What's this smelly watery discharge?

Pauline
Age: 22

I've got a watery discharge which smells really unpleasant and fishy. I'm scared of going to my doctor because he knows my mum. What could it be? Might it go away on its own?

Dr. Patrick French says

I don't think that this will be anything particularly serious, but I do think it is very important that you get this checked out.

The most likely cause of this sort of problem is an extremely common infection called bacterial vaginosis. This is not sexually transmitted, easy to diagnose and easy to cure. It is best that you go to your local sexual health (genitourinary) clinic for this to be sorted out and they will be able to tell you at your first visit exactly what is going on and give you treatment.

You are able to refer yourself to these clinics and they are free and completely confidential. See the Where to get help section of this website to get the details of your local clinic.

Incidentally, even though your GP knows your mum he also has a duty to be completely confidential if you ever go to him for any advice or treatment.