Vaginal discharge is an absolutely normal situation for the female body, but it also happens that moderate and troubling discharge is replaced by unusual ones with a curdled consistency. What can they mean? What are the reasons for their appearance, and is it worth it to sound the alarm? Answers to all questions in the article!
Normal female discharge
Every girl knows how normal vaginal discharge looks for her, but despite the individuality of each organism, there are common norms for 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.
- Scanty in volume - not more than one or two teaspoons per day.
- The consistency is liquid, sometimes jelly-like.
- They are odorless or have a slight natural female odor.
- Do not cause burning or itching.
- Do not interfere with normal sexual intercourse.
The volume of secretions may slightly increase during sexual arousal, during and after sexual intercourse, as well as during ovulation (approximately to the middle of the cycle), breastfeeding and pregnancy.
Reason to see a doctor
Sometimes normal discharge suddenly starts to smell sharply, change its consistency or lead to discomfort in the vagina. Any deviation from the usual form serves as a good reason to consult a specialist. All of them indicate a violation of normal processes in the female body.
If a girl noticed white cheesy 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 cheesy 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 the normal discharge to curdled 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 a product can negatively affect not only the figure, but also provoke the release of the cheesy secretion of the vagina. Such products can be coffee, sweet, flour, fatty and overly spicy foods. Sometimes it’s important for treatment to simply rethink the diet and reduce the intake of the wrong foods. The gastroenterologist will be able to choose the right diet to get rid of cheesy discharge forever.
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 creating "favorable" conditions, they begin to multiply intensively. These reasons may include:
- Inadequate personal hygiene.
- Incorrectly selected soap for intimate hygiene that violates the normal PH-balance of the skin.
- Decreased immunity after a recent illness.
- Taking antibiotics that negatively affect the amount of beneficial bacteria in our body.
- Metabolic disorder (mainly due to diabetes).
- Hormonal disbalance.
- Pregnancy, when all the usual processes in the female body begin to actively change.
- Inflammation of the genitourinary system.
- Synthetic underwear.
- Reception of hormonal contraceptives.
- Hypothermia.
- Dramatic weight gain.
It often happens that alarming symptoms can go away on their own without medical intervention.
Affect the spread of the fungus can a partner to whom the thrush from the girl was transmitted. It is important to undergo treatment together to prevent re-infection.
Symptoms of thrush are quite simple, but very unpleasant:
- Rapid urination, often accompanied by painful sensations.
- Burning sensation in the genitals.
- Genital itching.
- Pain during sexual intercourse.
The discharge has a white, sometimes slightly yellowish color. They have an extremely sharp sour smell, similar to kefir. Flavourless curdled discharge indicates the initial stage of the disease. An acidic 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 discharge at the very beginning. With the transition of the disease into a chronic form, the cheesy discharge does not smell, since the fungus has passed into the deeper layers of the epithelium.
Also, such discharge in women can be accompanied by a small amount of water substance - a common sign of thrush. A neglected disease can lead to the appearance of blisters on the walls of the vagina, then blood impurities can be found in the secretions.
Against the background of candidiasis, other diseases very often occur that affect the hue of the discharge and the specificity of the smell.
Cytolytic vaginosis
In this disease, the epithelial cells are destroyed not due to inflammatory processes, but because of the rapid spread of lactic acid bacteria. This can happen when new microorganisms enter the vagina, where the "struggle" between bacteria familiar to the body and "beginners" begins. During this struggle, hydrogen peroxide and lactic acid are released, which corrode the delicate membrane of the vaginal mucous membranes.
Cytolytic vaginosis is quite easy to confuse with candidiasis, because it has a similar set of symptoms, the main of which is the change in mucus-like secretions to curd lumpy. Only a specialist can make the correct diagnosis and prescribe the right treatment.
Ureaplasmosis
An extremely unpleasant disease, which can be obtained mainly during sexual intercourse. It is caused by ureaplasma bacteria and can occur against a background of candidiasis, which can affect the color and smell of secretions: they often acquire 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 have much more serious consequences than cheesy discharge. Often, it causes the formation of kidney stones, the occurrence of inflammation in the uterus.
Chlamydia
Another disease that can be infected during intercourse. It affects mainly the genitourinary system. The main drawback is the almost asymptomatic course. A woman can live with him from several months to a year and not notice anything especially terrible. The only thing that may prompt her to think about going to a specialist may be a slight change in the nature of the secretions and their unobtrusive smell. Therefore, it is important to treat your body with particular care in order to prevent detection of the disease only during the development of complications. Chlamydia is a dangerous disease that causes serious consequences.
Mycoplasmosis
With mycoplasmosis, the discharge of curd consistency acquires a yellow tint. This disease is transmitted exclusively during sexual intercourse, in contrast to candidiasis, which can be infected during everyday situations. Refers to sexually transmitted diseases.
Bacterial vaginosis
The course of this disease simultaneously with thrush can affect the color of white cheesy discharge, staining them in a grayish or greenish color. Also, the smell of stale fish is replaced by the smell of stale fish. Bacterial vaginosis develops due to an insufficient number of lactic acid bacteria in the microflora, with a change in sexual partner or promiscuous sexual life.
Trichomoniasis
The main difference from candidiasis is the appearance of purulent discharge with a foamy consistency plus a curdled discharge. It affects primarily the genitourinary organs and is a sexually transmitted disease.
Treatment of cheesy discharge in women
In no case should you self-medicate! This rule also applies to the treatment of cheesy discharge and itching. At the first suspicion, you need to contact a specialist. He will prescribe microflora tests to determine 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 in the last month of pregnancy. The gynecologist can offer to wait until the most favorable moment for the treatment of cheesy discharge, or prescribe a more gentle drug to the expectant mother, if the uncharacteristic discharge usually causes her serious discomfort. The presence of blood clots in the discharge may indicate a threat of abortion, in this case, the gynecologist will immediately prescribe potent drugs or recommend going to a hospital to save the fetus.
Additionally, treatment is prescribed to the girl’s permanent partner in order 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 linen more often, iron it with a hot iron on both sides. This will increase protection against a possible return of the disease.
Cottage cheese secretions are treated with antibiotics. For each disease, the type of antibiotic that the pathogen is most sensitive to is selected.
An obsolete method of treating secretions of a similar plan is douching. Now, no doctor will advise him as the only one, since in this way you can reduce only the external manifestations of the disease, but not completely get rid of the disease.
Prevention
In order to prevent changes in normal secretions due to the development of a disease, it is necessary to follow simple rules:
- Maintain immunity.
- Avoid 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 changes occurring in your body. Cheesy discharge can be caused by both non-serious causes and dangerous diseases with subsequent complications on many internal organs. It is important to notice and cure the disease at the very beginning. In this matter, it is worth relying on a gynecologist and not resorting to self-medication, especially folk remedies.