What is this fresh hell? Menopause

It isn't menopause at all but not nice irrespective.

That sounds genuinely miserable, on top of already being awake at 4am in pain ...sorry you're dealing with this. A warm compress a few times a day usually helps more than anything else at home; if it's not settling or gets worse, a GP or pharmacist can check whether it needs draining or antibiotics, which OTC stuff won't touch. Fully agree with fuck the boil and fuck the patriarchy.

Hope you’re getting better?

Op did you make it to the spa??

Bizarrely I’ve just developed one now near my urethra hurts to wee, hurts to do anything
GP has given me antibiotics

I had one a of those about 7 months ago.
It hurt like hell but went away in a couple of days.

Ive only ever had it happen once before and that was about 30 years ago. That one exploded and it was such a relief!

My advice would be to take paracetamol and drink plenty of water and use a hot compress and hopefully it will go soon.

@faithfultoGeorgeMichael Well that’s a new treatment for fanny boils! I haven’t read that one before. I’m glad that it’s improving and the pain decreasing.

Have you discovered Sporner Corner on here? It’s full of delights that are squeezed, poked, picked or surgically removed. I highly recommend it.

@faithfultoGeorgeMichael How’s the painful lump progressing? Any improvement yet?

Anything lumpy has to be squeezed. It's the law.

It's like scabs. Scabs were designed to be pickable.

Boils are usually caused by bacteria. Squeezing can push the bacteria deeper into the s skin or spread it to nearby tissue.

Ok, now I know why there are few actual pictures!!!!

"and maybe , just maybe" seeing her GP first ...now there's a thought !

Get thee gone foul fanny blight! God speed OP!!
(I've been drinking)

In fairness, I wasn’t directing anything to the OP, my comment quoted a person who told her to just got straight to A+E.
I wasn’t being harsh to someone in pain and scared, I was being harsh to someone else 😅

Well we are agreeing, I said in my first post and to you that GP/UTC or walk in is better, but in the absence of those (which is unfortunately very common) then A&E is not ‘ridiculous’ as you described it.

It’s a sorry situation, and some people absolutely do misuse A&E, but mostly people don’t know where to get help or can’t even if they want to. I just wouldn’t be so harsh on someone in pain and a bit scared.

Yes. Mine eventually burst, but now I have them in my arm pits 😔

We shall agree to disagree.
I get very frustrated about A+E departments being abused. Triaging people who don’t need to be there takes up valuable time and resources.

A GP or walk-in is a more appropriate setting for this at this stage. Obviously if the symptoms got worse during the night or OP felt extremely unwell, then the situation has changed and an A+E visit might be necessary, but that should never be the first port of call unless life or limb is at risk.

But that’s the last I’ll say on the matter.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/bartholins-cyst/

In the absence of primary care it’s reasonable for someone who suspects a Bartholin cyst to seek treatment at A&E if there is no accessible UTC/walk in. OP would be triaged based on her symptoms and any underlying conditions that she may not have shared here. If they think she needn’t be there they will send her home. IME medical staff prefer potentially risky things to be checked out, she’s not talking about going there with a broken nail.

And of course you can disagree with that, but childishly insulting people isn’t helpful. Having family who get annoyed at work isn’t an excuse, and I’d hope they manage their emotions better.

A family member had a Bartholian cyst last year actually. The saw the GP and were told that if they started feeling unwell with a high temperature, then to seek urgent help. Aside from that they were told to bathe it in warm water and take painkillers and ibuprofen. It subsided within about a week.
Nowhere are you told to race to A+E with one of these unless you are showing symptoms of a worsening infection.

The flu kills people every year and absolutely can be an emergency, but when you get the flu, you don’t automatically fly to A+E because you’ve got the flu, do you?
You manage your symptoms and seek advice from a GP or pharmacist if needed. You then keep an eye out for symptoms that may show things are getting more serious and then act accordingly.

If people used a bit more common sense instead of instantly jumping to the worst case scenario, A+E departments would be able to focus on treating those who really need to be there.

As pp’s have said a bartholian cyst absolutely can be an emergency.

Once it is causing pain as op has described it has very likely deveopled into an abscess and will need assessment by gynae for potential drainage. Hence why posters are advising to consider a&e.

Have you had a bartholian cyst?

Are you medically trained?

Didn’t think so.

Yes these can absolutely be an emergency
My DS had one, was sent to a&e by GP. Waited for 19 hours (obviously not priority and thats a kind of usual waiting time here anyway) and ended up being in surgery within a few hours after that.

I'd also see if you could reschedule your weekend if possible as I would assume you wont be comfortable in spa surroundings by the weekend