What are the symptoms of Anorectal abscess?
Last updated September 7, 2026.
An anorectal abscess most often causes constant, throbbing pain near the anus along with swelling, redness, warmth, and a tender lump, and many people also run a fever. The pain tends to be steady rather than coming and going, and it usually gets worse when you sit down, walk, cough, or pass stool. Symptoms depend on how deep the abscess sits: a shallow one near the skin shows an obvious red bump, while a deeper abscess in the pelvis can cause severe pain, fever, and trouble passing urine with nothing visible outside. If it opens on its own, you may see pus or blood on toilet paper or underwear and feel sudden relief, which does not mean it is cured. Warm baths, soft stools from fluids and fiber, and acetaminophen or ibuprofen can ease pain while you arrange treatment.
What to do
- Act on steady pain: Anal pain that is constant and worsening over a day or two, rather than only during bowel movements, points toward an abscess instead of a fissure or hemorrhoid.
- Check your temperature: Fever, chills, or feeling generally unwell alongside anal pain means you need to be seen the same day.
- Do not wait it out: Abscesses need to be drained by a clinician, and antibiotics by themselves usually will not resolve one.
- Soothe while you wait: Sit in warm water for 10 to 15 minutes a few times a day, keep stools soft with fluids and fiber, and use acetaminophen or ibuprofen as directed on the label.
- Tell your clinician about risk factors: Diabetes, Crohn disease, HIV, chemotherapy, or long-term steroid use change how quickly you need treatment and how it is managed.
- Go to the ER for red flags: Severe or rapidly spreading pain, high fever, inability to pass urine, or spreading redness and skin changes need emergency evaluation.
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