Gel-like discharge may confuse some women, although it is a normal phenomenon, occurring throughout the menstrual cycle. If you have never been interested in issues, associated with reproduction, it’s likely that you have never monitored your cervical mucus and paid no attention to its changes. Vaginal discharge resembling gel may be either a natural way in which your organism prepares to conception, or an alarming symptom of more serious conditions. So, let’s look into this phenomenon in greater detail.
Gel-Like Discharge: Is It Normal to Have It?
Vaginal discharge is a normal thing for healthy women throughout their reproductive years. It is never the same, during different phases of the menstrual cycle it becomes more or less clear, whitish and thick. Everything depends on the reproductive health and readiness to conceive.
Remember the signs of normal cervical secretions:
1. Clear, thin, gel-like or mucous consistency, white or slightly yellowish color;
2. No particular odor;
3. Not abundant, scanty or moderate, appearing occasionally;
4. No irritation to skin or mucous membranes of vagina or labia;
5. No painful sensations or discomfort in the vaginal and abdominal areas, caused by discharge.
If a woman is absolutely healthy, vaginal discharge, produced by cervical glands, most commonly reminds mucus or gel in consistency. This kind of secretions is considered normal because it helps your reproductive tract to self-clean and protect reproductive organs from infections.
How Does Your Vaginal Discharge Change During the Menstrual Cycle?
The amount of vaginal secretions and their consistency are conditioned not only by your health, but also by the phase of the menstrual cycle as well. Right after period cervical mucus is thick and whitish. It indicates the beginning of the new menstrual cycle and non-fertile days. Each day vaginal secretions become thinner and clearer.
The most abundant vaginal discharge occurs when your ovulation is about to start (in the middle of your menstrual cycle). This means that you are ready to conceive and your organism prompts you the time you are the most fertile. Because of this gel-like discharge the egg has more chances to be reached by the sperm and to be fertilized. After ovulation vaginal secretions become creamy and before period look like thick sticky clots.
During pregnancy vaginal discharge may also become more abundant and jelly-like in consistency. It can happen both in early pregnancy and closer to the terms of baby delivery. This phenomenon is explained by the active production of sex hormones during the first and the third trimesters. This symptom doesn`t need any treatment. Jelly secretions appear after ovulation and during implantation. They can be treated as the first pregnancy sign, but doctors say it is better to wait for the missed period and to make a test. Gel-like discharge one-two weeks before the pregnancy due date is nothing more than a mucus plug passing. It can appear together with slight abdominal contractions.
More abundant vaginal secretions may also happen due to causes, unassociated with your reproductive cycle: when you are sexually aroused or stressed, because of the climatic zone change during travelling or hard gym workout, after the new pharmaceutical products intake.
Gel-Like Discharge: How to React?
You can either make sure it’s a normal thing after waiting some more time or make an appointment with a gynecologist to clarify your condition. So, how can you know it’s normal? Just do the following steps:
- Monitor your vaginal secretions for a couple of days. If you get them closer to the middle of your cycle, and in a few days they disappear or become thicker, it’s nothing more than physiological changes of cervical mucus. During the menstrual cycle various hormonal process are taking place in your organism. Cervix always excretes some small amount of mucus. Under the influence of hormones, discharge changes its consistency several times throughout the menstrual cycle. It can resemble a watery fluid, thick mucus clot or a raw egg’s white. If you have a gel-like discharge in the middle of the cycle for a couple of days, in most cases it means ovulation and favorable days for conception.
- Analyze what might have caused changes in your cervical mucus. For example, it can be any stressful situation, unprotected sex, a trip to the region with other climate conditions, etc. In any of these cases specific vaginal discharge won’t last long and is not likely to reoccur without corresponding triggers.
Gel-like discharge can indicate some cervical diseases, for example, endocervicitis, the inflammation of the cervical mucous membrane. Uterine glands are irritated and thus more mucus is produced. Sometimes such secretions are mixed with pus and that`s why they have a gel-like consistency. Additional symptoms (lower abdominal pains, discomfort during sex, urination disorders, etc.) will help to detect the problem and to start the proper treatment. If your gel-like discharge is whitish and abundant, it can point to the yeastinfection. In such a case you may feel burning in the vaginal area or pain during sex.
When your mucous discharge is truly bothersome, a possibility of STDs or other vaginal conditions isn’t excluded. So it’s better to do diagnostics. It is usually enough to do a pelvic examination and to have a Pap smear. These two manipulations will show all cervical abnormalities and unusual conditions. Promptly contact your doctor if your gel-like discharge in the middle of the cycle is with thick blood clots, with unpleasant odor, with mucous pus and other greenish or yellowish admixtures.
Gel-like discharge normally isn’t a reason for alarm. All healthy women have it during ovulation and welcome it as the most important fertility sign. However, if your discharge seems even slightly abnormal, don’t hesitate to get professional gynecological consultation. Self-medication is sometimes even more harmful than the total absence of treatment.