Hi, I am Dr. Ankita Srivastava. I am a gynaecologist and obstetrician with over 10 years of experience. I currently practice at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in New Delhi and at Zoe Nutrition For Life. I am the co-creator of the conceive effortlessly online program. It is a 3 month online program designed to provide personalised care and attention to you from leading experts in the country and help you get pregnant faster, naturally, easily & most definitely. 😊
I often interact with several patients who are a part of my online program and give them personalised consultations and guide them regarding the problems that they are facing in their pregnancy journey. I also practice at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in New Delhi. These experiences together have helped me understand and know some of the most common queries, issues and concerns that modern couples are facing when they are trying to start their family and conceive a baby. I also believe that we can all learn from each other's journey as well as experiences, and hence, I document interactions with several of my patients so that others can learn from these documentations as well. One such case has been shared by me below.
Patient's query:
"If I have frequent white discharge, what should I do? Is it something to be worried about?"
This is something that I get asked quite often. Is it normal to have white discharge? When is it not normal? What can be done about it? What are the things that should be kept in mind when dealing with white discharge? I've tried to address several such questions in the recommendation section below.
My recommendations:
"See, there are some white discharges which are physiological, which are normal, and there are some that are pathological, which are abnormal. So firstly, we need to understand what is a normal white discharge and what is an abnormal white discharge? A normal white discharge can occur just before your period. This is due to the increase in the estrogen levels in the body. The discharge could also occur when your are ovulating, wherein mid-cycle, between your menses, at one point the discharge will increase. This is considered to be as well. So basically, if you're getting your discharge just before your period or if you're getting your discharge between your cycles, ie: menses, it's completely fine. Also, during sexual excitation, there can be an increase in the discharge and is totally normal as well. Sometimes, when you're taking any drugs, any pills, like oral contraceptive pills, etc. that can also increase the discharge, because they contain estrogen. Sometimes when you're under stress, your discharge will increase as well. These are all examples when the discharges are considered to be normal. Now, when is it considered to be an abnormal discharge? Whenever there is excessive discharge, eg: your under clothes start getting stained. Secondly, when there is foul smelling discharge, that means that there is an infection. That's not normal because a normal discharge will not have a foul smell. And the third thing is if you have any itchiness or any pain associated with it, that's abnormal. Also, if you're having discharges throughout the cycle, that's also abnormal too. Now, in case you're having discharge throughout the cycle, you may be harbouring some infection and you may want to get it treated first. Because, if you are harbouring infection, that can actually cause problems down the line. In some severe cases, it can cause blockage of tubes as well. So we would like to see what is the cause of infection. We would like to treat it and treat it on time before it causes any anatomical problems with the blockage of tube or any other problem with the reproductive tract. So treating a white discharge is very important. Also, if you're looking to prevent white discharge, you can have plenty of water (at least three to four liters of water in a day). Many a times we don't have an account of how much water we are drinking, so what you can do is that you can keep a one liter water bottle at your bedside, when you get up in the morning, have one liter of water, finish that bottle. When you are going off to sleep, have one litter of water, and again, finish that bottle. Then, throughout the day, all you need to have is only one to two liters of water. So, this ensures that you've had at least three to four liters of water every day, which is very important. Another thing you should keep in mind is that before having intercourse as well as after having intercourse, just pass urine. Going and passing urine after and before intercourse is very important because there's a lot of bacteria that can get lost. So you should pass urine in order to make sure that you don't have any UTIs or any further infection. If supposing you are having infection, you and your partner must get treated together. I've seen in so many cases that the woman will get treated if she has wide discharge but the partner will not. So she will finish off her treatment and the infection will go off. And then, as soon as, there is contact between the partner and her again, she will back the infection. And this then becomes a vicious cycle. Another thing to keep in mind is that when you are treating the infection, try to use barrier condoms so that there is no passing of infection between the partners when you're trying to treat it. All these things will really help you to prevent wide discharge to a large extent."
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I hope you found this article useful. If you want a detailed consultation with me, you can write to me or drop me a whatsapp. You can also read another article by Dr. Parul Chopra Buttan on understanding all about PCOS by clicking here.
You can go Zoe's 3 month fertility program- Conceive Effortlessly, to boost fertility and achieve pregnancy faster by clicking below. You can also check out some of our other programs that help you improve your overall lifestyle:
2. Deep Sleep Meditation for a healthy and fulfilling sleep, every night.
4. EASY30’ Workout Program: At-home workouts for weight loss & fitness.
Love and good health,
Dr. Ankita Srivastava
Gynaecologist & Obstetrician
MBBS, MS, DNB, MRCOGII (London)
Email: drankita@zoe.menu | Whatsapp: 8527198370
At Zoe we have created an online program to help you improve fertility and get pregnant faster by adapting small lifestyle changes that focus on weight, nutrition, sleep and mindset. This video series is your and your partner’s perfect pregnancy planner. Check it out here.
