Vaginal discharge is an absolutely normal situation for the female body, but it also happens that unusual, with a curdled consistency, replaces moderate and non-disturbing discharge. What do they mean? What are the reasons for their appearance, and is it worth sounding the alarm? Answers to all emerging questions in the article!
Normal female discharge
Each girl knows what normal vaginal discharge looks like for her, but despite the individuality of each organism, there are norms common to all girls that indicate the absence of gynecological problems. Knowing these norms is very important in order to notice deviations in time and not start the disease.
Signs of normal female discharge:
- Transparent or slightly milky.
- Meager in volume - no more than one or two teaspoons a day.
- Consistency is liquid, sometimes jelly-like.
- Unscented or has a slight natural feminine scent.
- Does not cause burning or itching.
- Notinterfere with normal sexual intercourse.
Discharge may increase slightly during sexual arousal, during and after intercourse, as well as during ovulation (around the middle of the cycle), breastfeeding and pregnancy.
A reason to see a doctor
Sometimes normal discharge suddenly begins to smell strongly, change its consistency or lead to discomfort in the vagina. Any deviation from the usual form is a good reason to contact a specialist. All of them indicate a violation of normal processes in the female body.
If a girl notices white curdled discharge, you need to visit your gynecologist to get tested for microflora. The doctor will make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe treatment, because there are a number of diseases that are characterized by such a symptom.
Causes of curdled discharge
The most common cause of discharge is the so-called thrush. In science, it is called candidiasis. Specialists make such a diagnosis in 70% of cases of treatment with such secretions. Candidiasis is caused by a fungus of the genus Candida, which in turn changes normal secretions into curdled ones as a result of fermentation.
There is another reason, albeit less common - cytolytic vaginosis. The nature of the discharge can change with ureaplasmosis, chlamydia, mycoplasmosis, bacterial vaginosis and trichomoniasis. These are serious diseases that cannot be started.
It happens that addiction to any product can negatively affect not only the figure, but also provoke the release of a curdled vaginal secretion. Such products can be coffee, sweet, starchy, fatty and overly spicy foods. Sometimes it is important for treatment to simply reconsider the approach to nutrition and reduce the consumption of the wrong foods. A gastroenterologist will be able to choose the right diet to permanently get rid of curdled discharge.
More about candidiasis
Not many people know that Candida fungus is found in small quantities in the body of every woman and not only does not interfere with normal life, but also provides a comfortable environment in the vagina. When "favorable" conditions are created, they begin to multiply intensively. These reasons may be:
- Inadequate personal hygiene.
- Incorrectly selected intimate soaps that disrupt the normal PH balance of the skin.
- Decrease in immunity after a recent illness.
- Taking antibiotics, which negatively affect the number of beneficial bacteria in our body.
- Metabolic disorders (mainly due to diabetes).
- Hormonal failure.
- Pregnancy, when all the usual processes in the female body begin to actively change.
- Inflammation of the genitourinary system.
- Synthetic underwear.
- Using hormonal contraceptives.
- Hypercooling.
- Sharp weight gain.
It often happens thatthat anxiety symptoms can go away on their own without medical intervention.
Affected by the spread of the fungus can be a partner who has transmitted thrush from a girl. It is important to be treated together to prevent re-infection.
The symptoms of thrush are quite simple, but very unpleasant:
- Increased urination, often accompanied by pain.
- Burning sensation in the genitals.
- Itching in the genital area.
- Pain on intercourse.
Discharges are white, sometimes slightly yellowish. They have an extremely sharp sour smell, similar to kefir. Odorless curdled discharge indicates the initial stage of the disease. The sour smell appears at a certain stage in the progression of candidiasis - at the very peak of the development of the disease, so it is important to pay attention to the change in secretions at the very beginning. When the disease becomes chronic, the curdled discharge is odorless, as the fungus has moved into the deeper layers of the epithelium.
Also, similar discharge in women may be accompanied by a small amount of water substance - a common symptom of thrush. An advanced disease can lead to the appearance of blisters on the walls of the vagina, then blood impurities can be detected in the discharge.
Against the background of candidiasis, other diseases very often occur that affect the shade of secretions and the specifics of the smell.
Cytolytic vaginosis
In this disease, epithelial cellsare destroyed not due to inflammatory processes, but due to the rapid spread of lactic acid bacteria. This can happen when new microorganisms enter the vagina, where a "struggle" begins between bacteria familiar to the body and "newcomers". During this struggle, hydrogen peroxide and lactic acid are released, which corrode the delicate membrane of the vaginal mucosa.
Cytolytic vaginosis is quite easy to confuse with candidiasis, because it has a similar set of symptoms, the main of which is the change of mucus-like secretions to cottage cheese lumps. Only a specialist can make the correct diagnosis and prescribe the right treatment.
Ureaplasmosis
Extremely unpleasant disease, which can be obtained mainly during sexual intercourse. It is caused by ureaplasma bacteria and can occur against the background of candidiasis, which can affect the color and smell of the discharge: it often acquires a yellowish tint, as well as a sharp unpleasant odor.
A pregnant woman with ureaplasmosis can infect her baby. In this case, the disease becomes congenital.
Ureaplasmosis can carry much more serious consequences than curdled discharge. Often it causes the formation of kidney stones, the occurrence of inflammation in the uterus.
Chlamydia
Another disease that can be contracted during intercourse. It mainly affects the genitourinary system. The main disadvantage is the almost asymptomatic course. A woman can live with him from several months to a year and not notice anything particularly terrible. The only thing that can make her think about going to a specialist may be a slight change in the nature of the discharge and their unobtrusive smell. Therefore, it is important to pay special attention to your body in order to prevent the discovery of the disease only during the development of complications. Chlamydia is a dangerous disease with serious consequences.
Mycoplasmosis
With mycoplasmosis, the discharge of a curdled consistency acquires a yellow tint. This disease is transmitted exclusively during sexual contact, in contrast to candidiasis, which can be contracted during everyday situations. Refers to sexually transmitted diseases.
Bacterial vaginosis
The course of this disease at the same time as thrush can affect the color of the white curdled discharge, turning it grayish or greenish. Also, the sour smell is replaced by the smell of stale fish. Bacterial vaginosis develops due to an insufficient number of lactic acid bacteria in the microflora, when changing sexual partners or promiscuity.
Trichomoniasis
The main difference from candidiasis is the appearance of purulent discharge with a foamy consistency plus curdled discharge. It primarily affects the urogenital organs and is a sexually transmitted sexually transmitted disease.
Treatment of curdled discharge in women
In no case should you self-medicate! itthe rule also applies to the treatment of curdled discharge and itching. At the first suspicion, you need to contact a specialist. He will prescribe microflora tests to identify the nature of the disease, and then prescribe treatment. Most often, doctors prescribe vaginal suppositories.
If a woman is expecting a baby, vaginal suppositories are not advisable to use in the first trimester and last month of pregnancy. The gynecologist may suggest waiting until the most favorable moment for the treatment of curdled discharge, or prescribe a more gentle drug to the expectant mother if the usually uncharacteristic discharge causes her serious discomfort. The presence of blood clots in the discharge may indicate a threat of abortion, in which case the gynecologist will immediately prescribe potent drugs or recommend going to the hospital to save the fetus.
Additional treatment is given to the girl's regular partner to prevent the possibility of re-infection. Men are prescribed pills or a drug in the form of an ointment, which must be applied directly to the genitals. Doctors advise at this time to pay special attention to personal hygiene: change underwear more often, iron it with a hot iron on both sides. This will increase protection against a possible return of the disease.
Curdled discharge is treated with antibiotics. For each disease, the type of antibiotics to which the pathogen is most sensitive is selected.
An outdated way of treating secretions of this kind is douching. Now no doctorwill not advise him as the only one, since in this way you can only reduce the external manifestations of the disease, but not get rid of the disease completely.
Prevention
In order to prevent changes in normal secretions due to the development of any disease, you must follow simple rules:
- Maintain immunity.
- Do not allow hypothermia of the body.
- Avoid casual sexual partners.
- Choose underwear made from natural fabrics.
- Give preference to products designed specifically for intimate hygiene.
- Eat right.
Thus, it is important to be attentive to all the changes that occur in your body. Curdled discharge can be caused by both non-serious causes and dangerous diseases with subsequent complications in many internal organs. It is important to notice and cure the disease at the very beginning. In this matter, you should rely on a gynecologist and not resort to self-medication, especially folk remedies.
