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.

Because you’ll spread the infection

Not to scare you but I had a Bartholin's cyst that turned into an abscess and gave me sepsis. I ended up having emergency surgery and now have multiple fistulas which is a new fresh level of hell.

Please go and get it checked and get antibiotics asap! And good luck 🤞

Hi op, hope gp helpful. If it a bartholian cyst, good luck with treatment. I’ve had a few times.

recommend looking up Phoebe’s cure (for cyst treatment) and Salcura Topida spray for ongoing health

Sorry you’ve had this

generally if you can get hold of a gp and know that it’s bartholian they will move fast because of sepsis risk. I went from gp appt to seeing gynae in 6 hrs last time

Better to get on antibiotics first then at least if it bursts you’ve got reduced infection risk

Your algorithm is going to feed you porn for weeks after this cursory delve into fanny websites.😂

My GP surgery is amazing. I've been so lucky to have such good support from them. Hospital care has been mixed but I'm now under a very competent and experienced set of consultants. I'm lucky my dh is a consultant too so he's been very able to support me through all of it. Still a long way to go, but getting there!

It is always bad to squeeze any type of spot, boil or cyst. You run the risk of spreading the infection deeper and wider with no relief. Same with the 'triangle' around the nose and cheeks - very, very bad to squeeze spots there (my father was a doctor).

I said something similar about that ‘advice’ and got reported. I assume by the poster. Unbelievable that people are happy to waste the time of overstretched A+E departments when things are not emergencies.

Have you tried a bit of magnesium sulphate paste to draw the fluid out?

It can be an emergency!

They absolutely can be emergencies.

In this particular instance, I think it’s fair to say it isn’t.

How on earth can you determine that it’s ‘fair to say’ that?

I reported you btw, because of your ridiculous insult to the pp.

Because the OP hasn’t said anything that would make anybody think this is anything that can’t be dealt with by a GP. It is not a life or death situation at this stage. The OP is not suffering from any symptoms (that they have reported) that state she is showing signs of a spreading infection around the body. She is simply dealing with a localised, albeit painful cyst that can be dealt with by a doctor.

This isn’t an A+E situation as it stands and I’m horrified how quickly people are happy to abuse A+E.
A+E is for immediate threat to life or limb. I have loved ones working in A+E departments who have to deal day in and day out with people turning up for things that a GP or pharmacist could sort out. So I’m sorry but I get a bit riled by this kind of thing.

People need to take some personal responsibility for the state that emergency departments are in and that means not abusing it.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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 😅

I have now managed the grim task and got a good photo - the location makes me pretty sure it is an ingrown hair. I have been using hot compresses and have ordered some antibiotic cream to collect in the morning. I hope it will go or burst as quickly as it came on. I will obvs call Dr if it gets worse but the compress has helped. Thanks for all the sympathy!