Lady's Hernia?

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