Vaginal Discharge – What Does Each Type Indicate?
Each type of vaginal discharge can tell a lot about the condition of your health
Vaginal Discharge is something that every woman experiences every day. Yet it is not often ignored and never talked about. But each type of Vaginal discharge, from the colour to the odour to the consistency, Vaginal discharge can indicate your good health or lack of it.
A vagina is a mucus membrane. And mucus membrane creates liquid. Another example of a mucus membrane is your mouth, which also creates liquid which is saliva.
Vaginal discharge serves many purposes to keep your vagina in proper working order. It is a clear or whiteish liquid that is made in the uterus, cervix, or vagina. The discharge naturally helps to keep the area clean by removing the dead skin cells from the lining of the vagina. Vaginal discharge can also change depending on where you are on your menstrual cycle.
On average vaginal discharge would be one to four millilitres a day. A little bit more or a little bit less can also be normal. It should be white or off-white or opaque/clear for it to be healthy. A slight yellowish hue is also considered normal in most cases. At times, mostly when you are closer to your ovulation you can have a gel type discharge or more like egg white kind of discharge. These are also totally normal.
Sometimes you can have a dark brown or light brown discharge, which indicates a little bit of spotting. This can happen at the beginning or at the end of your periods cycle, and it means a little amount of blood has been mixed with your normal discharge. This can happen even after intercourse sometimes. This is nothing to be worried about and is considered normal as well.
But when it is not those colours there are chances that there is a health problem. Let us look at the colour and type of vaginal discharge that indicate a bad health condition.
A Thick White Discharge Along with A Burning Sensation When Peeing and Itching
If you have a thick white vaginal discharge that is the consistency of cottage cheese (paneer) and you have a burning sensation while peeing, you may have a yeast infection. It would easily be the white that you would normally expect but it would have small chunks like cottage cheese. It would also be accompanied by really bad itching and a lot of tenderness and redness around the Vagina.
People who are prone to a yeast infection can benefit from cutting back on foods high in sugar. That is because foods high in sugar can actually change the chemical balance in your vagina allowing for the overproduction of yeast.
An Off White of Greyish Discharge
If you find an off-white or greyish discharge it could indicate that you have a common infection called bacterial vaginosis. This infection happens when the normal bacteria that live in the vagina overgrow causing a bacterial imbalance. This infection can not only cause an increase in vaginal discharge, but the infection can also cause a fishy odour.
A Lot of Yellow Discharge
A slight hue of yellow discharge is considered normal. But if you experience a lot of proper yellow discharge with other symptoms, it might indicate the sexually transmitted disease – Chlamydia
A Greenish Yellow or Grey Discharge
A greenish-yellow or grey discharge is never considered normal. It may indicate a sexually transmitted disease called Trichomoniasis, which may also cause a fishy odour down there that you do not want to ignore. Be sure to contact your doctor to investigate more.
Discharge can vary from woman to woman. It can even change throughout the various stages of your life. It is important to always pay attention to your own body. So, if something does not look right or smell right, the best thing you can do is to talk with your doctor.
-Staff Reporter
