Digestive Disorders Health Center
Proctitis
Proctitis Overview
Proctitis is defined as inflammation of the anus (the opening) and lining of your rectum (lower part of the intestine leading to the anus). Symptoms of proctitis can vary greatly. You may at first have only minor problems. Proctitis affects the last 6 inches of the rectum and can cause the following:
- Pain during a bowel movement
- Soreness in your anal and rectal area
- Feeling that you didn't completely empty your bowels after a bowel movement
- Involuntary spasms and cramping during bowel movements
- Bleeding, and possibly a discharge
Proctitis can last a short time or become a chronic condition (last for weeks or months or longer).
Causes of Proctitis
Proctitis has many causes, but sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are the most common. Gonorrhea, syphilis, herpes, anal warts, and chlamydia are the most common cause of sexually transmitted proctitis. Proctitis is increasingly more common in homosexual men and in people engaging in oral-anal or anal intercourse with many partners.
Other causes of proctitis include the following:
- Nonsexually transmitted infections
- Autoimmune diseases of the colon such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis
- Harmful physical agents
- Chemicals
- Foreign objects placed in the rectum
- Trauma to the area
- Radiation (a side effect from treatment for another illness)
- Antibiotics (a side effect from treatment for another illness)
Symptoms of Proctitis
Symptoms of proctitis are different depending on the cause.
- The most common symptom is that you feel a continuing urge to have a bowel movement. Your rectum could feel "full." Or you could have constipation (unable to have a bowel movement).
- You may have minor symptoms such as tenderness in the anal region and mild irritation of the rectum.
- More serious symptoms may occur, such as pus and blood in discharge accompanied by severe cramps and pain during bowel movements.
- If you have severe bleeding associated with proctitis, you may develop anemia (from loss of blood). Anemia can cause you to have pale skin, irritability, weakness, dizziness, brittle nails, and shortness of breath.
With sexually transmitted proctitis, you may have these symptoms:
- Gonorrhea (gonococcal proctitis): The primary cause appears to be anal intercourse. You may not have symptoms. If you have symptoms, you may have soreness, itching, bloody or pus-like discharge, or diarrhea. Other rectal problems may be present such as anal warts, which are genital warts, anal tears, fistulas (abnormal passages that connect an organ or natural tube, like the rectum, to another surface), and hemorrhoids (dilated veins in the anus).
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Syphilis (syphilitic proctitis): Symptoms are similar to those of other causes of infectious proctitis-rectal pain, discharge, and spasms during bowel movements. But you may have no symptoms. Syphilis occurs in three stages:
- Primary stage: A single painless sore with raised borders can be found at the site of sexual contact. These sores, or chancres, are less than an inch across. During acute stages of infection, the lymph nodes in your groin become diseased, firm, and rubbery.
- Secondary stage: Syphilis produces sores around your anus and rectum. These are wart-like growths resembling cauliflower.
- Third stage: This usually appears late in the course of syphilis and affects mostly your heart and nervous system.
- Chlamydia (chlamydial proctitis): This bacterial form of sexually transmitted proctitis may account for up to 20% of cases. You may show no symptoms, mild symptoms, or severe symptoms. Mild symptoms might be mild rectal pain with bowel movement, anal discharge, and cramping. With a severe case, you may have discharge containing blood and pus, severe rectal pain, and diarrhea. Some people may have rectal strictures, a narrowing of the rectal passageway. This narrowing might cause constipation, straining, and thin stools.
WebMD Medical Reference
