About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffMost vaginal discharge is completely normal. However, if your vaginal discharge has an unusual odor and appearance, or is accompanied by itching or pain, it may be a sign that something's wrong.
Vaginal discharge is a combination of fluid and cells that are continuously shed through your vagina. The function of vaginal discharge is to clean and protect the vagina. The color and consistency of vaginal discharge vary from whitish and sticky to clear and watery between your menstrual periods, roughly corresponding to the stage of your reproductive cycle. It's also normal to have some vaginal discharge during pregnancy.
Although most causes of abnormal vaginal discharge, including yeast infection, bacterial vaginosis and menopausal symptoms, are relatively harmless, they can be extremely uncomfortable. An abnormal vaginal discharge may also accompany certain sexually transmitted infections, some of which can spread to the uterus, ovaries and fallopian tubes. Rarely, far advanced cervical cancer could produce a brownish or blood-tinged vaginal discharge.
- Nyirjesy P, et al. Causes of chronic vaginitis. Obstetrics & Gynecology. 2006;108:1185.
- Sobel JD. Chronic and acute causes of vaginal discharge other than bacterial vaginosis, candidiasis, or trichomoniasis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 30, 2010.
- Sexually transmitted diseases treatment guidelines 2006: Disease characterized by vaginal discharge. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/std/treatment/2006/vaginal-discharge.htm. Accessed June 30, 2010.
- Eckert LO, et al. Infections of the lower genital tract: Vulva, vagina, cervix, toxic shock syndrome, HIV infections. In: Katz VL, et al. Comprehensive Gynecology. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/207745369-3/0/1524/147.html?tocnode=53759472&fromURL=147.html#4-u1.0-B978-0-323-02951-3..50025-X_752. Accessed June 30, 2010.
- Williams R, et al. Gynecology. In: Rakel RE. Textbook of Family Medicine. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/207745369-3/0/1481/405.html?tocnode=53393682&fromURL=405.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2467-5..50038-5_1896. Accessed June 30, 2010.
Find Mayo Clinic on