What the *%@#!??

[his_lil_secret]

Ok, guys and gals. I'm usually a relatively well educated person but I'm stumped here.

Three days ago I shaved my bikini area just as I always do and to my knowledge no nics or cuts were made. Everything seemed fine and dandy and then I noticed I had a few shave bumps on my pubic mound on the right side. No big deal. Peril of shaving vs. depilatory cream and I would survive.
The next morning the bumps were really painful, like little zits. I thought they were ingrown hairs and so I did what I've always done, took a sterile sewing needle and broke the skin the get the hair out. When I did there was some discharge...like a zit. I thought they might have gotten infected, so I cleaned them with soap and water and figured that was that. Yesterday I started having a lot of lower pelvic and groin pain on the same side as the bumps. This morning I felt along my groin and I could feel a knot where I think my lymph node is (not a medical type person). The area above and around the knot is really painful, warm to the touch and red. The side where the shave bumps were is also red and tender to the touch but the bumps themselves are gone.
Like I said, I'm not a doc but this seems like some kind of infection to me. I also have flu like symptoms, aches, fever, chills, lethargy etc. Anyone have any ideas as to what might be going on? I'd feel stupid going to the doctor for an Ingrown hair gone mad, but I think this may be more then that.
I am only sexually active with my husband so I don't think it's an STD, but what else would cause pelvic/groin pain, tenderness and swelling like this?

Thanks in advance for any help/advice.

 

[M's girl]

I think you should go see a doctor. It can't hurt (no pun intended), just to be on the safe side. It's probably 'nothing' but you'd better be safe than sorry.

I am VERY sensitive to shaving down there. Did you use a clean blade? With me it usually goes well, but every once in a while hell sort of breaks lose after shaving. I have had zits that were painful, big (like the size of the very tip of my finger) and were infected, or at least that's what it looked like from what 'discharge' came from it. One even left a small scar

I'm being more careful now, but still I get bumps (zitlike things) every once in a while. Never had any pain elsewhere but right at the zit or infection. You might simply have the flue or something on top of this, but just to be sure... please go see your doctor.

Bon courage

 

[SweetErika]

You need to see a doctor right away. It could be nothing, but does sound like an infection that may be progressing rather quickly, and that kind of thing needs prompt medical attention. Regardless, your symptoms need to be checked out by a qualified medical professional just in case. If it is an infection, a course of antibiotics early on could take care of it quickly, whereas waiting could mean a hospital stay or even losing your life. Better safe than sorry is NOT stupid.

Do the sensible thing and let a doctor, rather than a bunch of people on the internet, figure out what's going on. If you can't get in to see your own doc right away (I'd say by noon tomorrow), find an urgent care clinic in your area - most have evening and weekend hours and don't require an appointment. If it seems like it's progressing very rapidly, you have a high fever or are feeling worse, there's always the ER.

Trust your instincts on this, and get well soon!

 

[his_lil_secret]

thanks M. Hubby has said the same thing and I'm sure you're both right, but I'd feel like such a fool for seeing a doctor for shaving bumps gone wild!
I've promised I'll see the doc if it's not any better tommorow and I've promised to quit looking my symptoms up on WebMD. I put in groin pain and it pulled up PLAGUE!...WTF?

 

[his_lil_secret]

You need to see a doctor right away. It could be nothing, but does sound like an infection that may be progressing rather quickly, and that kind of thing needs prompt medical attention. Regardless, your symptoms need to be checked out by a qualified medical professional just in case. If it is an infection, a course of antibiotics early on could take care of it quickly, whereas waiting could mean a hospital stay or even losing your life. Better safe than sorry is NOT stupid.

Do the sensible thing and let a doctor, rather than a bunch of people on the internet, figure out what's going on. If you can't get in to see your own doc right away (I'd say by noon tomorrow), find an urgent care clinic in your area - most have evening and weekend hours and don't require an appointment. If it seems like it's progressing very rapidly, you have a high fever or are feeling worse, there's always the ER.

Trust your instincts on this, and get well soon!

Good advice as always SE.
I agree that it seems to be a bit more hostile then shave bumps. I put it out here to see if anyone had ever experienced anything similar and could maybe gimme some insight as to what might be going on and truthfully either calm my nerves and say, "you're way overreacting." or as you have done say " Get thee to a doctor woman!"
I promise I'll go to the Urgent Care in the morning if things haven't shaped up, but if anyone has any clues please feel free to post and clue me in.

 

[M's girl]

Plague? Good Lord. Well, look at it this way then: things can only get better from there on, right?

Seriously though.... it will probably be nothing, so go see the doctor to have that confirmed and then check back in with us to tell us you were nervous over 'nothing', ok?

Be well...

 

[CutieMouse]

*****

 

[M's girl]

- it will present as a hard cyst-like thing.

That does sound like what I had, yes. I cleaned it and kept it as sterile as possible and after a few days it disappeared. But that was the one that left the little scar ...

 

[his_lil_secret]

I can't remember the name of the gland, but my midwife mentioned in my last exam that sometimes there are glands along the labial lips that can get irritated similarly to a plugged folicle - it will present as a hard cyst-like thing. She said if it ever happened to use a hot compress and keep the area clean, and if it didn't clear up within a few days, to get it looked at just to check for infection.

I'm trying the hot compress thingy now. I actually called the nurse help line my insurance comapny has set up and they said try hot compress and elevation to see if the lymph node was just "impacted" but that if that didn't relieve the symptoms to see a doctor within the next 24 hrs to see if there was a bacterial infection present in which case the compress wouldn't help much but would at least be a comfort measure. ...so here I sit with a heating pad on my kitty cat...lol!

 

[CutieMouse]

*****

 

[his_lil_secret]

Moist hot compresses are better- hot washcloth, etc.

You can also try a salt water sitz bath - shallow tub with warm water and epsom salts. It's a pretty standard after birth comfort measure to help with swelling and tissue healing. an OTC anti-inflamatory might help, too. Make sure you aren't wearing tight panties/clothing, also, which will irritate things even more.

as soon as the laundry is done I'll have a clean washcloth to make it a MOIST hot compress. I figured with everything else going on I'd be better off using a freshly laundered washcloth- I washed it them the baby detergent so that there wouldn't be any worry about detergent irritating things further.

I found out about the tight clothing/panties thing today...oh boy did I find out!

 

[Luvkitty33]

I agree with all the advice you've been given here already. I hope that you're feeling better with the heat and from not wearing any tight panties or anything. Please let us all know what the doctor says tomorrow, if you can.
It's always best to be on the safe side, even if you find it embarrassing. You don't want to end up with something permanent that could've been prevented by going to see your doctor, so I'm really happy to read here that you've made that decision. Good luck tomorrow, and I'll be thinking of you and sending you good thoughts! I'm sure you'll be just fine, and I'll be looking for your message tomorrow that says just that.

 

[mjl2010]

The appearance of flu like symptoms along with an infection can indicate that the infection is more serious than most.

IMO, insurance co nurses err on the side of saving money. And they are not doctors. I'd say regardless of how it is in the morning. Go see the doc.

If you're running even a mild temperature, don't wait. Go.

MJL

 

[SweetErika]

Good advice as always SE.
I agree that it seems to be a bit more hostile then shave bumps. I put it out here to see if anyone had ever experienced anything similar and could maybe gimme some insight as to what might be going on and truthfully either calm my nerves and say, "you're way overreacting." or as you have done say " Get thee to a doctor woman!"
I promise I'll go to the Urgent Care in the morning if things haven't shaped up, but if anyone has any clues please feel free to post and clue me in.

I'm very glad to hear you're taking good care of yourself, and I'll also be waiting to hear how it goes.

I hope you didn't think I was implying it was foolish to ask here because that's wasn't my intent at all. I'd likely ask, too, and be researching like crazy to see if I could figure out how urgent it was. Frankly, I think that's the smart thing to do, as it always at least helps me learn something or helps me discuss my health with my doctor and ask important questions.

We just get such a variety of levels of knowledge and common sense here that I generally err on the side of caution if I don't have a really good idea of who's asking the question. People usually get excellent advice, but, as I'm sure you're aware, some have a tendency to take *any* advice offered.

Regretfully, I've waited to see professionals because I thought something was minor or would resolve with self-care on more than one occasion; I try to give advice based on those lessons learned, but sometimes it just doesn't come out quite right.

 

[albertaboy]

Don't mess around with an infection under your skin. I just went through a week of IV neds and repeated lancing/probing of a cyst gone bad on the back of my neck. Three weeks of oral anitbiotics and they are gone, they grew very quickly to the size of two golf balls under my skin.

Go to a Doctor if it isn't better.

 

[littlebitshe]

Definately try the sitz bath. I had a plugged up gland and had to use the salt water sitz bath for about a week or so and it helped clear it up. The warm water was also a little soothing. The Moise hot compress is also a great idea! Good Luck Sweets!

 

[helix27]

nah don't listen to them... just spray some win dex on it. you'll be fine.






(DISCLAIMER: I AM COMPLETELY BULLSHITTING, DO NOT SPRAY WIN DEX ON IT. ALSO, LISTEN TO THEM!)

 

[his_lil_secret]

Alright guys and gals, here's the update:

late last night I really wasn't feeling any better, in fact a little before midnight I was feeling MUCH worse. My groin was still really red and now the swelling under the skin had become a pronounced bulge. Hubby checked in on me and took my temp, 103.2. Well, that was enough for me. I trucked my happy little ass down to the ER!
I sat there for about an hour waiting to be triaged and when they brought me back to take my vitals my BP was sky high 147/98 and my temp was at 104.1. I was shaking and the pain had gotten damn near unbearable. My head was pounding, my whole body hurt and I was honestly really damn scared.
They put me back in a room right away and had me strip down and within a few minutes I had two docs back there looking me over- this scared me more then anything since ER's are notoriously slooooooww! The doc asked if he could try to irrigate the area and see if it would drain before they did anything else and I agreed. He came back with a small syringe and inserted it and this god awful looking, thick yellowish fluid started to immediatly ooze out. BINGO! Infection gone mad! Apparently there was some type of bacterial infection in the lymph node and it had filled with infectious fluid which had backed up into the surrounding tissue causing cellulitis.
They put me on a bag of IV antibiotics- which I will have to go back for every day for a full week and then possibly another series of oral- they also made a small incision in my groin and let the node drain. And drain it did. That has to be the nastiest thing I've ever seen! It was like popping the worlds biggest friggin zit and it smelled godawful!
About 4 hours later they let me go home with instructions to not shave the area again -depilatory cream only and then not a regular basis-and to throw out the razor I used. The doc thinks that there was some type of bacteria present in the blade that got in thru a nic or scratch in the skin and entered the bloodstream that way. I'm to use MOIST HOT COMPRESSES on the area 2-3x a day to keep the swelling down and keep it so clean it could be used for a surgical field.
I'm still a little sore and not feeling 100%, but he said it'll likley be a week or so before that happens, but I feel so much better then I did last night!!!
Thanks everyone for the good advice!

 

[M's girl]

Gosh, that indeed sounds awful but I'm so glad you when and had it checked out. I thing I caught that one myself at an earlier stage (there was discharge but it was not smelly) and managed to clean it and make it go away myself (maybe I was lucky when I hear what could have happened) and although it was quite messy (I'm embarrased to say) I think I managed to get it sterile and nothing worse happened.

So again, good for you

 

[his_lil_secret]

Thanks M!
It was truly unpleasant but I count myself lucky that I caught it when I did. Doc said by morning the infection could have been so imbedded in the blood stream that I'd have needed to stay in the hospital for a few days vs. a few hours.
All over a eensy weensy little bacterium on a razor blade...it boggles the mind!

 

[albertaboy]

Exactly what happenned to my neck, except for the location.

 

[mjl2010]

I'm glad you're feeling better.

MJL

 

[SweetErika]

That sounds like a harrowing experience to say the least, his_lil_secret!

I'm glad you're on the road to recovery, and hope that goes as quickly and easily as possible for you.

 

[helix27]

ew.. glad you got it taken care of... now your going to be afraid to shave.

 

[M's girl]

I still do it (shave, haha) but I'm a lot more careful now plus I make sure to use new blades all the time. Tried several creams but they don't seem to do the job very well plus they smell bad most of the time.

Life's a bitch