A woman’s decision to sleep in worn-out underwear led to a serious health infection and a trip to the hospital. Kaela, 26, wore a pair of underpants that she had previously worn “100 times before” to bed, which caused a cut in her vagina due to rubbing.
Initially, she thought the wound would heal by itself, however, the following days saw her experiencing severe burning sensations, fever symptoms, and the formation of a “bubble”. With immense pain making it difficult to close her legs, she sought help from her doctor and was prescribed antibiotics.
Unfortunately, after using them for just 2 days, the assistant property manager found herself in such excruciating pain that she rushed to the hospital: “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.”
Upon further examination by doctors, they discovered a 4.8cm Bartholin cyst – a fluid-filled blockage in a Bartholin’s gland in the labia – which led to a “raging” infection. If it had been left untreated, Kaela was at risk of sepsis.
To address the issue, she was given various IV antibiotics with hopes that the cyst would naturally rupture, avoiding the need for surgical intervention. Kaela endured a harrowing experience when a cyst burst after causing her excruciating pain, which she described as worse than two feet reconstructive surgeries, reports Wales Online.
“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 the hospital, Kaela experienced a sudden release: “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.”
The relief was short-lived, however, as she was discharged with an “open wound” that later became infected and was neglected for months. “They kept me for two more days until they were happy with my white cell count indicating that I no longer had an infection.”
Kaela’s struggle continued with exhaustion and frustration due to the untreated wound.
“I was constantly exhausted, frustrated, and close to losing my mind, ” she says.
Her ordeal worsened despite medical intervention. “More antibiotics and yeast-fighting creams that you manually shoot up your vagina, and yet, the open wound got slowly, but surely, worse.”
By the end of June 2024, three months after the initial incident, her health deteriorated again, leading to another hospital visit where it was discovered the cyst had returned and was infected once more.
After a five-day hospital stay where she felt her condition was not understood, the woman expressed her fear: “I really thought I would die if no one would help me.”
It wasn’t until she switched to a new doctor’s surgery at the end of July that she received a diagnosis of a fungal infection. She recounted the relief from the prescribed antifungal medication: “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.”
Over time, her wound healed, and she became free of cysts and infection.
Reflecting on her ordeal, she commented: “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.”