Discharge question

[anonymoushuman]

I'm 14 and sometimes I have discharge. Sometimes there's a lot and it's white and dry-ish, and other times i just smell kinda bad. What should I do?

[Redskies]

Welcome to the boards, anonymoushuman!

Assuming you're asking about vaginal discharge, having some discharge is simply part of having a vagina. The vagina is self-cleaning, and discharge is part of how it does that. Have you seen our piece Honorably Discharged: A Guide to Vaginal Secretions ? It might help fill you in a bit on what to expect, and what kinds of discharge are likely healthy or not.

It depends what you mean by smelling "bad". Like bodies in general and other bodily fluids, it's natural for genitals and healthy vaginal discharge to have its own scent. Provided you're okay with your general hygiene - washing the external genitals with a gentle soap once a day is completely adequate - that scent is unlikely to be particularly strong or unpleasant. As you can see in the article, sometimes we can get a vaginal infection or imbalance, and that can make discharge smell unpleasant. If and when that happens, it's no big deal, we just see a healthcare professional and get it treated.