"I have a cottage cheese-like discharge," says one young woman to another.
"I have a thin, grayish discharge," says another.
"I have no discharge at all," says an older woman.
Which woman is the healthiest?
Actually none of them! The first woman with the cottage cheese-like discharge most likely has a Candida infection.
Candida albicans is a yeast that normally lives in the vaginal flora. It also lives in the throat and in the gastrointestinal tract. However, when its numbers grow out of the normal range, the yeast essentially has a ‘hayday' no matter where it is. If the Candida is located in the vagina, it starts reproducing wildly. You'd think it was spring break in there! Okay, just a little humor is needed sometimes to offset a bad situation. Wouldn't you agree?
The second woman with the thin grayish discharge most likely has a bacterial vaginosis discharge.
A Bacterial Vaginosis discharge is not green. It's not yellow. And it's not white, like cottage cheese. And a BV discharge is not tinted with blood.
On the other hand, a BV discharge is thin and can be white or gray. It can and usually has a fishy odor. That's BV and sometimes you don't even have to get an official diagnosis – just use your nose! This discharge usually comes packaged with other symptoms such as irritation and burning with urination. There could also be pain with intercourse.
The third woman has no discharge at all and her vagina is ‘dry as a bone'. Again, I'm just trying to make the subject a little easier for you to read about! This dry vagina is not normal either! And it's not the same thing as a bacterial vaginosis discharge. It indicates that her estrogen levels have dropped to a very low level. You see, estrogen protects the tissues in the vagina. It keeps them plump … and juicy.
A vaginal discharge can be normal during the different parts of the menstrual cycle. At the beginning and end of the cycle, you could see a normal white discharge – but it won't have the symptoms associated with bacterial vaginosis discharge and it won't have the appearance of a Candida yeast infection discharge.
Remember – a Candida discharge and a bacterial vaginosis discharge are never normal!
At the end of the cycle, your discharge could be brown, just because it contains a little bit of blood. When your discharge is clear and appears to "stretch", it means you're fertile. Stay away from the men at this time! If it's ever yellow, green or fishy, get to the doctor!
Watch your discharge! If it's a bacterial vaginosis discharge or Candida one, do something!
