Leucorrhoea means a white or clear vaginal discharge. Some discharge is normal and healthy — it keeps the vagina clean and moist, and changes through the menstrual cycle. A change in colour, smell or amount, or discharge with itching or pain, usually means a common and treatable infection. Ayurveda describes excessive white discharge as Shweta Pradara.
Healthy discharge is clear or milky white, may dry slightly yellow on underwear, and has little or no smell. It is thicker at some points of the cycle, becomes clear, slippery and stretchy around ovulation, and increases in pregnancy, with sexual arousal, and when taking hormonal contraception. Girls often notice discharge a year or so before their first period. None of this needs treatment.
| Cause | Discharge | Other features |
|---|---|---|
| Thrush (candida) | Thick, white, like curd; little smell | Itching, soreness, burning; common with diabetes, antibiotics and pregnancy |
| Bacterial vaginosis | Thin, grey-white, watery | Strong fishy smell, often worse after sex; usually no itching |
| Trichomoniasis | Frothy, yellow-green | Smell, itching, pain passing urine; sexually transmitted |
| Chlamydia or gonorrhoea | Increased, sometimes yellowish — often no change | Bleeding after sex or between periods, pelvic pain; often no symptoms at all |
| Cervical causes | Watery or blood-stained | Bleeding after sex or after menopause — needs examination |
These patterns overlap, and more than one infection can occur together. A simple swab test gives the answer.
A doctor or gynaecologist may examine you and take a swab; tests for sexually transmitted infections are simple and confidential. Treatment is usually short and effective: antifungal pessaries, cream or a tablet for thrush; metronidazole or clindamycin for bacterial vaginosis or trichomoniasis; and antibiotics for chlamydia or gonorrhoea, with treatment of partners where needed. Don't self-treat repeatedly with over-the-counter creams. Women aged 25 and over should also have regular cervical screening, which checks for changes that could lead to cervical cancer.
Many women in India are told that white discharge drains strength and causes backache, weakness or weight loss. Normal discharge does not do this. When women with these symptoms are examined, most have normal discharge — and the tiredness or backache usually has another cause, such as anaemia, vitamin D deficiency, poor posture, stress or low mood, each of which can be treated once identified. Worrying about discharge is common and worth discussing openly with a doctor.
Shweta Pradara is excessive, painless white discharge, attributed mainly to Kapha with weak digestion affecting Rasa dhatu. Classical causes include heavy, oily, sweet and incompatible food, day sleep, and poor genital hygiene; infections are also recognised among the Yoni vyapad (disorders of the reproductive tract). Management uses Kapha-reducing diet, digestive herbs, and astringent (kashaya) herbs such as Lodhra, Ashoka, Amalaki and Nyagrodha (banyan) bark.
Herbal medicines don't treat sexually transmitted infections, and those infections can cause infertility if missed — get tested first. Classical vaginal washes (yoni prakshalana) and pessaries should be used only when prescribed by a qualified practitioner; routine douching disturbs the vagina's protective bacteria and increases infections. Avoid herbs in pregnancy unless your doctor approves, and use only licensed products.
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Reviewed against NHS: Vaginal discharge, NHS: Bacterial vaginosis, NHS: Thrush, NHS: Cervical screening, NCCIH: Ayurvedic Medicine, and Ministry of Ayush pharmacovigilance. These links support education and do not replace individual medical advice.