Reminder: Vaginal Discharge Is Totally Healthy & Normal

What is today's bizarre, unnecessarily shame-inducing internet trend? Why, it's the #PantyChallenge, of course! This time, people are posting photos of their underwear without any traces of bodily fluids, apparently proving that they don't produce anything so unseemly as vaginal discharge. But — just a reminder — that stuff is totally normal and healthy. Vaginal discharge is actually made up of a combination of different fluids and cells shed from your vagina to help keep things free of irritation and infection. The "normal" amount varies for each person. But how much you produce in a day depends on things like where you are in your menstrual cycle and how sexually aroused you are. If you realize you suddenly have a lot more or less of it, or it changes color or smell, that's a signal that something might be off. However, simply having any vaginal discharge is not a cause for concern — and it's certainly nothing to be ashamed of. And, yes, we know we said we weren't going to be writing about any of these silly challenges anymore. But this is one we just couldn't let go unchecked.