Management of Pruritus Ani

Pruritus ani is a definite disease entity and should not be confused with a symptom which bears the same name, and the polyvalent nature of the etiology immediately reveals that the subsequent therapy must necessarily be varied and that no specific cure exists.

Abstract

Pruritus ani is a definite disease entity and should not be confused with a symptom which bears the same name. This similarity in nomenclature has led to a state of confusion so that many physicians think the symptom and the disease are one and the same. A further difficulty in appreciating the character of the disease is the fact that it is produced by any one of a large group of factors. Many mistruths and halftruths have been handed down in various texts, and this has also retarded a dissemination of the understanding and therapy of pruritus ani. The polyvalent nature of the etiology immediately reveals that the subsequent therapy must necessarily be varied and that no specific cure exists. One can think of the disease as a "catchall" term for the conditions which result in intractable perianal itching with progressive skin changes which eventually terminate in lichenification. The well-known