pea sized lump

hey

I am 15 years old and about a week and a half ago I felt a firm pea sized lump under my skin which looks sort of in between my labia minora and majora (I just can't tell which it's closer too because it's small). I've been terrified about it and have pretty bad health anxiety. It feels as though it moves under my skin and the skin above it is sort of a purple-ish colour and almost looks like it has blood possibly underneath the skin although the lump is firm-ish. I squeezed it which was a stupid decision but I think i tore the side a bit a little bit because a tiny tiny cut formed and blood came out the side of it when i squeezed it. It doesn't necessarily hurt unless i press down hard on it. I'm terrified of any lumps because of cancer. 

I don't know if this could be linked, but recently i became sexually active (me and my partner have only been with each other and we use protection) and because of the friction involved in some foreplay, i thought this might have formed because of rubbing around there. When I first became sexually active I felt a similar thing but it was a lot smaller, hurt more and went away within 3 days and I haven't had any sexual activity since the 5th of July. Any help or suggestions on what to do would be really appreciated as i'm not comfortable telling my parents and i'm pretty much terrified about it x

  • Hello and thank you for your post.

    I am sorry to hear that you are worried.  Unfortunately, we can't diagnose you but the lump does sounds like it might be a bartholin cyst.  These are incredibly common non cancerous small lumps or cysts.  The NHS have written some information about them here.It could also be an infected hair follicle. You could try gently squeezing it with a warm flannel, or sitting in a tepid bath can help. And apply some antiseptic cream for a few days.

    More information here,

    www.nhs.uk/.../

    They can remain the same but sometimes do get infected and become sore.

    I would have a chat with your GP.  This is usually done by a telephone consultation.  They will be able to assess whether they need to see you to look at it properly.  It does not sound like like anything serious, but we would always say to anyone with new symptoms to get them checked out.

    I hope that this helps, 

    Vanda