Abstract:
Vaginal discharge is known to cause distress, embarrassment and discomfort in women in
reproductive age. This community based cross sectional study was aimed at describing the attitudes
and different practices associated with vaginal discharge among females living in estate communities.
Data were collected using a self-developed, validated, pretested interviewer-administered
questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used in analysis. A total of 550 women participated and the
mean age was 33.8 (SD± 8.15) years. There were 36% Indian Tamils and 41.8% Sri Lankan Tamils.
Nearly half of the population had primary education (n= 312, 56.7%). Majority (N=509, 92.5%)
agreed that “it is necessary to take treatment for offensive vaginal discharge” indicating positive
attitudes. Majority displayed negative attitudes towards health seeking namely “any type of vaginal
discharge is a normal condition” (N= 429, 78%), “excessive vaginal discharge can occur due to body
heat” (N= 411, 74.7%), “It is uncomfortable to talk about vaginal discharge” (N=262, 47.6%). Nearly
half of them agreed that they have experienced vaginal discharge and only 30% of them have sought
medical treatment. Main home remedies used were polpala herbal drink (31.3%), king coconut
(34.7%) and sago (Sauw) kanji (26.0%). The reasons for not seeking medical advice were “difficulty
in discussing with male doctors” (N=483, 87.8%), “less knowledgeable about vaginal discharge”
(N=253, 46%) and “considering vaginal discharge as normal” (N=179, 32.5%). The findings implies
the need of improving awareness and the available support system for this socially marginalized
community in order to improve the health seeking behaviours towards excessive vaginal discharge.
