Lady's Hernia?
Dear Sir,
I am a very good reader of your
column and a girl of 16[sixteen]. I must commend you for the way you tackle
peoples' problems. Some things have been bothering me and I have a few
questions to ask you about them. [1] Can a woman/girl have hernia? If so, what
are the signs and symptoms? [2] What is the difference between a "labia
minora" and "Bartholin's glands" in the external genitals of a vagina?
[3] I read in a book that the labia minora varies in size, i.e one can be
bigger than the other. Is it true or is it an infection? If it is an infection,
what can be used to cure it or prevent it from getting to an uncontrollable
state?
Worried Girl.
Dear Worried Girl,
Yes ladies do have hernias too---a
case of what a man can do a woman can do also! The features are hardly
different from that of the man---they're the same ---swelling in the groin that
comes and goes especially with any form of strain like coughing, etc etc. Note
that hernias are dangerous--very much so. Anyone who has or thinks he has a
hernia is hereby advised to go, quickly and see a surgeon who will confirm or
deny the suspicion and do the necessary. Hernias kill if mismanaged and allowed
to strangulate--which is practically all the time if you do not allow your
surgeon/doctor to help you with it. Now for the external genitals. These are
also called the vulva-- collectively. The labia minora are different from
Bartholin's gland. All women are blessed with wonderful external genitalia that
are almost uncontrollably attractive to men--in fact they make a man crazy
anytime he sees them or thinks of them. This consists of half a dozen
structures: the clitoris is at the upper end of the oval shaped area
called the vulva or external genitals. It is covered with a small hood which
divides out into the two minor lips --one on each side of the oval, called labia
minora--singular-- labium minus. The large lips or labia majora are
thick fat filled structures that on both sides cover the minor lips -- you have
to open the large lips to see the minor ones. The hymen grows around the
introitus which is the entry into the vaginal barrel. In between the
cltoris and the introitus is the urethral meatus -- the spot from which
the lady urinates. The minor lips having bloomed in the middle of their length
to accommodate the vagina now join together, once again, below the introitus,
to form the vaginal vestibule. Now, the labia majora are the structures
in which you find the Bartholin's glands and their own job is to provide
lubricant secretions for sex. They cannot be felt or seen when they're not
diseased --so you will not feel them unless you have an infection. The sizes of
the minor lips of the vagina may vary but mostly inappreciably unless of course
when there is disease. An infection will involve pain and swelling and loss of
function-- do you have any of these? See a doctor for proper cure after correct
assessment because the commonest cause of Bartholin's gland trouble is Gonorrhea.
Cheers