A Question about the Vagina: What Causes Symptoms of Yellow Discharge and Itching?

Odd variations in her discharge coupled with an itchy vagina have raised her suspicions. She’s not on birth control and is married, meaning she doesn’t engage in risky sex patterns. To help her get to the bottom of these symptoms, she’s seeking our help.

Case #: 1418

Concern：

I’m worried about my vaginal discharge. Before, it was whitish. But lately it has been yellowish to slightly brown. Last Saturday, as I was cleaning, there was a little blood on my finger after peeing. The opening of my vagina has also been really itchy, although it’s been subsiding. I am married but not on birth control. Please help me find what’s wrong with me.

Discussion：

It’s not often that vaginal discharge makes a woman happy. It can in fact be a source of embarrassment. Some women even fight to hide evidence of discharge from their husbands – they fear a man will ridicule and/or turn away from them in disgust.

While it’s true that men don’t always understand vaginal discharge, neither do women. Fluid expelled by the vagina can be the result of many different things: hormone fluctuations during the menstrual cycle, sexual arousal, illness, and even age. This last factor can be especially tricky because the body changes in so many ways as time passes. But rest assured you don’t have to live with the discomfort of vaginal discharge. It can be managed in much the same way as other health issues.

The Winds of Change

An aging vagina is one that’s changed by childbirth, time or both. These processes influence hormones, which can vary at any time in a woman’s life but become more erratic after age 35. Estrogen and progesterone are especially influenced by age. Both are produced by the ovaries, but ovarian functions slow in later years before stopping altogether in menopause. This means estrogen and progesterone levels also drop.

Known as the “pregnancy hormone,” progesterone helps create a thick and nourishing lining in the uterus each month prior to menstruation. If pregnancy occurs, that lining nurtures a developing embryo. Otherwise, it is expelled from the body during a woman’s period.

Low or imbalanced progesterone levels interfere with the production of a rich uterine lining. Sometimes the lining is so thin it doesn’t remain in the uterus for the entire menstrual cycle. It sloughs off and gets shed prior to normal bleeding. This accounts for the “spotting” that so many women experience in between periods, and it also explains the blood you found on your fingers while wiping.

The Link between Discharge, Itching and Age

In addition to brown spotting, you mentioned excessive vaginal discharge. This, too, is a result of hormonal imbalances. The body strives to maintain exact levels of estrogen and progesterone to offset each other. In this way they work together to keep reproductive systems as healthy and normalized as possible. The problem is that their close relationship means a deficiency of one – in your case, progesterone – can lead to an abundance of the other – again, in this instance we’re referring to estrogen.

Estrogen promotes vaginal discharge to keep the environment clean of harmful bacteria and toxins. If your progesterone levels are too low, an abundance of estrogen can cause the thick, yellow discharge you’re experiencing. Because it’s to be expected that your hormones are fluctuating – they do at any age, but as a woman advances in years, those fluctuations become more frequent – you can also attribute your vaginal itching to this cause.

Hormones create a naturally wet and acidic environment in which vaginal tissues flourish. Muscles stay firm and strong, while healthy bacteria grow in great number. But as hormone levels drop, that environment changes. Tissues become thin and brittle and are susceptible to tears, damage and infection.

No More Suffering

Right now, you’re faced with the responsibilities of balancing your hormones and replenishing healthy flora in your vagina. These are the steps necessary to stopping the discharge and itching, but you don’t have to take them alone. With an herbal vaginal rejuvenation and detoxification formula, you can naturally stimulate communication between your hormones and body. (TRY: Vaginal Formula for Detoxification & Restoration) The formula will also expel toxins and improve liver and immune functions. Before it’s all said and done, you’ll have a healthier body and a much happier vagina.