A woman was left believing that she was “going to die” after a pair of her knickers, that she had worn “100 times before”, caused an infected cut in her vagina.
Kaela, 26,woke up to find that the same underwear she had worn “100 times before” had caused a painful cut in her genitals, the Mirror reports. As days passed, she experienced severe burning sensations and fever symptoms, after initially thinking that the wound would heal naturally. The cut developed into a “bubble”, making it difficult for her to even close her legs due to the intense pain.
She sought medical help and was given antibiotics. “I took them for two days before I decided I was going to die if I didn’t go to the hospital,” said Kaela, an assistant property manager. She added: “I couldn’t sit, stand or even, lay down. My only option was to ride to the hospital lying on my left side because it was on the right side of my vagina.”
At the hospital, doctors discovered a 4.8cm Bartholin cyst – a fluid-filled blockage in a Bartholin’s gland in the labia – through an ultrasound scan. Blood tests also revealed a severe infection. Kaela shared: “They were worried had I waited any longer, that I would have gone septic. They had me on several different IV antibiotics hoping that the cyst would burst on its own instead of having to do it surgically.
“Thankfully, the cyst did burst on its own, but not without excruciating levels of pain. It was the second night at the hospital that I was practically screaming in pain that not even morphine could cure. I have even had two feet reconstructive surgeries that I thought would be the most pain I would ever experience in this lifetime – until I met an infected vaginal cyst.”
On her third day in hospital, she experienced a “massive burst of liquid gushing” down her legs as she stood up. She recalled: “If I was pregnant, I would have thought that my waters broke. But hallelujah – my cyst burst following an immediate rush of relief. Now I could sit, stand and lay normally.”
“They kept me for two more days until they were happy with my white cell count indicating that I no longer had an infection.” She was discharged with an “open wound”, which later became infected and remained untreated for months.
She said: “I was constantly exhausted, frustrated, and close to losing my mind.” She says doctors prescribed her “more antibiotics and yeast-fighting creams that you manually shoot up your vagina, and yet, the open wound got slowly, but surely, worse.”
Kaela then switched to a new practice at the end of July, where she was finally diagnosed with a fungal infection. She said: “She had me start taking this antifungal medication that within a week I started to feel so much better. You never know how sick you are until you aren’t sick anymore.”
In the following months, her condition began to improve and she became free from both the cyst and infection. Looking back, she reflected on the bizarre ordeal with humour: “It’s so silly and insane that a pair of underwear caused mass torment and pain for me for nine months.
“Each time I had to tell a family member, friend, or doctor that this all started because of a pair of underwear I died a little inside from embarrassment, but now I think it’s quite hilarious. It’s a great comedic relief story that people would never expect to hear.”
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