Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with vaginal

Am I riding the crimson wave or what?

Anonymous — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 17:08:53 -0800

FemaleFilter: What is this discharge? (probably graphic or gross) I just finished my period about a week ago. Or I thought I did. Today I stood up after sitting for about an hour and felt a gush of fluid rush out of me. Upon inspection it was bright pink and almost watery. I'm still dripping, have no pain, but was hit with nausea and lightheadedness. Enough to make me have to lie down. I'm probably not pregnant = barrier + hormonal contraceptives, but I am sexually active so I guess that means that there is a slight chance. Is this just breakthrough bleeding? Or something else? I've never experienced anything like this before. I could take a pregnancy test, but I believe it is too early to take one even if I did turn out to be pregnant. Planning to find a Doc first thing in the AM, but wonder if this need attention now. I'm sorry, I know you are not my doctor. I just am home by myself (husband away on business) and we just moved to Portland from Michigan. I don't know anyone here or the neighborhood and I'm a little nervous. Any suggestions/advice/ideas?

Looking for stats on Cesarean birth vs. Vaginal birth and the effects on our society...

querty — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 15:33:01 -0800

Looking for stats on Cesarean birth vs. Vaginal birth and the effects on our society... Are there studies done on crime rate (or at a prisons) whether or not cesarean birth versus vaginal birth matter? What about suicides?

For example: "Out of 100 suicides, how many of these people were born by cesarean section?" or "At this prison, how many inmates were born by vaginal birth?"

Mainly looking for statistics; crime and suicide related. Country or city does not matter (but North American stats preferred).

Unexplained Vaginal Bleed

Anonymous — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 18:26:47 -0800

Why am I bleeding? ACK! My partner noticed I was bleeding during some acutely angled sex a few days ago. Kind of a lot. Enough to stop.

Since then, I am noticing blood when I poop. Kind of a lot. The first time I saw it, I checked and it seems certainly to be coming from the vagina, not the butt. In between poopings, there is a trace amount, but not enough to wear a pad. Seems like only what's left from the bleed that happens when I'm on the toilet.

It seems not to be menstrual blood, because it's fresh red every time. This last time, there was definitely some clotting in it, sorry to be so graphic, but soft clots embedded in mucus, leading me to suspect an internal recent bleed, it was red red only, and this is the third day of the phenomenon. Menstrual blood is usually dark or brownish for me by the middle of my period. Also, no cramps. Also, not time for my period. I am not on the pill or any other hormonal birth control.

Nothing hurts. The sex didn't hurt. What could this be, please? Do I have a nosebleed in my vagina? My blood pressure is always 120/80, and I am otherwise a healthy young woman. I had my annual and pap in March.

Sex is making me bleed.

Anonymous — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 15:02:01 -0800

Sex is making me bleed. I am seeing a doctor this week. I'm a woman in my early 40's with a new male partner. Physically we fit together very well, and I have no health problems to my knowledge. I haven't hit menopause and I have a doctor's appointment this week.

Every time we have vaginal sex I bleed bright red, equivalent in amount and color to the first day of my period, lasting only for an hour or so after sex. I'm in no pain, and sex is not painful, but I've never experienced this before and we're both obviously very concerned.

Has anyone else experienced this? I know you're not a doctor, not my doctor, and not diagnosing me. What I'm looking for is anecdotal experiences that will keep my anxiety under control until I see my doctor.

Throwaway email account is stop.bleeding@gmail.com.

Study proposal: The Effects of Mud Wrestling on the Female Urogenital Tract

limeonaire — Thu, 24 May 2007 14:02:10 -0800

How do women who mud wrestle or take regular mud baths (esp. naked, say at a spa) avoid getting mud in their, er, orifices—or do they avoid it? Would tampons be useful in preventing such an occurrence? Or is that even necessary?

And if mud is allowed into the vagina or anus, does that lead to an increased incidence of infection (whether by yeast or bacteria)? How would one go about (or, ladies, how have you gone about) preventing such resultant infections? And do spas have problems with the transmission of such infections in their mud baths?

I've found an abstract from a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association that found a greater incidence of pustular follicular dermatitis outbreaks among mud-wrestling college students (no joke) at the University of Washington in Seattle—but that doesn't speak to the question of vaginal, anal or urethral irritation stemming from prolonged mud exposure.

(And yes, this is a serious question, I promise—the topic came up during a conversation I was party to a while back about, well, vaginal irritation/infections. Fun stuff, huh?)

Am I still infected, or am I just impatient?

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 14:53:42 -0800

Should I still consider myself as having a yeast infection? Last Wednesday, I was diagnosed as having a yeast infection. My doctor gave me two doses of Diflucan (150 mg) to take, and I took them as directed on Wednesday and Friday. All of the redness & soreness is gone, but I still have the discharge.

Is the pill still in my system? Does it still need time to work? Or should I consider myself "uncured?" I ask because I'm going on a trip to see my boyfriend on Thursday, and we're planning on having sex. We haven't seen each other in a while, and it would really be nice if we could go ahead. I've been trying to get in touch with my doctor to ask these questions and that has been impossible. The next appointment isn't available until after I get back from my trip, and I can't get her to leave a message for me.

Make the itching stop!

Anonymous — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 17:53:58 -0800

PostcoitalItchFilter My girlfriend complained to me recently that, for the past few times we've had sex, if she hasn't washed *very* thoroughly afterwards, she's had intense itching the day after. It passes after a day, and there's no obvious external problem. She has no other usual discomfort. She's on ortho-tri, and we don't use condoms.

Is it possible this is related to thrush or a similar infection? What might cause this?

help for chronic vaginal infections?

Anonymous — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 17:50:34 -0800

Yeast? Bacterial vaginosis? Something else? It's getting chronic and I'm starting to despair. For details about girly parts, there's first off: I will be seeing a doctor soon, but have to wait a few weeks. I also understand that most of you are not doctors. Okay, with that out of the way:

Starting about a year ago, I got a yeast infection for the first time in many years. Whether it was a function of going back on the pill, or becoming sexually active after a long dry spell, or other reasons, I don't know. The pill seemed like it might have been the culprit, though, so in addition to treating the yeast with both OTC remedies and acidophilus, I went off the pill. Then I went on the sponge, which seemed to make the problem worse. So then we settled on condoms. Things seemed better for awhile.

But flash forward a year and it's been just a constant on-again, off-again struggle with the girly parts infections (various combinations of discharge, pain, itching, odor, etc). About 2 months ago, I was diagnosed with a combo of yeast and bacterial vaginosis. I was treated simultaneously with antibiotics and antifungals. Yay! It seemed like we had finally figured it out! After treatment, I felt great.

Things were fine.... till last night, when (during sex) I noticed a lot of an extraordinary thick, white, sticky discharge - seriously, it was almost the consistency of vanilla frosting. But no odor. No pain, no itching. Just huge globs of this stuff.

Ugh, what gives? I've been sexually active since college (in my 30s now), and till last year could count the number of infections I'd had on one hand. Now it seems chronic. Am I doomed to be on the antibiotic/antifungal cycle forever now? And given the facts about how repeated antibiotic use can lead to resistance, is that wise? Are there proven alternative treatments to consider? Could the lube we use (KY "Silk") be a contributing factor?Should my partner be treated? (My gyne and my nurse practitioner both say that BV isn't sexually transmitted, so it's got nothing to do with him. But we both wonder.)

Thanks for any feedback, suggestions, moral support, etc.

Is it common for women to wear pantyliners all the time?

Anonymous — Sat, 02 Sep 2006 17:25:10 -0800

Is it common for women to wear pantyliners all the time? My girlfriend does, except for during her period, during which time she wears pads. She says she doesn't like her panties to get wet: she says it makes her feel gross. She's done this all her life. Does this point to body issues? Women, does it make you feel "icky" to walk around in panties without a liner?