Talking about women’s health, there are a lot of topics to explore and one of them is about abnormal and normal vaginal discharge. First, you may need to understand more what actually vaginal discharge is! You might also like to know more about causes of vaginal yeast infections, before continuing!
Vaginal discharge actually has an important housekeeping role and function for the female reproductive system, which generally has a significant contribution to keep clean the female genital area and even also so helpful to prevent infection. The fluid is usually produced from glands (one of important & vital components in vagina) and then will be used by cervix to carry away any dead cells.
Generally, having vaginal discharge is normal. There is a range color, from a milky whitish to clear, which usually closely related and dependent to the last condition of your menstrual cycle. The amount also can vary from one woman to another. In certain times, you may find and notice slight changes either in the odor or amount, especially when you are pregnant, sexually aroused, ovulation or breastfeeding. Moreover, the awareness to your personal hygiene can influence the smell of your vaginal discharge.
But if you notice significantly unusual color and smell, particularly you feel burning or itching in the vagina, you should begin to ask to yourself whether your vaginal discharge is normal or abnormal!
Abnormal vaginal discharge causes
The balance of bacteria in the vagina has important function to keep well many mechanisms of your vagina. The imbalance condition can affect significantly to the texture, color, and smell of the vaginal discharge.
So, if you are looking for about abnormal vaginal discharge causes, you need to clearly understand anything that can upset the balance of normal bacteria in the vagina! And the following are a few of the things that can disturb that balance:
- Vaginal yeast infections.
- A condition of the forward process to dry and thin the vaginal walls or familiar known as vaginal atrophy -- which usually more common in menopause!
- PID (pelvic inflammatory disease).
- Unfriendly activities (particularly such as scented lotions or soaps, bubble bath, and douches).
- Sexually transmitted infections, particularly such as gonorrhea or Chlamydia!
- Side effect of your birth control pills.
- Irritation disorder around or in the genital area (or familiar known as vaginitis).
- A certain surgery that cause pelvic infection.
- A certain cancer (particularly like cervical cancer).
- Taking steroid or antibiotic.
- A parasitic infection due to unsafely sex intercourse (particularly like trichomoniasis).
- Bacterial infections (particularly like bacterial vaginosis whish is usually more common in women with ‘multiple sex partners’ or sometime can occur in pregnant women).
- Diabetes (including type-1, type-2 or gestational diabetes)
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| Table source: WebMD |
Diagnosis, treatment and prevention!
To make a diagnosis, generally a doctor usually will ask about: the first time you feel your abnormal vaginal discharge, do you use douche, the symptoms that you have (particularly like about any burning, pain, itching around or in the vagina), are there any abnormal habits of your sexual activities, and the characteristics of the discharge (including color and odor).
A sample of the vaginal discharge is usually required to make a diagnosis. In some cases, for further examination the doctor may need to do a ‘Pap test’ in order to gather cells from the cervix.
And for the treatment is usually closely dependent and related to the cause of the abnormal discharge. So, before going to the best treatment that you should choose, your doctor will learn completely the cause of your abnormal discharge.
And the last, the following are several simple tips (lifestyle approaches) to lower your risk of abnormal vaginal discharge:
- Avoid wearing overly tight-clothing, and prioritize to use 100 percent cotton underpants!
- Avoid using bubble baths or feminine sprays if necessary.
- Avoid using scented soaps or douche!
- Wipe “from front to back” after going to the bathroom in order to eliminate the spread of unfriendly bacteria from your anus to your vagina.
- Consider the cleanliness of your genital area! If you want to use a certain product to wash your vagina, make sure it is safe (talk with your doctor first if necessary).
Don’t miss also to read a helpful related article about how to prevent vaginal yeast infections!
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Reference: WebMD
-- Image credit to ‘Istockphoto’ for illustration
