Vaginal discharge: what changes through the cycle and when to get it checked

Most people who have periods find some discharge in their underwear on most days. It’s a fluid or mucus that keeps the vagina clean and moist, and helps protect it from infection. You can get it at any age, and the amount you notice goes up and down.

What most discharge looks like

The NHS says discharge isn’t usually anything to worry about if it doesn’t have a strong or unpleasant smell and is clear or white. It can be thick and sticky, or slippery and wet. Both are common, and the same person can have each at different times.

It comes from glands in the cervix (the neck of the womb) and the walls of the vagina. Clear mucus can dry to a white or yellowish mark on your underwear, because these secretions may turn white or yellow when they meet the air.

How it shifts through the cycle

The amount of mucus varies through the menstrual cycle, as hormone levels change. Sources describe it in broad strokes rather than as a day-by-day timetable, and your pattern may not match anyone else’s.

• Around ovulation, roughly the middle of the cycle, discharge is often clearer and wetter and can be more noticeable.
• Just before a period, it usually gets heavier.
• With sexual arousal, there can be more for a while.

Some people watch these changes closely for fertility awareness. The guides on fertility awareness methods and tracking ovulation cover what to look for and how reliable it is. If you’re logging discharge, a note of when a change started and what came with it can help a conversation with a nurse or doctor. Ruva’s cycle estimates aren’t contraception.

Other times it changes

Puberty

Discharge starts during puberty and reduces after the menopause. The guide to puberty covers what to expect before a first period.

Sex and contraception

The NHS says you usually get heavier discharge if you’re sexually active or using birth control. Douches and contraceptive foams, jellies or creams can irritate the vagina or the skin around it.

Pregnancy

More discharge than before is common in pregnancy. It helps stop infections travelling up from the vagina to the womb. Healthy discharge in pregnancy is usually thin, clear or milky white, and shouldn’t smell unpleasant. Towards the end, the amount increases further. In the last week or so, it may contain streaks of sticky, jelly-like pink mucus. This is called a “show”, and it’s a sign the body is starting to prepare for birth.

After a birth

Bleeding from the vagina after a birth can go on for up to 6 weeks. MedlinePlus describes it slowly becoming less red, then pink (this pink discharge is called lochia), and then a yellow or white discharge. Bleeding usually decreases most in the first week. Around 7 to 14 days, when a scab forms where the placenta came away, an increase in red bleeding for a day or so isn’t uncommon.

Bleeding that doesn’t fit that pattern needs a call to your midwife or doctor. MedlinePlus lists bleeding heavier than 1 pad per hour, clots bigger than a golf ball, bleeding that’s still heavy, like a period, after more than 4 days (apart from that brief rise at 7 to 14 days), and a fever that persists. The guide to warning signs after birth covers the other symptoms to act on.

After the menopause

Lower oestrogen after the menopause can lead to vaginal dryness and other symptoms, known as atrophic vaginitis. The guide on vaginal dryness covers this in more detail.

Any bleeding from your vagina after the menopause is worth seeing a GP about, even if it’s only a small amount or has only happened once. The NHS says it isn’t usually serious, but it’s important to get checked because it can be a sign of cancer, and cancer may be easier to treat if it’s found early. The guide on bleeding after menopause has more.

Changes worth getting checked

If your discharge changes in smell, colour or texture, it might be a sign of an infection. A sudden change in amount, colour, odour or consistency is worth a call too. The NHS advises against diagnosing yourself and suggests seeing a GP if you’re worried. Colour alone can’t tell you the cause.

What you notice	What a clinician may check for	Read more
A fishy smell, with grey discharge	Bacterial vaginosis (BV)	Bacterial vaginosis
Thick, white discharge like cottage cheese that doesn’t usually smell, with itching or irritation	Thrush (a yeast infection)	Thrush
Green, yellow or frothy discharge	Trichomoniasis, an infection spread during sex	STIs: symptoms and treatment
Discharge with pelvic pain or bleeding	Chlamydia or gonorrhoea	STIs: symptoms and treatment
Bleeding or brown watery discharge with tummy pain low down on one side, if you could be pregnant	Ectopic pregnancy (get help the same day)	Ectopic pregnancy
Discharge with blisters or sores	Genital herpes	STIs: symptoms and treatment
A new partner, or a chance you’ve been exposed to an STI	STI testing	STI testing: what to expect
A foul smell, especially if a tampon may have been left in	A forgotten tampon or other object	Period products
Itching or soreness after a new soap, spray or spermicide	Irritation from the product	Vulva and vagina: a plain guide

A tampon that’s been left in is nothing to be embarrassed about. A GP or sexual health clinic can help. Toxic shock syndrome (TSS) is rare but life-threatening, and it can happen when using a tampon or menstrual cup. If you’ve been using one and get a high temperature, feel hot, cold or shivery with muscle aches, have vomiting and diarrhoea, or a rash that feels rough like sandpaper, take it out if you can and call NHS 111 (UK), your doctor or urgent care (US), or your local doctor. Tell them you were using one. Call 999 (UK) or 911 (US), or your local emergency number, if you’re acting confused, your skin, lips or tongue look blue, grey, pale or blotchy, or you have difficulty breathing.

To help avoid irritation, wash the skin around your vagina gently with warm water and a mild, non-perfumed soap. Skip perfumed soaps and gels, deodorants, scented wipes and douching (washing inside the vagina). MedlinePlus also advises against vaginal steaming, which may increase the risk of infection.

Pregnancy and after birth: when not to wait

If you’re pregnant, call your midwife or maternity unit urgently if your waters break, you have vaginal bleeding, or your baby is moving less than usual. Waters may come as a slow trickle or a sudden gush you can’t control. Use a period pad, not a tampon, so your midwife can check the colour of the waters. Call urgently too if you’re less than 37 weeks pregnant and think you might be in labour. None of these should wait until the next day: call immediately, even in the middle of the night. If you can’t reach your midwife or maternity unit, call 111. The guide to pregnancy warning signs has more.

Call your midwife if your discharge in pregnancy smells unpleasant or strange, is green or yellow, or comes with itching, soreness or pain when you pee. Some thrush medicines shouldn’t be used in pregnancy, so talk to your doctor, pharmacist or midwife before you buy one.

After a birth, contact your provider if discharge becomes heavier or develops a foul smell. Toxic shock syndrome can also happen after a vaginal birth or caesarean, so the emergency signs above apply then too.

Getting it looked at

In the UK, NHS 111 can help if your discharge changes, you have more than usual, you feel itchy or sore, you bleed between periods or after sex, or you have pain when peeing or pain in your pelvis. A sexual health clinic can also help, and many offer a walk-in service. In the US, contact your provider right away if discharge comes with a fever or pain in your pelvis or belly, or if you may have been exposed to an STI. MedlinePlus also suggests getting checked if symptoms get worse or last longer than 1 week despite home care.

If you might be pregnant, even without a positive test, pain low down on one side of your tummy with vaginal bleeding or a brown watery discharge needs advice right away from a GP or NHS 111, or your doctor or urgent care in the US. Pain in the tip of your shoulder can be part of the same picture. These can be signs of an ectopic pregnancy. Call 999 or 911 if you have a sharp, sudden and intense pain in your tummy and feel very dizzy or faint, feel sick or look very pale.

At the appointment, expect questions about your medical history. A clinician may examine you and look at a sample of your discharge under a microscope. Sexual health clinics often get test results back quicker than GP surgeries.