The Bartholin glands are two small, pea-sized glands located on either side of the vaginal opening. Their job is to secrete mucus that provides lubrication during sexual arousal and intercourse. You can’t feel them under normal conditions, and most people never think about them unless something goes wrong. When a gland’s drainage duct gets blocked, though, it can swell into a cyst or become infected, making it one of the more common reasons for a gynecological visit.
Location and Normal Function
The Bartholin glands sit in the tissue at the base of the labia minora, roughly at the 4 o’clock and 8 o’clock positions relative to the vaginal opening. Each gland is typically smaller than 1 centimeter and connects to the vaginal surface through a tiny duct. During arousal, these ducts release a small amount of lubricating fluid. Outside of that, the glands are essentially invisible and impossible to feel through the skin.
How Cysts and Abscesses Form
Problems start when one of those tiny ducts gets blocked. Fluid that would normally drain to the surface backs up inside the gland, forming a fluid-filled sac called a Bartholin cyst. A small cyst may cause no symptoms at all. Larger ones can feel like a firm, round lump near the vaginal opening and may cause discomfort during walking, sitting, or sex.
If bacteria get trapped in that backed-up fluid, the cyst can become infected and turn into an abscess. An abscess is painful, often rapidly so. The area becomes swollen, red, and warm to the touch, and the lump may grow over just a day or two. Some abscesses produce visible pus. The infections can involve a range of common bacteria, and sexually transmitted organisms are only one possible cause among many.
Cysts and abscesses tend to occur on just one side. Incidence rises through the reproductive years and peaks in the late 40s before dropping sharply. Women between 35 and 50 develop them at a rate of roughly 1 to 2 per 1,000 each year.
What a Cyst Feels Like
A small, uninfected cyst often produces nothing more than a painless lump you might notice in the shower. It can stay that size for weeks or months without changing. Many people discover one incidentally during a routine exam.
When a cyst grows larger or becomes infected, the experience changes considerably. Pain can escalate from mild tenderness to a throbbing ache within hours. Sitting on a hard surface may become difficult, and tight clothing can make things worse. An abscess sometimes causes low-grade fever and general fatigue on top of the local swelling.
Home Care With Sitz Baths
For small cysts or early-stage infections, warm sitz baths are the standard first step. Fill a bathtub with a few inches of warm water and soak the area several times a day for three to four days. This can help a small infected cyst rupture and drain on its own while keeping the area clean and easing discomfort. Many minor blockages resolve with this approach alone, no procedure needed.
Medical Treatment Options
When a cyst or abscess doesn’t resolve on its own, a minor office procedure is typically the next step. The most common approach is placement of a Word catheter: a small rubber tube inserted into the cyst after a tiny incision. The catheter stays in place for several weeks, creating a new permanent drainage channel so fluid doesn’t build up again. The procedure is quick, done under local anesthesia, and provides immediate pain relief once the fluid drains.
If a Word catheter fails once or twice, the next option is marsupialization. This involves making a small cut in the cyst and stitching the edges open so the gland drains freely going forward. It’s more involved, typically requiring general anesthesia and an operating room, but recurrence rates are similar to the Word catheter. Both procedures carry low complication rates.
Simple drainage alone, where the cyst is cut open and drained without placing a catheter or creating a permanent opening, gives fast relief but carries a higher chance of the cyst coming back (around 13 percent in one study).
Antibiotics aren’t routinely needed. They’re generally reserved for recurrent abscesses, signs of spreading infection like surrounding skin redness, or people with immune system concerns.
Recovery After a Procedure
After marsupialization, full wound healing takes two to four weeks. Most people can return to a desk job within about a week, though physically demanding work may require two weeks or more. During the recovery window, you’ll want to avoid sexual intercourse, tampon use, and scented soaps or lotions near the area for roughly four weeks. Word catheter placement has a shorter recovery, though the catheter itself remains in place for several weeks to ensure the new drainage tract forms properly.
Bartholin Gland Cancer
Cancer of the Bartholin gland is rare, accounting for less than 1 percent of all gynecologic cancers. The average age at diagnosis falls between 50 and 60, which is notably older than the typical age range for benign cysts. For this reason, any new vulvar mass in a postmenopausal person warrants closer evaluation, and a biopsy may be recommended to rule out malignancy. In younger patients with a straightforward cyst or abscess, cancer is an extremely unlikely explanation.