Women commonly experience vaginal discharge after sex. While some types of discharge are completely normal, others might be giving you a warning sign about an ongoing disease. This article is all about different forms of vaginal discharge that may occur after sex and whether or not you need to be alarmed about it.

Normal Discharge After Sex

After intercourse, your vagina can be full of certain internal as well as external secretions. These secretions are a normal outcome of healthy sexual activity and can take on various forms.

1. Arousal fluid

The Bartholin glands lining the vagina and its folds produce an abundant amount of clear fluid during and after sex when a woman is aroused. This fluid is discharged continuously during sex to keep the vagina lubricated in order to aid penetration and normally comes out of the vagina after sex as a transparent or clear discharge.

2. Cervical mucus

During sex, the lining of the cervix (upper part of the vagina) also secretes copious amount of thick mucus. Its purpose is to aid the movement of semen for fertilization. It can come out of the vagina after sex in the form of white-colored discharge. This is completely normal and simply indicates that your reproductive system is functioning normally .

3. Female ejaculate

You heard that right. The vagina expresses a small amount of fluid as a result of female orgasm, which later comes from the vagina in the form of a white discharge after intercourse. It is produced by the gland cells lining the vaginal wall and helps purge the system of external secretions when it comes out of the vagina after sex.

4. Male seminal fluid

The male seminal fluid ejaculated in the vagina after unprotected intercourse can take on a brownish tinge when it remains in the vagina for some time. It may come out of the vagina after sex in the form of a brown-colored discharge and is deemed quite normal.

Normal vaginal secretions can be influenced by advancing age, menstruation, menopause, delivery, malignancy, semen, personal habits and hygiene, hormonal contraception, cyclical hormonal changes, and pregnancy. A clear, translucent, or light brown-colored discharge is completely normal after intercourse and should not be a cause of concern.

Abnormal Discharge After Sex

Certain types of discharges after sex are warning signs of underlying disease processes and should not be ignored.

1. Pink discharge after sex

Pinkish discharge occurs due to mild to moderate bleeding from the walls of vagina, cervix, or the uterus. Moderate to severe bleeding after sex is never a good sign. It can result from any of the following reasons.

• Trauma, inflicted by forceful sex or use of sex aids.

• Use of contraceptives, especially implantable uterine contraceptive devices (IUCDs), can irritate the uterine walls, during deep penetration

• Menopause causes a decline in estrogen level, causing vaginal walls to become inflamed.

• Uterine polyps are non-malignant outgrowths of the walls of uterus. Due to their dense blood supply, they can cause pink discharge after sex.

• Cervical or uterine cancers commonly present with painful sex and pink discharge after sex. A mild pink discharge can also occur due to rupture of hymen (membrane covering the vagina) after having sex for the first time.

Always seek expert gynecological help if you see a pink or bright red discharge or frank bleeding after sex, so that the underlying cause can be promptly diagnosed and treated.

2. Yellow discharge after sex

A yellowish discharge which develops after sex should not be disregarded as it can point towards a yeast infection. This is most common cause of yellowish discharge after sex, occuring due to Candida species in vulnerable women. It presents as cottage cheese-like discharge with a foul-smelling odor. Yellow discharge can also be associated with certain bacterial infections.

3. White discharge after sex

White discharge after sex can be caused by the following reasons:

• Bacterial vaginosis (vaginal infection and inflammation due to invasion of vaginal lining by different bacterial species) is a common cause of white discharge after sex.

• Pelvic inflammatory disease can be another reason of white-colored discharge after sex, as sexual activity aggravates the already inflamed structures.

• White discharge after sex can also be the result of excessive production of vaginal fluids due to irritation from soaps, perfumed lotions, or douching. The irritated mucus membranes simply respond by the increasing their secretions so that any harmful substance is flushed out of the body.

4. Brown discharge after sex

The following problems will lead to the occurrence of brown discharge after sex.

• Brown discharge can occur after sex if you have sex towards the end of or soon after menstruation due to release of old, clotted blood.

• It can also be caused by forceful sex, which can cause shedding of cells lining the walls of the vaginal canal.

• Vaginal atrophy is another cause of brown-colored discharge after sex. Due to decline in the level of female hormone estrogen, there is a decrease in the number of lubricating fluid producing glands lining the vagina. The vaginal walls also become less elastic. As a result of sex, the walls become irritated and a brownish discharge ensues7.

Bottom Line

You must be able to understand which type of vaginal discharge is normal after sex and which one needs to be paid heed to. Seek expert medical help immediately if you think that something is not right down there. Taking good care of your personal hygiene and regular gynecological testing can keep your vagina healthy.