Analthrombosis: Causes, symptoms, treatment

Painful, bluish knots on the anus

If you feel a painful lump on the anus that is bluish in colour, you may think of hemorrhoidal disease. However, you may also have another condition: your symptoms could be caused by an anal thrombosis. But don't worry, in contrast to deep vein thrombosis (DVT), this vascular blockage is not dangerous, as the clotted blood cannot be washed into other vessels (embolism). In many cases a treatment is not necessary at all and waiting and observing can already be the best therapy.

Cause Analthrombosis: There are many triggers

The reasons why anal thrombosis develops can be very different. The greatest risk factors are prolonged sitting (at work or while travelling) and increased pressure on the abdominal cavity, as is the case during pregnancy, for example. Coughing, strength training or bowel movements can also lead to increased pressure build-up. In addition, mechanical stimuli such as proctological interventions or anal sex can trigger the disease. Analthrombosis is very rarely caused by a general disease with an altered tendency to blood clotting.

There is a network of fine veins in the subcutis around the anus. If the blood flow in one of these vessels accumulates, the vessel swells and the contained blood coagulates - an anal venous thrombosis has developed.

Symptoms Anal Venous Thrombosis: Pain & Itching

Anyone suffering from anal venous thrombosis feels sudden pain and a palpable protrusion at the edge of the anus. Itching, burning and stinging are also possible symptoms. Anal venous thrombosis can be recognised by a bluish-black knot covered with skin. This characteristic helps the doctor to diagnose anal venous thrombosis and rule out other diseases such as haemorrhoidal disease: Hemorrhoids are covered by mucous membrane and not by skin. As a rule, anal venous thrombosis is diagnosed by simple palpation.

The size of an anal vein thrombosis can range from pinhead to plum-sized. Not infrequently one finds not only one, but several knots.

Analthrombosis Treatment

The good news is that anal venous thrombosis often heals by itself within a few days or weeks. Sometimes, however, the skin stretched by the thrombosis is stressed by the pressure to such an extent that it can open and empty itself. Although the thought suggests itself, a bacterial inflammation of this opening is quite unlikely. As long as the disease causes hardly any symptoms, it does not need to be treated. Slight pain can be easily controlled with ointments or tablets.

In about five to ten percent of cases, anal thrombosis scars in such a way that a smoothly limited, usually mobile knot remains, the size of which is the size of a pea or bean. This should be removed by the doctor. An immediate intervention may also be necessary in cases of severe pain. The operation can be performed on an outpatient basis and without any problems under local anaesthesia; radiofrequency surgery is a suitable and gentle procedure for this purpose. The resulting wound usually heals in a few weeks and the pain can be treated with painkillers such as ibuprofen.

If you have unclear discomfort and pain in the anus area, have a proctologist examine you. Dr. Hofer and Mr. Bärtl have many years of experience in this medical field and are very familiar with the treatment of proctological diseases.