treatable ConditionAn anal fissure is a small tear or crack in the tissue of the anus. It makes bowel movements hurt and bleed. Fissures are easy to treat and take just a few weeks to heal. But they will happen again if you don’t fix the cause. Here’s how.Read moreHemorrhoids: How to Get ReliefHemorrhoids cause itching and pain around your anus. They happen when the small blood vessels become swollen, from straining and other reasons. The discomfort can be treated with over-the-counter medications, and you can learn how to prevent them.Read moreIrritable Bowel SyndromeIrritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common, chronic disorder of the gut (primarily the intestines) that causes abdominal pain and constipation, diarrhea, or both. There is no cure for IBS, but there are many treatments to reduce symptoms.Read moreAgree & continue

Get all of your prescriptions refilled for a year for only $10/month

Close Icon.