Vaginal discharge

Vaginal discharge can be an embarrassing symptom for many women and extremely common in women of all stages of their lives. When women are sexually active it can often cause anxiety in terms of the worry of having acquired a sexually transmitted infection or the perception of their partners. The vast majority of times abnormal discharge is caused by very harmless and treatable conditions such as thrush (yeast infection), bacterial vaginosis or menopausal vaginal changes. Usually treatment is very simple. Only very rarely is it a sign of cervical, vaginal or uterine cancer. Below is a list of causes.

Bacterial Vaginosis
Thrush (yeast infection)
Vaginitis
Cervicitis or Cervical ectropion
STI’s ( Chlamydia or Gonorrhoea)
Forgotten tampon
Vaginal Atrophy
Pregnancy
Vaginal fistula (Rare and usually as a result of a surgical complication)
Vaginal, cervical or uterine cancer (very rarely and usually a blood-tinged discharge)