What is this fresh hell? Menopause

[faithfultoGeorgeMichael]

I woke up at 4am with a huge boil on my labia - it is AGONY. I can't think about anything else, its throbbing and I want to cry!

My mum said "oh yeah, it's menopause" WTF mother?! Why didn't you warn me? (and what good would that possibly have done?)

Is there anything beyond compresses and morphine that can help me?

Fuck menopause, fuck the patriarchy and fuck this fucking boil to hell.

I didn't get that with menopause, so you have my greatest sympathy!

You might try to engage with a more common symptom and use the RAGE to alleviate stress!

Thankfully, I never got anything like that!

It must be bloody agony, so heaps of sympathy from me.

I don’t think that’s a symptom of menopause… it’s likely to be a blocked hair follicle. They are nasty things. Have you got some advice from the nhs on how to treat it? You have my sympathy 💐 I hope it gets better quickly.

Go to A&E if it hasn’t burst.
Someone needs to have a look at it.
Yes, I know, you don’t think it’s THAT bad. Go to A&E anyway.

I got one the other day! It burst, but was so sore

I had something similar, but many years ago so not during menopause. It was agony, so you have my sympathy. For me it seemed to be due to an ingrown hair (apologies tmi). I did end up squeezing it and once it burst/drained the relief was immediate. Probably best to get a medical professional to do it though.

Can you make an appointment with your practice nurse? I'd definitely try that first, apart from painkillers and warm compress, I'm not sure what else you can do yourself! You poor thing, it sounds horrible 💐

Post menopausal and I had one.... managed to get an appointment with the doctors. Course of antibiotics and it was sorted. Good luck OP hope you feel better soon x

There are no hair follicles on the labia.

You need some vaginal estrogen cream; it keeps the tissues healthy and should likely stop anything like this x

This happens to me every so often, I think it’s because (thanks menopause) I am sweating so much more. It’s so uncomfortable isn’t it. I do regular hot compresses to try to steam open. But I confess one became so uncomfortably swollen I sterilised a pin and just nicked it a little to relieve the build up. I don’t recommend that but as a last resort…

FFS 🙄unless it's going to endanger OP's life A & E is not the place.
nrft but try paracetamol and a covered hot water bottle, heat will bring out the boil and split it so the gunk can be released. It will still be painful afterwards but at least the worst will be over. - My h stuffers from boils in his groin and this is our go to method. He never needs medical input let alone A&E. It is treatable at home, if it becomes infected then speak to pharmacist or call 111 for advice.

Blister plasters OP - even if it means a bit of an unintentional wax. Honestly, they're AMAZING for boils or ingrown hairs.

I discovered this in desperation one morning when I had to do a 2 hour commute with a similar problem. I had no regular plasters but desperately needed something to stop my clothes rubbing on the unfortunately placed boil so used the blister plaster. Swelling and pain were down within an hour and the whole thing had practically gone by the next day.

There are on the labia majora.

Hot compresses and painkillers should hopefully help, OP. It must be awful. When I had a boil elsewhere (by my armpit), I resorted to popping it with a sterilised pin like a pp, and while it's not recommended I know, it worked for me!

Could be a bartholin cyst so be careful.

You need antibiotics.
It’s nothing to do with menopause, women of all ages can get these.

Nothing to do with menopause, I’ve been getting them since I was about 10 but I have hidradenitis
hot baths, warm compresses. If it gets huge, the redness starts tracking or you feel unwell then see someone
currently have one the size of a golf ball which is not pleasant so empathise!

I would never be out of a&e if I went every time I got one!

I had one once, years ago. It was agony and I could hardly walk with the pain of it brushing against legs/knickers etc. I put hot washcloths on it and one day it just burst. I can still remember the relief and all the pus that came out... !

Yes there are - on the labia majora.

Hot bath. Hot compresses. You can put a drawing paste/ointment on. I have been getting them on and off for years, so it's not been a perimenopause thing for me.

I had one which, thankfully, burst in less than 24 hours.

Bartholin cysts aren’t on the labia.

It sounds to me like a fairly normal blocked hair follicle or pore. Much like having a really nasty zit down there. Most things hurt a lot more in that area because it’s obviously a sensitive part of the body.

Yes, they’re horrid and painful but hot compresses or sitting in a hot bath might help it burst. If it gets worse there’s a small chance it might need draining or antibiotics but generally things like that will go away on their own.

Not something I’d say was specific to menopause.

No! A&E literally means 'accident and emergency', not a bloody boil.

Go to the GP if it doesn't go. OP, hot baths can bring it to the surface quicker and may be able to pop it. Keep it clean if it does pop as don't want it to spread.

Um, they absolutely are, that’s classic diagnostic location for them!