Ever bought a pair of cute panties, only to find it a bit stained in the crotch area after just a few wears? Thrown away more favorite undies than you can count because they were ruined? It’s a fact your vaginas totally bleach your underwear with weird stains. After all, they’re busy workstations!
However, as irritating as it is to have to deal with vaginal discharge, it’s important that you acknowledge what’s happening because discharges are basically a health status report given to you by your vagina.
Why does my underwear appear bleached?
Every lady/woman who has attained puberty will have Vagina discharge- it is normal. It may leave a white or yellow stain on your underwear, that’s okay. Discharge is part of the vagina’s natural self-cleaning process.
Your vaginal discharge’s pH level is on the naturally acidic side, varying between 3.5 and 4.5 courtesy of the bacteria “Lactobacillus” working overtime to keep the atmosphere in the vagina optimum.
A healthy vagina will produce more acidic discharge, but the pH can fluctuate due to all sorts of factors, including your sex life, hormones, and the menstrual cycle.
Because the vagina discharge is acidic, you may notice that your underwear looks bleached (especially the dark-colored ones). This is not something to worry or be alarmed about, it just shows a normal and healthy vagina doing its job.
How to prevent this bleaching effect
Use of pantyliner - This keeps your Vaginal discharge from reaching your underwear.
Rinse/wash your underwear immediately after taking them off instead of leaving them for the big laundry day (this gives time for the acidic discharge to do the bleaching)
Healthy discharge doesn’t have a strong smell or color and won’t be entirely odorless or smell like flowers so don’t panic if you have a slight scent.
Having mentioned what is healthy, it is noteworthy to let you know if there is any disturbance/alteration in this ecosystem of the vagina, the vagina discharge and smell may also tell.
Habits that alter your vagina ecosystem
- Douching - The act of trying to wash the vagina (washing inside is wrong, washing the vulva is ok)
- Multiple sexual partners
- Frequent use of antibiotics - They knock out both the good and bad bacteria.
- STI - include Gonorrhea, chlamydia, Trichomoniasis
- Poor hygiene - Cleaning your perineum from back to front (wrong). You should instead clean/wash from front to back so that you don’t bring the bacteria in your anus to your vagina or urethra opening.
- Tight Underwear - Clothing that doesn’t breathe well, doesn’t allow free flow of air and can create a good medium for the growth of other microorganisms. Invest in cotton underwear.
STOP the habits above to allow your vagina to regain normalcy.
Note that the popular staphylococcus being chanted in every car park interestingly isn’t a common cause of abnormal vagina discharge.
If you have abnormal discharge (cottage cheese-like, grayish and fish smelling, yellow and creamy looking like pus, greenish or brown when you’re not on period or around your period) visit a doctor today to get an accurate diagnosis and treatment.