Normal dilation of the anus during bowel movements is usually
sufficient to pass stool without straining and skin laceration. An
excessive dilation of the anus may cause skin laceration around the
anal verge. An excessive dilation of the anus is usually due to constipated stool:
this is why constipated people are more frequently prone to suffer from
anal rhagades. The small cut due to anal skin laceration causes mild bleeding: blood
may be seen either on the toilet paper or in the toilet bowl. Many
people experience this kind of bleeding from time to time (few times a
year, on the average). Blood coming out of these small cuts is usually bright red (fresh
blood). When blood is dark red, bleeding may be due to an internal
haemorrhage. If this is the case, consult your physician. Occasional anal bleeding should not give cause for concern: in most
cases small skin lacerations heal up spontaneously in a few days like
any other wound.
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Due to the shape and structure of the anus, as well as to its
contraction pattern, when skin lacerations recur several times (even
after a few months or years), the skin breaking point is always the
same. Sometimes it happens that the laceration cannot heal up, thus
forming the so-called rhagas.