VAGINAL DISCHARGE IS NORMAL .......

         One day an adolescent girl presented with the complain of excessive watery discharge from her Vagina. On examination I found that actually there were no secretions and no genital pathology. The girl was both anxious and ignorant . She considered normal vaginal secretions as excessive because of a lack of proper guidance or education about her genital organs. 

         Most women attending the Gynaecologists come with similar type of complaints. One aspect that should be clarified right away is that the presence of slight vaginal discharge may be considered abnormal.
        Vaginal secretions are one of the commonest types of secretions occurring in a normal healthy female body. Since the female genitalia are directly related to the abdominal cavity, infection in the former can spread to the latter, and cause serious complications. 
      Vaginal secretions   are actually nature's way of providing a barrier against infection.

       In healthy women  the vagina secretes a mucus, which is actually made up of  desquamated epithelium, certain bacteria , which are normal inhabitant of the vagina and lactic acid.
Recently a women presented that she was losing weight continuously due to her whitish Vaginal secretions. She seemed to think she was suffering from cancer.
            I examined her and found that she was no signs clinically suggestive of cancer., the discharge was only due to a mild infection . I explained the whole thing to her and told her that weight loss was not due to ailment and that she should improve her dietary habits.
In fact , if a women manifests any such symptom, she must consult a doctor without wasting any time , just to discount the possibility of any major illness.
There are certain periods in a woman's life when Vaginal secretions even if they are slightly in excess, are absolutely normal, as during ovulation , when the ovum gets liberated from the ovary., at the time of sexual stimulation , due to pre- menstrual congestion in the female genital tract and during the period of pregnancy.
Why do these Vaginal secretions forms as a big question in thinking minds ??

TRICHOMONAS

The Vulva has three kinds of glands, the sebaceous glands, the apocrine glands and sweat glands. When ever these glands are stimulated either because of some infection or through external or mechanical means, the glands get activated and release Vaginal secretions.
         Some women complain that they have a foul smelling discharge . Of course such a complaint does necessitate a visit to the gynaecologist, but generally speaking , there is nothing to worry. Vaginal secretions  of the apocrine glands do normally have a peculiar odour.
          Leukorrhea is a common manifestation of genital tract disorders. it may occur at any age and affects almost every women at some time or other . the causes may be many  but , most often , it is caused by infection in the lower genital tract. the infecting organisms are the protozoas i.e. Trichomonas. sometimes it could also prove to be fungal infection known as ' Moniliasis '.
In the latter type of infection , the secretion is curd like in consistency and in the former kind of infection it is watery. Women who complain of such kind of secretions should consult a doctor immediately. Infection by the Yeast can not be ruled out.
' Trichomonas ' is normally transmitted through the sexual act also. so, once the diagnosis is arrived at both the partners should be treated , otherwise the disease could reoccur.
       Leukorrhoea is a debilitating disease , which proves specially difficult to cure in diabetic women. Treatment extending to three or four months may be necessary in such cases , and the patient should take care of to consume her drugs regularly. 
The ultimate prognosis is good, however , if a proper diagnosis is made and proper follow-up treatment is continued , this is 100 % curable a disease.