If you've ever been troubled with inflammation and infection of the vulva and vagina, you are far from alone. This problem, known as vulvovaginitis, is the most common gynecological disorder in the United States today. Fortunately, vulvovaginitis, while uncomfortable, is essentially harmless and usually responds promptly to simple treatment. Its symptoms include itching, irritation, or pain in the external genital area (the vulva) and pain in the vagina during intercourse. The vaginal discharge is often heavier than usual. It is frequently discolored (yellow, gray, or greenish), and may have an unpleasant odor.

Healthy vaginal discharge is made up of aging cells cast off from your vaginal walls, secretions from the cervix that help protect your uterus from infection and aid in fertility, and chemicals produced by vaginal bacteria and fungi ("yeasts"). Normally the discharge has no odor.

Some changes in vaginal discharge are normal, and bear no relation to a possible infection. These changes are governed by your menstrual cycle and the shifting hormonal patterns of puberty and menopause.

Relatively high levels of sexual hormones are necessary to produce vaginal discharge. So, during both childhood and menopause when hormone levels are low, discharge is minimal. Because girls have little or no vaginal secretion before puberty, parents who note a discharge in their child's diaper or underwear should consult a pediatrician.

During the reproductive years, your discharge changes in response to your monthly cycle. As your hormone levels drop after a menstrual period, the discharge becomes light. Then, as new eggs begin to develop in your ovaries, estrogen and progesterone levels increase, stimulating production of a white, milky or creamy discharge. At ovulation (approximately two weeks before your next menstrual period), this discharge changes abruptly and dramatically, becoming transparent and stretchy rather like egg white. This "fertile mucus" announces peak fertility of your monthly cycle. Fertile mucus generally lasts for only a day or two. Your discharge then turns white and creamy again and may be slightly heavier than earlier in the cycle. With your next menstrual period, the entire process begins once more.