Share Is it normal for a girl to have vaginal discharge?
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Parents of boys are quite happy when it comes to caring for their genitals, because they can be seen with the naked eye and their hygiene is relatively easy. Parents of girls, on the other hand, have it a little worse because they are afraid of cleaning too hard, sometimes they don't part their lips well to do it, and sometimes they don't even know if what they see is normal or not.
One of the most frequent doubts regarding the female genitalia is the issue of flow. And it is that newborns have it, but older girls do not. Then, one fine day, the parents observe that they smear their underwear and that they have discharge and they ask themselves: Is it normal for a girl to have vaginal discharge?
In a newborn it is normal
As we explained some time ago, when we talk about caring for the baby's vulva, newborn girls have vaginal discharge due to the action of maternal hormones that are still circulating in their bloodstream (and that sometimes cause a little bleeding, or having a slightly swollen chest -even in the case of children-).
Although not all girls have it, there are many who secrete this discharge through the vagina, which can be transparent, white or with traces of blood. This secretion is called physiological leucorrhoea, and it must be cleaned gently, with a sponge, day by day, but without trying to remove it completely.
The reason is that it is a flow with a very acidic pH that serves as protection to kill any bacteria that comes near it. If we remove everything, we remove that protection, but if we don't clean anything, infection could also occur due to lack of hygiene and accumulation of flow, urine and feces.
In an older girl the flow is not normal
A few days after birth, the flow disappears until at least ten years, when estrogen begins to appear and begins to be produced normally, in preparation for puberty.
In that period of time, from 10 days to 10 years (always speaking approximately), girls should not have flow. And if they have it, it is because something is happening, usually some type of inflammation or infection, which is not usually serious, but requires some intervention.
vulvovaginitis
The condition that usually causes the appearance of vaginal discharge is known as vulvovaginitis, which, as its name suggests, is the inflammation of the female genitalia.
The most common symptoms in children are itching, redness, vaginal discharge, bleeding and discomfort when urinating. The causes that usually cause this picture are:
How is vulvovaginitis treated?
The most common thing is that the pediatrician suggests doing everything that can prevent it, which is the same thing that can solve it:
In two or three weeks the discharge should decrease until it disappears and the vulvovaginitis should remit. If this is not the case, or if the flow is brownish or greenish in color, the pediatrician will surely indicate its analysis with a culture, to assess the need for antibiotic treatment.
Photo | iStockIn Babies and More | Vulvovaginitis in girls, What are labia minora synechiae in girls and how should they be treated, Intimate hygiene in girls
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