Bec Oakes
Have you ever randomly experienced a shooting pain in your bum that stops you in your tracks? You're not alone.
A Reddit user has taken to the platform to share details about the rather embarrassing pain he gets 'down there.'
He wrote: "I’m at work and I was talking to some colleagues when I had my once-every-few-months shooting pain up my butthole. I had to try not to keel over in front of them and clench for a few seconds to ease the pain.
"Does anyone else have this? Is there some reason as to why it happens unprompted?"
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The general consensus amongst others was yes, they get it too.
One user replied: "They’re muscle spasms and they can f*** right off."
Another commented: "Oh see I thought I was dying lol."
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A third wrote: "I feel like this is truly one of those things everyone gets, but is too afraid to ever bring up, so we walk around with random shooting b***hole pain instead."
And a fourth went on to explain what causes it. "It's called proctalgia fugax it's caused by cramping of the muscles around the anus, they said. "For the longest time I never knew what it was too until I looked it up."
According to Medical News Today, the condition is characterised by the sudden onset of severe pain in the rectal area, which can last from seconds to minutes. It occurs due to muscle spasms in the anal passage.
Often there is no reason why the shooting pain happens, but it can be triggered by stress, sex, constipation, having a period and endometriosis.
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In between episodes, there is no pain at all.
For many people, episodes of proctalgia fugax are infrequent, and no treatment is required.
But, while there's no proven 'cure' for the condition, there are a few things you can do to help ease the pain.
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A salbutamol inhaler - the same type used by people with asthma - works to relax the muscles around the anus.
There are also creams that work on the blood vessels around the anus and injections into the nerve to make it less sensitive.
While proctalgia fugax isn't typically a cause for concern, anal pain is also a symptom of far more serious conditions.
However, if the pain does not go away in a few days or you're at all worried, it's always a good idea to visit your GP to discuss your symptoms and determine the cause of the pain.