Bartholin's Cyst -- Home Treatment

15 years??? Wow, you are patient...

So, I highly recommend you religiously soak with a combination of Epsom Salt, Baking Soda, White Vinegar and several drops of essential oils added to your bath. Also, taking an analgesic for a few days will reduce the swelling (Motrin/Advil/Aleve).

But I'm shocked your doc did not do more right at the appointment considering how quickly the cyst grew in size and became painful. Pain is not good. Pain indicates there is a sever blockage and possibly an infection. And if that's the case you need antibiotics to clear this up.

Watch this carefully and if the pain does not subside within a couple of days and the sitz baths don't improve things you need to have it definitively dealt with.

My sister had one of these cysts and she opted for the cut and drain procedure. It was awkward but it worked.

I had one. It wasn't painful and only pea sized. I did hot, hot, hot gauze compresses for 10 minutes several times a day and it popped. It takes longer than a day, so keep at it!

From the WebMD site, it is infected if it makes it hard to sit, stand or walk. Go back and see your doctor or call him and get an antibiotic to address the infection. Good luck!

Hot baths did NOT work for me. While in the shower, I would wet a washcloth with very hot water and apply the washcloth directly to the affected area. I would do this for about 10 minutes (soaking the washcloth with hot water repeatedly) and I was rid of the bartholin cyst in 3 days!

I hope you find something that works for you!

15 years! I've had a Bartholin gland become irritated and swell up (rough intercourse was the cause) and that was INCREDIBLY painful. I wouldn't have put up with it for 15 days, let alone 15 years. I took several VERY hot baths and it ended up resolving itself within a few days. Make those baths as hot as you can safely handle and just sit in there. It does work. Some Motrin and Tylenol is also helpful to relieve the pain.

I had an infection in my Bartholin gland once, and I took antibiotics. Since this happened overnight, are you sure it's not an infection?

Before deciding to have the doctor drain it, read the stories online.

Like other answers, use the epsom salts and warm water. This is not an immediate process. Yes, it will be painful and yes it will not burst when you want. BUT having it drain for weeks on end will not be easy either.

I have had it happen 3 times on the same side. The last was the worst but it did take about 3 full days before it started to drain on its own. Have never needed antibiotics and the one time I went to a doctor it was completely misdiagnosed as a yeast infection. Even after the fact the idiot GYN did not believe me.

My current gyn has faith in my diagnosis process. Over the summer I got my third (and hopefully last one). By the 4th day I could not walk and that was when it finally opened up on it own. It took another few days to completely drain. I just kept warm compresses on it to help the process.