Woman 2 Woman - Whither White Discharge

If I take a vote among adult women in any random gathering anywhere in the world to raise their hands if the’ve suffered from white discharge atleast once, it comes as no surprise to me that atleast 50-70% , if not more, women raise their hands. And if I ask them to list problems that they face due to this, the rattle out words like low backache, pain abdomen, headache, pain during inter course, poor sex drive, even inability to conceive & some weird medically unrelated stuff like food intolerance, diarrhoea , constipation, breast lumps due to ensuing hormonal imbalance ( as they believe!) etc. etc
 

 

So what really is this disease of ‘white discharge’ that afflicts the womankind so vastly? Well the vagina serves as a passageway between the outside of the body and the uterus and fallopian tubes. A healthy vagina produces secretions to cleanse and regulate itself, similar to how saliva cleanses and regulates the environment of the mouth. These vaginal secretions are normal discharge that at different times of the month gets more noticeable . You may notice increased wetness and clear discharge around mid-cycle. The pH of the vagina is acidic due to the presence of a huge variety of bacteria mainly lactobacilli (similar to those that make your yoghurt & cheese) and it is these normal bacteria and the acidity which discourages infections from occurring. So lets’ get this straight, all normal adult women must have a normal vaginal discharge which may appear clear, cloudy white, and/or yellowish when dry on underclothes. It may also contain white flecks and at times may be thin and stringy depending on the time of the month, stress, pregnancy, use of medicines like contraceptive pills. Not only the consistency but also the pH balance of the vagina fluctuates during the cycle and is the least acidic on the days just prior to and during menstruation. Infections, therefore, are most common at this time.