Any ideas?

[Cosmakat]

For the past few months I have been having a weird amount of discharge from my vagina. It's pretty much clear and I can only describe it a being rather like mucus. I know these areas tend to have some mucus, but the large amount is just a bit ridiculous. I initially thought it would go away by itself, or that it was somehow connected to my period, but that doesn't appear to be the case. I'm not on any medication that may have caused it either. What's going on?

[Sam W]

Hi Cosmakat,

Have you had a chance to look at this article: Honorably Discharged: A Guide to Vaginal Secretions? It might help you determine whether what you're having is a normal kind of discharge or a sign of something like an infection. Too, does this happen more or less every day of your cycle? Or does it only happen a few days here and there?

[Cosmakat]

Hi Sam,

Having a look at that article, it falls into normal discharge in appearance, but I get it all throughout my cycle. It is noticable most days.

[al]

Hi Cosmakat,

If there's nothing else that feels off or fits the "abnormal" descriptors in that article, then it's possible what you're experiencing is just what your body feels it needs to keep itself healthy at the moment. The vagina really does have a pretty effective self-cleaning cycle. That cycle can change a bit depending on things like diet, exercise, hydration, sexual activity, stress, etc., so there are a few things that you can do to make the process a little easier:
- wearing cotton underwear
- not wearing underwear/bottoms at night
- bathing regularly, and not using any scented soaps/body washes to clean the vulva, and definitely not putting anything inside of the vagina
- drinking lots of water
- eating yogurt or taking probiotic supplements

Of course, if you're concerned, you can always check in with a healthcare provider about it! They can give you a second opinion, and if they see something they're concerned about they can run tests for STIs or bacterial infections and let you know if there's anything causing that discharge that might be harmful to your health.

[Cosmakat]

Hi Al,

That makes a lot of sense. Thanks a bunch!