What harm does Bartholinitis have on couples' lives?

The Bartholin's glands do not secrete mucus all the time. They can only secrete more fluid after the man and woman have enough "foreplay" before sex. This requires the couple to say some affectionate words before sex, kiss each other intimately, and the husband's considerate caress to "awaken" the Bartholin's glands. If this procedure is missing, the Bartholin's glands will "fall asleep", the moisture of the vagina will be greatly reduced or even dry, and the couple's sex life will naturally be difficult to be harmonious.

The Bartholin's glands are also called Bartholin's glands. They are located below the labia majora on both sides of women. There is one gland on each side, about the size of a mung bean, and consist of two parts: the gland and the duct. The duct is about 1.5-2 cm long, with one end connected to the Bartholin's glands and the other end opening into the groove between the labia minora and the hymen. Because the Bartholin's glands are located deep in the labia majora and are fully covered by muscles, they are generally invisible and intangible.

Although the Bartholin's gland is just an inconspicuous "little thing", it plays the role of a "gas station" in sexual life, responsible for transporting the yellow-white mucus secreted by the Bartholin's gland to the vaginal opening for lubrication. With this mucus, the penis will not be painful due to dryness when twitching in the vagina, and the couple can enjoy comfort and happiness.

However, the Bartholin's glands do not secrete mucus all the time. They can only secrete more fluid after the man and woman have enough "foreplay" before sex. This requires the couple to say some affectionate words before sex, kiss each other intimately, and the husband's considerate caress to "awaken" the Bartholin's glands. If this procedure is missing, the Bartholin's glands will "fall asleep", the moisture of the vagina will be greatly reduced or even dry, and the couple's sex life will naturally be difficult to be harmonious.

However, the Bartholin's glands can also be annoying. Due to their special anatomical location, it is very easy for pathogenic bacteria to take advantage of the situation and develop Bartholin's glanditis when one does not pay attention to vulvar hygiene, has sexual intercourse during menstruation, gives birth, suffers from vulvovaginitis, or has a reduced body resistance. Most of them are mixed infections of Staphylococcus, Escherichia coli, and Streptococcus. The bacteria first invade the Bartholin's gland ducts, causing them to undergo acute suppurative changes. The opening of the gland duct is blocked due to swelling or accumulation of exudate, and pus cannot flow out. It accumulates and forms an abscess. At this time, the Bartholin's glands, which were originally the size of soybeans, become the size of broad beans or pigeon eggs, the labia majora and minora become high, red, swollen, hot and painful, and chills may occur.

As the disease progresses, when the pressure inside the abscess increases, the surface skin becomes thinner and has a fluctuating feel when touched. If the abscess ruptures on its own, the hole is large and the pus can drain on its own, the inflammation subsides quickly and the condition heals. If the hole is small and the drainage is poor, the inflammation will continue and may recur for a long time. After the acute inflammatory period of Bartholinitis, due to the obstruction of the glandular duct, the glandular secretions cannot be discharged and are retained, forming a Bartholin's gland cyst.

In the past, people always thought that Bartholin's gland cysts were the result of inflammation, but in recent years, clinical observations have found that more Bartholin's gland cysts are caused by non-specific inflammation that causes gland duct obstruction. The cyst can last for a long period of time, a year or even several years, without any subjective symptoms, or only with a feeling of discomfort and swelling in the vulva. The cyst grows and swells very slowly, and will not become malignant or evolve into a tumor.

In case of Bartholin's glanditis, you should rest in bed during the acute phase, take a sitz bath with 1:5000 potassium permanganate solution twice a day, and avoid friction; choose Chinese medicine for clearing heat and detoxification, such as dandelion, honeysuckle, forsythia, etc. for local hot compresses; use anti-inflammatory and antibacterial drugs under the guidance of a doctor.