Fever as a symptom of bartholinitis
Bartholinitis can cause various symptoms and complaints. The bacterial inflammation often leads to fatigue and a generally limited sense of well-being. However, fever is not a very common symptom.
Untreated bartholinitis often leads to empyema, an accumulation of pus in the gland. Then fever is not a very rare accompanying symptom. To lower the fever, fever-reducing and anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen or paracetamol can be taken. However, it is advisable to consult a doctor as soon as possible, as the collection of pus, unless it bursts spontaneously, must be opened by a doctor with a small incision.
Pain as a symptom of Bartholinitis
A characteristic symptom of Bartholinitis is the severe pain in the area of the labia minora. It is strictly one-sided, located on the affected side. The pain in bartholinitis has a throbbing character and increases enormously when pressure is applied to the affected area.
This makes sitting or wearing tight clothes especially painful. The longer the bartholinitis remains untreated, the greater the pain, as more and more pus accumulates. If the swelling opens spontaneously and pus is drained, the pain improves.
Reddening/overheating as a symptom of bartholinitis
One of the typical signs of inflammation is redness (rubor). This redness is caused by an expansion of the blood capillaries in the inflamed tissue. Another common sign of inflammation is overheating of the tissue. This can be felt very clearly in the case of Bartholinitis when the healthy gland and the affected gland are palpated alternately.
Swelling as a symptom of bartholinitis
A bartholinitis is characterized by a one-sided swelling in the area of the labia minora. At the beginning of the inflammation, the swelling is only very weak. However, the longer the infection remains untreated, the greater the swelling becomes and pus accumulates. It can even reach the size of a small ping-pong ball or a chicken egg.
Pus as a symptom of bartholinitis
Due to the infection of the Bartholin gland and the accompanying inflammation, the excretory duct of this gland is virtually blocked. The secretion, which would otherwise actually serve to moisten the vaginal vestibule, cannot drain away. Pus develops in the cavity of the gland, which leads to an ever-increasing swelling.
This accumulation of pus is called empyema. Typical accompanying symptoms are fever, tiredness and exhaustion. The pus can flow off by a spontaneous rupture, quasi a bursting of the empyema. In most cases, however, the empyema must be opened by a doctor through a small incision.
Abscess as a symptom of bartholinitis
Bartholinitis is often mistakenly called an abscess. However, an accumulation of pus in the course of a bartholinitis is not an abscess, but an empyema. The difference is simple: an empyema is an accumulation of pus in an existing body cavity, such as a gland.
An abscess, on the other hand, is an encapsulated collection of pus in a tissue in which there was previously no cavity. The formation of pus creates a cavity at this point.
