[5] The cyst, which can feel like a pea, is formed by a blockage in glands which normally supply the opening of the vagina.
Lumps associated with cancer of the vaginal wall are very rare and the average age of onset is seventy years.
[6] The most common form is squamous cell carcinoma, then cancer of the glands or adenocarcinoma and finally, and even more rarely, vaginal melanoma.
Normal vaginal discharges include blood or menses (from the uterus), the most common, and clear fluid either as a result of sexual arousal or secretions from the cervix.
Non-sexually transmitted discharges occur from bacterial vaginosis, aerobic vaginitis[13] and thrush or candidiasis.
The final group of discharges include the sexually transmitted diseases gonorrhea, chlamydia, and trichomoniasis.
The sores of herpes which occur with vesicles are extremely tender and may cause such swelling that passing urine is difficult.
In the developing world, a group of parasitic diseases also cause vaginal ulceration, such as leishmaniasis, but these are rarely encountered in the west.