There is Only a Discharge???

For a few years I have had a thick cloudy discharge, it is not clear like it should be, there is not really a smell.  And I do not have reddness or a vaginal itch.  Just like a milky discharge.  I have done douches and used Monistat.  But it has not gone away yet.  Is it just my body???

Please help me out

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

I'm sorry, there just isn't enough information to speculate as to the cause of your symptoms, and you understand that nobody can make a diagnosis without an examination; you need to see a knowledgable health care provider.

In the mantime, stop douching!  Douching is unnecessary for hygiene, cures no infection of any kind, and has serious health consequences:  it causes bacterial vaginosis and increases the risk of fallopian tube infection (pelvic inflammatory disease), tubal preganancy, and infertility.  Indeed, if you are douching frequently, it might be the cause of your symptoms.

HHH, MD

[claricehotty]

I only started douching after someone had informed me that the discharge was not normal.  So it is for sure not from that.  I have had this for as long as I can remember, probably ever since I hit puberity and now I am 20 years old.  Thats what makes me believe that it just might only be my body chemistry.  However, I am afraid to go to a doctor because I feel embarrassed that they will think that I am dirty or something.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

It may well be your own "chemistry", especially if the discharge started before you became sexually active (assuming that you are) and hasn't changed for several years.  But you still shouldn't douche; it carries important health risks and is never wise!  No woman should do it.  (I'm not making this up.)

Please don't be embarrassed by going to a health care provider.  Few doctors who regularly provides health care to women and almost no family planning or STD clinics will think you are "dirty" with a story like yours.  Trust me:  your story doesn't even begin to get on the radar screen of unusual or peculiar cases.  Go get it checked our; you'll probably end up being reassured that, as I suspect, your discharge is nothing serious.

Good luck--  HHH, MD