Leukorrhea or (leucorrhoea
British English
British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in ...
), also known as fluor albus, is a thick, whitish, yellowish or greenish
vaginal discharge.
It has also been referred to as "the whites".
There are many causes of leukorrhea, the usual one being
estrogen
Estrogen or oestrogen is a category of sex hormone responsible for the development and regulation of the female reproductive system and secondary sex characteristics. There are three major endogenous estrogens that have estrogenic hormonal acti ...
imbalance. The amount of discharge may increase due to
vaginal infection, and it may disappear and reappear from time to time. This discharge can keep occurring for years, in which case it becomes more yellow and strong-smelling. It is usually a non-pathological symptom secondary to
inflammatory conditions of the vagina or
cervix
The cervix or cervix uteri (Latin, 'neck of the uterus') is the lower part of the uterus (womb) in the human female reproductive system. The cervix is usually 2 to 3 cm long (~1 inch) and roughly cylindrical in shape, which changes during ...
.
Leukorrhea can be confirmed by finding >10
WBC
WBC may stand for:
Business
*Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS
*Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company
*Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale's ...
per
high-power field under a microscope when examining vaginal fluid.
Vaginal discharge is normal, and causes of change in discharge include infection, malignancy, and hormonal changes. It sometimes occurs before an adolescent female has her first
period, and is considered a sign of
puberty
Puberty is the process of physical changes through which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of sexual reproduction. It is initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads: the ovaries in a girl, the testes in a boy. ...
.
Etymology
The word leukorrhea comes from Greek λευκός (leukós, “white”) + ῥοία (rhoía, “flow, flux”). In Latin leukorrhea is ''fluor albus'' (fluor, "flow" & albus, "white").
Types
Physiologic leukorrhea
It is not a major issue but is to be resolved as soon as possible. It can be a natural defense mechanism that the vagina uses to maintain its chemical balance, as well as to preserve the flexibility of the vaginal tissue. The term "physiologic leukorrhea" is used to refer to leukorrhea due to estrogen stimulation.
Leukorrhea may occur normally during
pregnancy
Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops ( gestates) inside a woman's uterus (womb). A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins.
Pregnancy usually occurs by sexual intercourse, but ca ...
. This is caused by increased bloodflow to the vagina due to increased estrogen. Female
infant
An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...
s may have leukorrhea for a short time after birth due to their in-uterine exposure to estrogen.
Inflammatory leukorrhea
It may also result from
inflammation
Inflammation (from la, wikt:en:inflammatio#Latin, inflammatio) is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or Irritation, irritants, and is a protective response involving im ...
or congestion of the vaginal
mucosa
A mucous membrane or mucosa is a membrane that lines various cavities in the body of an organism and covers the surface of internal organs. It consists of one or more layers of epithelial cells overlying a layer of loose connective tissue. It is ...
. In cases where it is yellowish or gives off an odor, a doctor should be consulted since it could be a sign of several disease processes, including an organic bacterial infection (
aerobic vaginitis
Aerobic vaginitis (AV) is a form of vaginitis first described by Donders et al. in 2002. It is characterized by a more or less severe disruption of the lactobacillary flora, along with inflammation, atrophy, and the presence of a predominantly ...
) or
STD
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, and oral sex ...
.
After
delivery, leukorrhea accompanied by backache and foul-smelling
lochia (
post-partum
The postpartum (or postnatal) period begins after childbirth and is typically considered to end within 6 weeks as the mother's body, including hormone levels and uterus size, returns to a non-pregnant state. The terms puerperium, puerperal perio ...
vaginal discharge, containing blood, mucus, and
placenta
The placenta is a temporary embryonic and later fetal organ that begins developing from the blastocyst shortly after implantation. It plays critical roles in facilitating nutrient, gas and waste exchange between the physically separate mater ...
l tissue) may suggest the failure of
involution (the
uterus
The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', plural ''uteri'') or womb () is the organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans that accommodates the embryonic and fetal development of one or more embryos until birth. The uter ...
returning to pre-pregnancy size) due to infection. A number of investigation such as
wet smear
A vaginal wet mount (or vaginal smear20% of the epithelial cells are clue cells (the single most reliable predictor)
::*Discharge is thin and homogeneous
::*Sample smells fishy when mixed with potassium hydroxide ("whiff test")
::*Vaginal pH is >4 ...
,
Gram stain, culture,
pap smear and biopsy are suggested to diagnose the condition.
Parasitic leukorrhea
Leukorrhea is also caused by trichomonads, a group of
parasitic protozoan
Protozoa (singular: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a group of single-celled eukaryotes, either free-living or parasitic, that feed on organic matter such as other microorganisms or organic tissues and debris. Histo ...
, specifically ''
Trichomonas vaginalis
''Trichomonas vaginalis'' is an anaerobic, flagellated protozoan parasite and the causative agent of a sexually transmitted disease called trichomoniasis. It is the most common pathogenic protozoan that infects humans in industrialized countries ...
''. Common symptoms of this disease are burning sensation, itching and discharge of frothy substance, thick, white or yellow mucous.
Treatment
Leukorrhea may be caused by sexually transmitted diseases; therefore, treating the STD will help treat the leukorrhea.
Treatment may include
antibiotics
An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention o ...
, such as
metronidazole
Metronidazole, sold under the brand name Flagyl among others, is an antibiotic and antiprotozoal medication. It is used either alone or with other antibiotics to treat pelvic inflammatory disease, endocarditis, and bacterial vaginosis. It is ef ...
. Other antibiotics common for the treatment of STIs include
clindamycin
Clindamycin is an antibiotic medication used for the treatment of a number of bacterial infections, including osteomyelitis (bone) or joint infections, pelvic inflammatory disease, strep throat, pneumonia, acute otitis media (middle ear infec ...
or
tinidazole
Tinidazole is a drug used against protozoan infections. It is widely known throughout Europe and the developing world as a treatment for a variety of anaerobic amoebic and bacterial infections. It was developed in 1972 and is a prominent member of ...
.
["Treatments for Specific Types of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STDs/STIs)." Treatments for Specific Types of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STDs/STIs). Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2014. .]
References
External links
{{Diseases of the pelvis, genitals and breasts
Noninflammatory disorders of female genital tract
Women's health
Sexually transmitted diseases and infections