Odorous vaginal discharge is one of the most common signs of vaginal infection (or vaginitis), and it is frequently accompanied by vaginal and/or vulval itching, swelling, redness, burning during urination, or pelvic pain. If you’ve ever dealt with vaginitis, then you certainly know just how bothersome these symptoms are. In addition to creating discomfort, they can also lower your self-confidence and self-esteem, and result in poor social interactions.
Other Symptoms
When it comes to vaginal discharge, one of the biggest complaints women have about it is the very large amounts they experience at certain times during their menstrual cycle. While this is most common during ovulation, there are other times when you may experience heavy vaginal discharge. Knowing when this is a normal happening and when not can be difficult, especially if you aren’t that familiar with your cervical mucus in general.
Knowing the difference between normal vaginal discharge and abnormal vaginal discharge is oftentimes simple, specifically because there a couple of factors that usually indicate when there may be something wrong with your cervical mucus. Stringy vaginal discharge is normal most of the time, and usually occurs during the middle of your menstrual cycle as a result of estrogen levels increasing during this time.
As a rule, menstruation is accompanied by dragging pain, since it involves active contraction of the uterus, which is actually “forcing outward” rejected endometrium. In case the woman observes menstrual cramps but no period, it is appropriate to assume one of the possible causes: ovulation, presence of functioning cysts or their disruption, twisting of uterine adnexa, pelvic inflammations, neuralgia or adhesions, uterine or adnexal neoplasms, endometriosis or adenomyosis, as well as pregnancy or disturbance of its course. Apart from the mentioned reasons, cramps can also have non-gynecological etiology. [click to continue…]