What Causes Foul Smelling Vaginal Discharge?

Posted on Mon, 12 Oct 2015

Question: I have never had menses and am now 73 years of age. When I was 16 it was found that I only had streak ovaries. In the past 13 years I have experienced a foul smelling discharge--sometimes greenish in color or brown. It is very foul smelling. One female gynecologist said the vagina was "crying for some estrogen" and began a course of Premarin. (approx. 1 gram daily). Though I don't use it as often as prescribed, due to the warnings. I do use the Premarin once weekly. The discharge then appears colorless, doesn't seem as profuse and there is no odor. At one time another gynecologist ordered an untrasound (vaginally) and the results were normal. Also took a myriad of blood tests to rule out STDs and all tests were negative. One PCP indicated that it's natural for women to have discharges. So as you will note there have been many opinions and to date I still have the problem. My husband passed 10 years ago and Intercourse was very painful throughout the years. I hope you have some suggestions which may help. Thank you for your time. XXXXXXX

Answered by Dr. Mahesh Koregol (41 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
High vaginal swab required

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

I understand your concerns about vaginal discharge.

Following is my reply:

1. There are 2 different problems here. Let me explain them in detail.

2. You have estrogen deficiency which has lead to vagina becoming dry over the years.

3. This dry vagina has lead to infections leading to foul smelling discharge.

4. Cause of this infection needs to be identified and treated. Hence I suggest you get high vaginal swab culture and sensitivity test done to identify the type of organism causing this infection and antibiotics it is sensitive to.

5. You also need to take premarin as prescribed and not once a week as HRT is important to keep away these infections.

6. Let me know the culture and sensitivity report so that I can help you further to cure vaginal discharge and infection.

Let me know if you need any more clarification.

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar