Vagina lump and pain passing urine

by katie
(hyattsville md)

I'm a 15 year old female and have a 'ball' inside my vagina. I get a burning feeling when I pass urine and it has a strange odor too. It's uncomfortable and I need to know if this is serious? Does it need medical attention and what could it be?

Vagina lump and pain passing urine

This is probably a Bartholin's cyst. On the inner lip or labia minora, there is a gland called the Bartholins gland. This gland produces a form of mucus that lubricates the vaginal area. It can become inflamed and infected, sore or painful and often requires antibiotics.

Occasionally a minor operation is needed to sort the problem out as they can recur. Another cause is a boil in the area (infected lump with pus in) and again this may require antibiotics or even surgery occasionally.

The stinging when passing your urine is probably a urinary tract infection (UTI). The stinging is called dysuria by doctors. Again, this is a common problem in ladies because of the short tube (urethra) that forms the pipe work from the bladder to the external world. The cause is usually a bacterium, the most common being a bug called e-coli, although there are other bugs such as proteus, staphylococcus and a fungal infection called candida. It is important to drink plenty of fluids when you have this and also try drinking cranberry juice which has been proven to help. You will probably need antibiotics too, so make an appointment to see your doctor to get both of these things sorted easily.

Also, in the future, to prevent a UTI make sure that you wipe yourself from the front to the back after you have a wee. Never wipe from the back to the front as you are likely to introduce bugs into the urethra and get another infection. Dont be embarrassed, see your doctor now and let your mum know too!


My name is Dr Peter Thatcher MBBS, MRCPI and I am a consultant physician and gastroenterologist in the UK. I have an interest in internet based medicine and administer this site in my spare time. I hope you find this site useful and informative. If you have any suggestions, please Contact Me or if you would like to comment on my site, please do so by Clicking Here. If you like the site and would like to make a donation to support what I am doing please do so by Clicking Here. Thank you for visiting and please drop by again!