Discharge before your period is normal. Discharge keeps your vagina clean, moist and protected from infection, and its amount and texture change through your cycle.
What’s usually normal
Discharge is usually nothing to worry about if it:
- Has little or no strong or unpleasant smell
- Is clear or white
- Is thick and sticky, or slippery and wet
The amount varies from person to person and across the month. It’s often clearer and wetter around ovulation, and can be heavier during pregnancy, when you’re sexually active, or when using birth control.
How discharge changes through your cycle
Hormones change your discharge across the month, so what’s normal in one week can look different the next.
| When | What many people notice |
|---|---|
| Around ovulation | Clearer and wetter, and it can become thin and stretchy, like raw egg white |
| Other times in the cycle, including before a period | Can be thicker and stickier, and clear or white |
| Just before or after bleeding | May look pink or brown if a little blood has mixed in |
The ovulation calculator can show where you’re likely to be in your cycle, and our guide to the period cycle and its phases explains why these changes happen.
Brown or pink discharge before a period
Pink usually means that a small amount of blood has been diluted by cervical fluid. Brown usually means older blood, and it’s common around the start or end of a period. If this happens away from your period, keeps recurring, or comes with pain, read about spotting before a period and speak to a clinician.
When discharge may mean something else
| What you notice | What it can be |
|---|---|
| Fishy smell | Bacterial vaginosis |
| Thick and white, like cottage cheese | Thrush |
| Green, yellow or frothy | Trichomoniasis |
| With pelvic pain or bleeding | Chlamydia or gonorrhoea |
| With blisters or sores | Genital herpes |
It’s best not to self-diagnose, because these can look alike. Most are easily treated once identified. The discharge decoder can help you describe what you’re seeing.
When to get advice
Speak to a GP, a medical helpline or a sexual health clinic if you notice:
- A change in the colour, smell or texture of your discharge
- More discharge than usual
- Itching or soreness
- Bleeding between periods or after sex
- Pain when peeing
- Pelvic pain
Many sexual health clinics offer walk-in appointments, and they often return test results faster than GP surgeries.
Looking after yourself
- Wash the skin around your vagina gently with warm water and a mild, unperfumed soap.
- Avoid perfumed soaps and gels, deodorants and scented wipes.
- Don’t douche or wash inside your vagina.