White chunky discharge: Is It Normal?

Last updated on July 27th, 2018 at 05:14 pm

Are you worried about the whitish stuff coming from your vagina? Do you feel your white chunky discharge is abnormal? Do you experience any change in the smell or color of your discharge? Any vaginal itch down there?

White chunky discharge may be abnormal and in most cases is due to a yeast infection.

Yeast infections are commonly caused by Candida albicans and are common in pregnancy, children, women taking steroids, women using antibiotic prescriptions and females on contraceptives.

On the other hand, your chunky white discharge may not be due to yeast. Having a thick clumpy discharge without smell or itching is normal.

During pregnancy, ovulation and sexual contact, women may have an excessive flow of discharge. It may be thick or watery.

This article explains what’s normal discharge looks like and when discharge may indicate a yeast infection.

What does normal vaginal discharge look like?

Your vagina has a protective way of staying clean and healthy. This is made possible by the continuous release of vaginal discharge.

Vaginal discharge is made up of different kind of cells, produced by the cervix and vagina. Cervical mucus mixes up with dead cells from the wall of your vagina and other organisms like yeast and bacteria, which is constantly removed in discharge.

Normal vaginal has a balance of good bacteria, fungi, yeast and harmful bacteria. The good bacteria helps to prevent you from infections. The harmful bacteria may cause infections if vaginal flora balance is disrupted.

The good bacteria in the vagina are the Lactobacillus acidophilus that maintains the pH of the vagina somewhere between 3.5 and 4.5.

Harmful bacteria like Chlamydia trachomatis, gonorrhea infections, and trichomonas may affect this flora and cause disease. If infection occurs, your vaginal pH rises.

Besides, yeast cells are commonly found in the vagina but small quantity. However, if you use vaginal douche, take broad-spectrum antibiotics, it may disrupt the balance of vaginal cell resulting in yeast infections

How does vaginal discharge change during your menstrual cycle?

Your menstrual cycle begins on the first day your period starts and ends on the first day of your next period.

This means, if your last period were to commence on the first of January and started again on the 29th of January, it implies you have a 28-day menstrual cycle.

Between 2 of your periods, you will notice vaginal discharge will become watery, sticky, creamy, egg white, milky and clear.

The menstrual cycle is controlled by hormones which include estrogen and progesterone which are dominant during your cycles.

Before ovulation (which occurs when an egg is released from your ovaries) and just after your period ends, you may experience brown discharge as your uterus contracts harder to remove endometrial cells. During this time, most women will have a sticky creamy like vaginal discharge.

Just before ovulation will take place, cervical mucus increases production of more watery discharge that is whitish, stretchy between fingers and clear.

This occurs because of the sudden rise of estrogen that helps sperm move up the genital tracts in preparation for fertilization.

After fertilization, it’s okay to return to thick creamy, pasty or sticky discharge.

Change in vaginal discharge is normal in women. SO DON’T PANIC!!!

Other causes of white chunky discharge are

1.  Pregnancy

Excessive discharge is an easy way to identify pregnancy either before missing your period or immediately your period is late.

Clumpy white and excessive discharge weeks after unsafe sexual intercourse may indicate you’re pregnant.

Other possible signs of pregnancy, though not always experienced by all women, are:

• Cramping pain in the abdomen that may occur before or after your period is late
• Light bleeding that is less than your usual period that occurs a week or 3-5 days before your period
• Fatigue
• General body weakness
• Both breast increase in size with pain
• Your period finally disappears
• You feel hunger and headache
• Dizziness
• Metallic taste in your mouth

Talking to your doctor becomes very important if you have these symptoms. However, you could opt to confirm pregnancy at home by using a pregnancy test kit.

2.  Ovulation

Ovulation causes women to have whitish discharge that can be watery, excessive and clear. It does not cause vaginal itching or smelly vagina.

It’s important every woman know signs of ovulation.

3.  Sexual intercourse

During sex, it’s normal for your body to increase production of vaginal discharge. This is necessary because discharge lubricates and prevents vaginal tear, injury, and pain during sexual intercourse

However, it is abnormal that your discharge during sex becomes itchy, smelly or yellowish green in color.

Is my white chunky discharge due to yeast?

Its possible yeast infection may cause your chunky white discharge. The chances are higher if

You have symptoms like

Painful urination, vaginal itching, vaginal sore from scratching, low abdomen pain, swelling of the vulva and clumpy like vaginal discharge

You are pregnant

During pregnancy, your hormones are elevated, and your immunity becomes slightly reduced that you are easily prone to yeast infection. Estrogen levels rise during pregnancy and cause the number of yeast cells to increase resulting in an infection

You are taking steroids or birth control pills

Birth control pills are drugs that contain synthetic progestin and estrogen that are used commonly to prevent pregnancy. Due to effects of estrogen, it may disrupt normal way cells live in the vagina leading to fungi overgrowth and subsequently yeast infection.

You are douching

Douching is one way your body gets to disrupt normal vaginal cell balance resulting in the destruction of good vaginal bacteria and resulting in yeast infections.

You are taking broad-spectrum antibiotics.

Antibiotics work by destroying or slowing down the growth of bacteria cells. If you’re on antibiotics, it could kill both good and bad bacteria resulting in fungi overgrowth.

Your immunity is reduced

Human immunodeficiency virus or other conditions that may decrease resistance to yeast infection.

White chunky discharge no odor no itch, is it normal?

Yes, it’s okay to have white discharge without itching or odor. However, if you are itching down there with yellow or green vaginal discharge, it’s like you may have an infection. Explain your symptoms to your doctor.

Still worried you may have a yeast infection? Let us know