No matter how strange it may seem, excretion in girls, even in newborns, is normal. As a rule, they are odorless, liquid and have a whitish color. In babies who are several days old, even brown or spotting may appear. This need not be afraid. This is the result of the fact that in the prenatal development the hormone estrogen penetrated into the girl’s blood. After birth, the uterus begins to respond to it. Usually, the discharge is extremely scarce and disappears after a short time.
A variant of the norm is discharge in girls in adolescence. They should be transparent and not abundant. No specific odor should be detected. At the age of 11-15 years, girls begin intensive preparation for the first menstruation. Luteinizing hormone is produced in large quantities. This provokes the development of "whites."
So why does a girl have white discharge at the age of 5-10 years, and sometimes even earlier? In fact, there can be many reasons for this. Discharge is not considered pathological if:
- there is a tendency to overweight;
- the child experienced a stressful situation;
- revealed circulatory failure;
- the girl has an atopic condition;
- there is a tendency to allergies;
- due to long-term use of antibiotics, the balance of the vaginal microflora was disturbed;
- the mode and nature of nutrition has changed;
- reduced immunity.
There is no need to panic if the discharge is the result of one of these causes. After its elimination, they pass by themselves.
It is a completely different case if the discharge in girls has an unpleasant odor and yellow or even greenish color. This is direct evidence that the child is developing a disease. Most often, after all tests are diagnosed with vulvitis or vulvovaginitis. Although these similar diseases are gynecological, they should not be confused with sexually transmitted diseases. This is inflammation of the vulvar mucosa. In many cases, the disease does not even affect the vagina. Therefore, there is no reason to be afraid to go to the pediatric gynecologist.
Vulvitis develops for various reasons:
- due to the excessive sensitivity of the baby's skin to hygiene products (soap, shampoo, sometimes creams);
- due to the ingress of small particles of dirt or accumulation of dead skin cells;
- the cause may be irritation from the tissue during swaddling or from the powder with which the diapers are washed;
- Thick dark yellow discharge in girls, similar to mucus, may indicate a foreign object inside the vagina;
- if, in addition to secretions, itching in the perineum is present , which intensifies at night, then these are probably symptoms of the presence of pinworms.
There are a lot of answers to the question of why the girl has discharge. To find out for sure, you need to contact a pediatrician. Especially in cases where it is suspected that the child, playing, placed a foreign object in the vagina, or if signs of infection with helminths appear. A thick infection with a sharp unpleasant odor will indicate the presence of a serious infection.