It is perfectly normal for women to experience different kinds of discharge during different stages of their menstrual cycle. A woman produces a little bit of odourless mucous like discharge, which can be thick or thin, every day, and the colour of this mucous also varies from white to light brownish.

However, what women have to realize is that the discharge that they have may not be random, and that it might essentially indicate what is going on inside her body as the colours too are a result of their changing hormones.

The Discharge before periods:

• Known as leukorrhea, the white discharge that one sees before periods, is something most women face.
• The discharge in itself, is filled with cells and also fluid that is being shed from a woman’s vagina.
• Sometimes the colour might vary from white to light yellowish as well.
• This stage of a woman’s menstrual cycle is when the level of the hormone progesterone is at its highest.
• This stage is also known as the luteal stage.
• There is a difference between the effects the varying levels of the hormones, etrogen and progesterone have on a woman’s discharge.
• You see, when estrogen is dominant, then the discharge happens to be clear and more on the watery side.
• Contrary to this, when progesterone is the dominant hormone, then the discharge becomes cloudier.
• One can even use this very discharge to track their fertility levels
• When the discharge is thin and stretchy, the chances of a woman being fertile are higher than when the discharge appears to be thick and white.

When to see a doctor:
It might be rare, but the chances of a woman’s discharge indicating a health problem could very well be a possibility if she observes or experiences some of the symptoms mentioned below.

• Foul and strong smelling vaginal discharge
• A thick white discharge when accompanied with itching might be an indication for a yeast infection that a woman might be suffering from.
• Similarly if the discharge is green or yellow in colour, the chances of her having bacterial vaginosis, another type of infection, is also high.
• Frothy texture in discharge is also a cause for concern

Apart from all this, if a women faces burning sensation, pain or any kind of discomfort around or in her vagina, then too she should consult a doctor.