Brown Smelly Discharge

It’s seen something normal and even healthy for women to produce a clear, white discharge from their vagina, why? Because the womb’s neck or cervix tends to produce mucus and the color of the discharge will change depending on the time of the menstrual cycle. If it’s towards the end of a woman’s period, the discharge may be brown. An important thing to note here is that a healthy discharge does not have any smell and appears white. If you have witnessed brown smelly discharge, you may want to know what it is and whether it’s a health implication or not.

 

 

Causes of Brown Smelly Discharge 

 

There are situations when a brown smelly discharge will be experienced, especially during the menstrual cycle. If it happens before having your period, you may not worry about it, particularly if you use contraceptive pills. This is because it may indicate that there is implantation bleeding, an indication of pregnancy. However, if you have brown discharge that has bad smell, it may indicate presence of vaginal infections. There are many problems that could be associated with smelly discharge and they include:

 

• Bacterial vaginosis: This is a common bacterial infection that causes an increase in vaginal discharge with strong, foul smell or at times, fishy odor. Bacterial vaginosis may at times not produce any symptoms.

 

• Trichomoniasis: This is an infection that results from a protozoan, a single celled organism. People can get this infection by se*ual contact or sharing bathing suits and towels. Trichomoniasis results in green or yellow discharge with foul odor. A woman may also have pain, itching, and inflammation, some women don’t show any symptoms.

 

• Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID): When you have bacterial infection that spreads up the vagina affecting other reproductive organs, you could be having pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). It is an infection often contracted through se*ual contact. A woman with this infection may release a heavy, foul-smelling discharge.

 

• A tampon forgotten in the vagina: There may be increased discharge when you lose tampons in vagina. It is typical for women to forget to remove tampon after the period ends. So, when it is left inside the vagina and rests there for a couple of weeks, it will fester and begin to produce a foul smell discharge.

 

• Inflammation or cancer: You may have smelly discharge that looks brownish if you have pelvic inflammatory disease. It could also be a sign that you have cervical cancer. PID or pelvic inflammatory disease causes pain within the pelvis and it may radiate to other areas of the lower abdomen. A patient may have pain when urinating and discharge that has unpleasant odor. A patient may also have fever.

 

• Gonorrhea and Chlamydia: These are STIs or sexually transmitted infections that tend to show abnormal discharge. An individual may have greenish, yellow, or cloudy discharge. A person may also have lower abdominal pain.

 

 

Yeast Infection Not a Cause for Brown Stinky Discharge

 

Many women have yeast infection, it’s estimated that around 75 percent of women will have a yeast infection at some point in their life. Yeast infection is also known as candida vaginitis, and it refers to the excessive growth of yeast that is found naturally occurring in the vagina. When a woman has yeast infection, they will release thick, white discharge which resembles cottage cheese. There is also severe itching but yeast infection does not cause the discharge to smell foul.

 

 

Brown Smelly Discharge – Treatment

 

You want to seek help of a doctor if you have vaginal discharge with foul smell. You may have an infection that needs to be treated. There are home remedies that you apply to manage the condition and they include:

• Wearing clothes that are loose fitting and ensuring that you change your undergarment or underwear daily to prevent sweat that may trigger infection and bad smell
• Keep the v*gina clean so that it doesn’t smell. Clean with mild soap and ensure the labia and inner folding are well cleaned. Avoid douching because it makes the vagina susceptible to infection when there is imbalance of the vaginal flora.
• Taking apple cider vinegar bath also known as ACV bath can help. ACV bath helps to restore pH level within the vagina while enhancing healthy vaginal flora.
• Take unflavored yogurt, it contains lactobacillus that helps maintain the floral balance in your vagina. Never put yogurt directly into your v*gina.

 

 

The Bottom Line

 

Having bloody or brown discharge is pretty normal if it happens during or right after you have your menstrual cycle. Sometimes, a late discharge occurring in the end of the period may look brown rather than red. Again, you may have a small bloody discharge occurring between periods, something known as spotting.

 

When you have spotting occurring in the normal time you get your period and you recently had unprotected s*x, it may indicate pregnancy. However, you want to discuss spotting with your OB-GYN because if it occurs during the early period of pregnancy, it could indicate a miscarriage. In rare cases, you may have brown discharge that is a sign of having advanced cervical cancer. It’s therefore important that you have cancer screening and examination of the pelvic or pap smear to check for cervical abnormalities.