Butt Burn
Butt Burn… can you say those words without a little snigger? I’m not talking about having a bit of a dodgy tum after a curry, I’m talking about the pain and discomfort that people with a j pouch suffer from. Let me explain a bit more.
When you have had your large intestine removed, a pouch is formed from your small intestine and this is attached to your rectum. This means your digestive path is an awful lot shorter than usual and the acid from your stomach may not be fully neutralised by the time it reaches your bum. Your large intestine is also responsible for removing the water from the food we eat, without it, your poo becomes liquid rather than a solid poo. That combined with the smaller ‘storage’ space inside means that most people with a pouch go to the toilet multiple times a day.
The combination of these things can result in butt burn. A severe irritation of the skin around your bum that results in a painful burning sensation.
So what can you do about butt burn?
Well firstly many people recommend flushable, sensitive toddler wipes instead of toilet paper. The skin is very delicate and if you are going at least 5-6 times a day with a liquid poo, the amount of rubbing and wiping can further irritate the skin.
Some people use a bidet to wash themselves after a poo. For me this seems like too much of a faff. But when it’s been severe, I have gone and sat on the bidet for relief! I have also heard that some dry their bums off with a hair dryer. That’s not one I have tried but if it works for you, then go for it!
Barrier Creams are my weapon of choice. I was given the comfeel barrier cream by Coloplast when I left hospital but also use Metanium and Bepanthen which are two nappy rash creams that help. Metanium is very good, but it’s very yellow and I find it stains my skin and clothes a bit. Bepanthen is fab too, but I do find it a little too greasy. Which is why I end up using a combination!
Controlling butt burn through diet is not as simple as you’d imagine. It is not a case of if you eat spicy food, you will get the burn. I can eat Indian food absolutely fine, but eating oranges is agony (I still eat them now and again though as I love them!) Certain foods can cause problems one time but be fine the next and so it’s important to not remove one food from your diet forever as it can be changeable.
Some people recommend eating a lot of carbs (bread, pasta etc) to bulk up the stool. The thinking behind this is that the thicker the stool, the less wiping and the less irritation.
“A sitz bath or hip bath is a bath in which a person sits in water up to the hips. It is used to relieve discomfort and pain in the lower part of the body. It works by keeping the affected area clean and increasing the flow of blood to it.
A sitz bath may be created simply by filling a bathtub with some water and sitting in it for a few minutes. Alternatively, a large basin can be used. There are also special devices that fit into toilet bowls. Sitz baths may either be warm or cool. Some people find alternating between hot and cold water soothing. Sitz baths may be filled with just water, or substances such as salt, baking soda or vinegar can be added.”
The above comes from Wikipedia I haven’t used a sitz bath or bowl, but a proper bath is always quite soothing and worth a try.
I suppose the biggest thing is to speak to your GP or consultant about your butt burn. It’s not something you should be embarrassed of, and they may be able to give you a solution. I hope my post has been a little helpful in your plight for a less burny bum hole.
I know things like this can sound like a joke, but the reality is that dealing with these things every day can becomes a source of anxiety and really affect both your spirit and day to day life. I write about these things to bring the subjects that us pouchees have to deal with to the table. I hope my post can make it a little easier to deal with.
Love Sam x
Great you are talking about this!! I still have my colon and am relative good health, but when things kick off bum burn can happen. My tip is as soon as it’s a burner motion wack on the barrier cream. Don’t be optimistic and hope it was a one off. Don’t think for a minute, I have a colon so that’s just a tiny bit of acidic diarrhoea and I’m tough. Get that nappy rash cream on. And don’t throw out the stretched ugly knickers because they have a second life as bum burn treatment bloomers.
Haha! Indeed!!!
Great you are talking about this!! I still have my colon and am relative good health, but when things kick off bum burn can happen. My tip is as soon as it’s a burner motion wack on the barrier cream. Don’t be optimistic and hope it was a one off. Don’t think for a minute, I have a colon so that’s just a tiny bit of acidic diarrhoea and I’m tough. Get that nappy rash cream on. And don’t throw out the stretched ugly knickers because they have a second life as bum burn treatment bloomers.
Haha! Indeed!!!
You’re making a darned good case for an ileostomy over jpouch Sam? Have you pondered that recently from this side of the op?
I have thought about it. But I’m aware that the recovery period is long after the jpouch and so I’m trying to be patient and hoping these are just teething problems and soon all will be good!!!
You’re making a darned good case for an ileostomy over jpouch Sam? Have you pondered that recently from this side of the op?
I have thought about it. But I’m aware that the recovery period is long after the jpouch and so I’m trying to be patient and hoping these are just teething problems and soon all will be good!!!
Have you tried Senset foam? It’s cooling and cleansing I rely on it during ibs attacks. I very rarely suffer butt burn but it makes me cry when I do but I find the Senset foam really soothing. I think probably because it’s cold.
Have you tried Senset foam? It’s cooling and cleansing I rely on it during ibs attacks. I very rarely suffer butt burn but it makes me cry when I do but I find the Senset foam really soothing. I think probably because it’s cold.
How are you finding the butt burn now? I found that after about 6 months or so, it had largely gone away. I’m not sure if this is because I gradually eliminated acidic foods in large quantities from my diet, or whether I’d just killed all the nerve endings in my skin around there by burning them away. Anyway, before that, I tried all three of the creams you mentioned and had the same problems with all of them. I then discovered Calmoseptine, which is American, but can be bought on amazon.co.uk. I liked it because it is very thick and doesn’t wear off too quickly.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/CALMOSEPTINE-OINT-4OZ-TB-pack/dp/B000NAZKCA
Sadly I was never able to get shot of the colitis in my rectal cuff, and because I’m small there was no room left in my pelvis to do a pouch advancement surgery, so I decided in January of this year (after 14 months with a j-pouch, a few more rounds of pred, and infliximab which didn’t work either) to have my pouch excised and a full on proctocolectomy (I got cool scars both sides now!). I’m now back with a stoma and happier than ever, thanks in a large part to your fantastic efforts making having a stoma a normal thing for a person to have! 😀
How are you finding the butt burn now? I found that after about 6 months or so, it had largely gone away. I’m not sure if this is because I gradually eliminated acidic foods in large quantities from my diet, or whether I’d just killed all the nerve endings in my skin around there by burning them away. Anyway, before that, I tried all three of the creams you mentioned and had the same problems with all of them. I then discovered Calmoseptine, which is American, but can be bought on amazon.co.uk. I liked it because it is very thick and doesn’t wear off too quickly.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/CALMOSEPTINE-OINT-4OZ-TB-pack/dp/B000NAZKCA
Sadly I was never able to get shot of the colitis in my rectal cuff, and because I’m small there was no room left in my pelvis to do a pouch advancement surgery, so I decided in January of this year (after 14 months with a j-pouch, a few more rounds of pred, and infliximab which didn’t work either) to have my pouch excised and a full on proctocolectomy (I got cool scars both sides now!). I’m now back with a stoma and happier than ever, thanks in a large part to your fantastic efforts making having a stoma a normal thing for a person to have! 😀
This is fucking bullshit barrier cream burns my fucking anal orifice and surrounding skin like the God damned flames of hell.
There is not one God damned cream, diaper cream, hemmoroid cream, toilet wipe or anything that I have yet
to find that doesn’t fucking burn me, I can’t fucking take it anymore. I think it all started because I shaved the whole
area thinking I wanted a smooth feel on my skin, stupid idea. I think the fucking new hair does some kind
of ingrown shit because all fucking over it it feels like God damned razor blade cuts, holy fucking shit.
I know this sounds crazy but someone recommended I used Vicks Vapour Rub and it worked for me!
It might not be right for others but when I was at my wits end in pain, it took the burn away.
Sorry you’re struggling xx