Dr Joanna Szymkowiak Gołębiowska
Gynaecologist-obstetrician specialist, doctoral student
The term discharge generally refers to any type of genital discharge except blood. It is one of the complaints most often reported by patients during a visit to the gynaecologist.
Joanna Szymkowiak: Discharge is a non-specific symptom, which may but does not have to be a signal of a pathological condition in the genital tract. Sometimes even a fairly abundant discharge can be a physiological phenomenon, as it happens in pregnancy, for example, when it is completely natural to have a whitish, quite abundant, odourless discharge in the vagina.
The causes of vaginal discharge and where they come from can vary widely.
There may be discharge from the vestibule, vagina, cervix, endometrium or fallopian tubes. The cause of discharge may be excessive gland secretion, increased drainage, inflammatory or cancerous exudate, trauma or foreign matter.
Vestibular discharge
Physiologically, they occur in a state of sexual arousal as a discharge produced mainly by the greater vestibular glands. Pathological vestibular discharge may be the result of excessive secretion of glands or occur in the presence of vulvovaginitis, such as fungal, bacterial or trichomoniasis. Pathological vestibular discharge may result from excessive glandular secretion or occur in the presence of inflammatory conditions of the vulva and vagina such as fungal, bacterial or trichomoniasis inflammation.Vaginal discharge
Pathological vaginal discharge is caused by mechanical irritation - such as the presence of a foreign body, chemical irritation - reaction to condom coatings, spermicides or vaginitis. Vaginitis of the most common etiology is bacterial, fungal, trichomoniasis and atrophic.- Bacterial vaginosis
- Fungal vaginosis
- Trichomonas vaginitis
- Atrophic vaginitis