Embarrassed about excessive vaginal lubrication

Sore area inside the lips of my vagina

Terrible smell coming from my vagina

Unpleasant odour in the private areas

Vaginal discharge and soreness: is it hormonal?

What can be done about a dry vagina?

White discharge coming from the vagina

Yellow discharge instead of a period

Question

I am embarrassed at the large amount of vaginal lubrication I experience when I become aroused. I have been sexually active for seven years but it is only in the last year and a half that I have had this experience.

I seem to suffer thrush symptoms quite regularly, though not full-blown thrush. I also notice my urine varies a great deal in smell and appearance and don't know whether I may have an STD.

Answer

You may be reassured to know that your symptoms are not uncommon and not necessarily abnormal at all.

The amount of vaginal lubrication produced as a result of sexual excitement varies not just in different women, but also in the same woman at different stages of her life.

Just after puberty there is not likely to be much secretion because female hormones have not had very long to stimulate the glands in the vagina that provide lubrication. Furthermore, anxiety and nervousness about inexperienced sex have an inhibitory effect.

Later on in a woman's sexual prime, secretions are likely to be greater. They may also be influenced by the female sex hormone contained in the oral contraceptive pill, particularly if it contains a higher dose of oestrogen as one of its components.

In a combined pill, oestrogen tends to increase lubrication whereas other varieties with a stronger progestagen component have the opposite effect.

At the menopause, when female sex hormone diminishes in level again, vaginal dryness is more likely to become a problem.

Provided you have no irritation, itching or soreness as a result of your discharge, there is almost certainly nothing to worry about. It also means there is no easy solution to the problem.

The smell and colour of urine changes on a regular basis, depending on what you eat and how much fluid you drink. Provided there is no stinging or burning, you are unlikely to have cystitis or a kidney infection.

If you need further reassurance, a simple urine test and some swab tests can rule out urinary and sexually transmitted disease. Remember that many women can suffer tremendous discomfort from a vagina that does not easily lubricate, so in many ways you are luckier than others.

Yours sincerely

The Medical Team

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