Patient 61

Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2006 21:22:53 -0400
To: jack1faf6.arc.nasa.gov

Hi,

First I want to thank you for your site--it was very informative and gave me hope when I was feeling very down about my problem.

I got my fissure following childbirth. I tried the over the counter hemorrhoid cream, which didn't seem to really help. Something I saw on your page under the New Mothers section gave me an idea though. There is a product called Lansinoh which is marketed to breastfeeding moms to help heal sore, cracked nipples. (Here is the link to the product information page)

It is really effective on sore nipples and also works well on diaper rash and chapped lips so I thought maybe it would be helpful for the fissure. My self treatment was basically this: I got really hard-core about increasing the fiber in my diet and cutting out soda and junk food. I drank TONS of water to keep my stools as loose as possible and took 2 stool softeners per day. Every day after showering I would apply some of the Lansinoh cream to the affected area. After each bowel movement, I cleansed thoroughly with a Tucks pad and applied more Lansinoh. It has only about a week that I've been doing this and I am finally having bowel movements that don't hurt any more. I plan to continue doing this protocol until I am certain I am totally healed (and hopefully longer with the improvements in my diet, so I don't develop this problem again in the future).

If you think this might be helpful to others, feel free to post this on your site. Thank you again for your hard work on the site!

Wendy

The website for Lansinoh says:

• Created with a patented refining process, Lansinoh uses ultra-pure, medical-grade lanolin to help heal sore, cracked nipples, a major reason women discontinue breastfeeding.
• Lansinoh Brand Lanolin is the only lanolin available that contains no preservatives or additives of any kind, so it does not have to be removed before breastfeeding.

Jack