I just had to get a horribly painful vaginal cyst removed, so I'm here to remind you all to take care of your sexual health.

A few months ago I got a full Brazilian wax. I've gone to this wax place before to get my eyebrows done but this was my first Brazilian wax. They told me a special kind of oil all over my vulva to help prevent/get rid of ingrown hairs. A few weeks after my Brazilian, I got what I thought was an ingrown hair on my labia majora. According to Google, exfoliating and using heat will bring an ingrown hair to the surface. I did that after a twelve hour shift and went to bed. When I woke up to go to work my "ingrown hair" was very pissed off and inflamed. I booked an appointment for a few days later at my gynecologists office. I thought I would be good to go to work. Since I work at a hospital as a nurse, all the walking and just manual labor you do at a hospital, further aggravated it. I got to the point that I was waddling at work and wasn't really being myself at work. All my coworkers are looking at me like they want to ask me something but decide against it.

I went into the bathroom, called my mom, and told her everything. My mom told me that it was probably a cyst and because it was painful it likely wasn't cancerous. I moved my gynecologist appointment up to the next day. After work, I called my boss and she was so gracious. She totally took me off the schedule no questions asked when I said I needed a few days off and said to come back to work when I feel 100%. I vented to her about a lump being found but that I was really, really hoping it was a cyst. She said she'd keep me in her thoughts. I've honestly never had a boss that nice and kind.

I went to my gynecologists office and the NP immediately thought it was a bartholin's cyst but she couldn't be totally be sure because she said it was also infected and had ruptured. My gynecologist was super busy but she came in to give a second opinion. She thought it was an abscess and may have MRSA so she ordered lab tests. Gynecologist also sent a prescription for Clindamycin. All I could think was how embarrassing it'd be to have a MRSA abscess right by my vagina.

The NP injected me using lidocaine with a needle the size of my mom's meat thermometer. I was screaming and crying, then apologizing and saying I wasn't screaming at the MA or the NP. It's nice this was an outpatient procedure and I could go home right after but I wish that they sedate people for stuff like this. This is definitely top five worst pain I've felt. The medical assistant even held my hand when I was crying.

They took cultures and sent it to the lab. Once most of it was drained, I felt better. Everyone in the Drs office was so nice. They kept offering me snacks and water. They kept asking if I was sure I was okay to drive home and told me that I could sit by the main station as long as I needed to. They probably heard me crying. I hung for a bit because I still felt shaky but I really just wanted to go to my parents house. I went to my apartment and packed a bag for the weekend. I took sitz baths to help prevent a reinfection and the Clindamycin was so effective I felt sick. That just means the antibiotics were killing all the bacteria. My boss took me off the schedule for five days before I even gave her my Drs note. I should totally get her a Christmas present.

As a final reminder, again I work in healthcare. We've seen so many genitals that it doesn't faze us. We just want to get you better.

Submitted November 21, 2021 at 12:48AM

A few months ago I got a full Brazilian wax. I've gone to this wax place before to get my eyebrows done but this was my first Brazilian wax. They told me a special kind of oil all over my vulva to help prevent/get rid of ingrown hairs. A few weeks after my Brazilian, I got what I thought was an ingrown hair on my labia majora. According to Google, exfoliating and using heat will bring an ingrown hair to the surface. I did that after a twelve hour shift and went to bed. When I woke up to go to work my "ingrown hair" was very pissed off and inflamed. I booked an appointment for a few days later at my gynecologists office. I thought I would be good to go to work. Since I work at a hospital as a nurse, all the walking and just manual labor you do at a hospital, further aggravated it. I got to the point that I was waddling at work and wasn't really being myself at work. All my coworkers are looking at me like they want to ask me something but decide against it.I went into the bathroom, called my mom, and told her everything. My mom told me that it was probably a cyst and because it was painful it likely wasn't cancerous. I moved my gynecologist appointment up to the next day. After work, I called my boss and she was so gracious. She totally took me off the schedule no questions asked when I said I needed a few days off and said to come back to work when I feel 100%. I vented to her about a lump being found but that I was really, really hoping it was a cyst. She said she'd keep me in her thoughts. I've honestly never had a boss that nice and kind.I went to my gynecologists office and the NP immediately thought it was a bartholin's cyst but she couldn't be totally be sure because she said it was also infected and had ruptured. My gynecologist was super busy but she came in to give a second opinion. She thought it was an abscess and may have MRSA so she ordered lab tests. Gynecologist also sent a prescription for Clindamycin. All I could think was how embarrassing it'd be to have a MRSA abscess right by my vagina.The NP injected me using lidocaine with a needle the size of my mom's meat thermometer. I was screaming and crying, then apologizing and saying I wasn't screaming at the MA or the NP. It's nice this was an outpatient procedure and I could go home right after but I wish that they sedate people for stuff like this. This is definitely top five worst pain I've felt. The medical assistant even held my hand when I was crying.They took cultures and sent it to the lab. Once most of it was drained, I felt better. Everyone in the Drs office was so nice. They kept offering me snacks and water. They kept asking if I was sure I was okay to drive home and told me that I could sit by the main station as long as I needed to. They probably heard me crying. I hung for a bit because I still felt shaky but I really just wanted to go to my parents house. I went to my apartment and packed a bag for the weekend. I took sitz baths to help prevent a reinfection and the Clindamycin was so effective I felt sick. That just means the antibiotics were killing all the bacteria. My boss took me off the schedule for five days before I even gave her my Drs note. I should totally get her a Christmas present.As a final reminder, again I work in healthcare. We've seen so many genitals that it doesn't faze us. We just want to get you better.