Answer first: Vaginal pH is one piece of clinical information, not a diagnosis and not a wellness score. During many reproductive years, the vagina is often acidic, but there is no single number that is normal for every person at every age or in every circumstance. Estrogen status, menstruation, semen, pregnancy, menopause, recent vaginal products, and sampling technique can all affect a reading. A home vaginal pH test cannot tell you which infection you have, rule out every infection, test for an STI, or confirm leaking amniotic fluid. Treat symptoms and their cause, not a strip colour.
📚 Articles in This Cluster
Written by the Dr. Dina Rezk Clinic editorial team, based on guidance and evidence from the US FDA, CDC, ISSVD, IUSTI Europe, the NHS, and peer-reviewed research.
Educational disclaimer: This article gives general information. It cannot diagnose the cause of discharge, odour, itching, burning, pain, bleeding, or a pH result. A clinician may need to review your history, examine you with consent, and select appropriate tests.
Key takeaways
- “Normal vaginal pH” depends on life stage and context. The commonly quoted acidic range mainly describes many people of reproductive age, not every child, pregnant person, postpartum person, contraceptive user, or postmenopausal person (ISSVD; IUSTI Europe).
- The US FDA states that a home vaginal pH result cannot identify a particular infection, and a result within the device's expected range cannot exclude infection (US FDA).
- Bacterial vaginosis and trichomoniasis are often associated with higher pH, while vulvovaginal candidiasis commonly occurs with pH in the usual acidic range. These patterns overlap and do not diagnose or exclude any condition (CDC BV guidance; CDC trichomoniasis guidance; CDC candidiasis guidance).
- Blood, semen, vaginal medicines, lubricants, and collection errors can make a result harder to interpret. Follow the exact device instructions rather than a generic online testing routine (US FDA).
- A “pH-balanced” label does not prove that a product prevents infection, treats symptoms, or suits your tissue. Look for evidence on the exact product and exact indication, not a broad balancing promise.
- During pregnancy, do not use ordinary pH paper or a home vaginal pH test to decide whether fluid is amniotic fluid. Possible fluid leakage needs prompt maternity assessment (NHS pregnancy guidance).
Table of contents
- What vaginal pH means
- Is there one normal vaginal pH
- How vaginal pH changes across life stages
- What can temporarily change a reading
- What pH can and cannot suggest about infection
- What a home vaginal pH test can tell you
- How to use a home test more safely
- The pH result decision framework
- How to assess pH-balanced product claims
- What a clinical assessment may involve
- Red flags and pregnancy safety
- Frequently asked questions
- The bottom line
- References
What vaginal pH means
Vaginal pH describes how acidic or alkaline fluid at a sampled point in the vagina is. It is measured on a scale in which lower numbers are more acidic and higher numbers are more alkaline. The reading reflects local chemistry at that moment. It does not grade cleanliness, sexual health, fertility, or femininity.
The vaginal environment changes in response to hormones, resident microorganisms, secretions, blood, semen, medicines, and other exposures. During many reproductive years, estrogen supports glycogen in vaginal tissue. Lactobacillus species commonly contribute to an acidic environment through lactic-acid production, although healthy microbial communities vary and are not identical in every person (Finding a Balance in the Vaginal Microbiome). This relationship is useful physiology, but it is not a simple switch where “acid equals healthy” and “alkaline equals infected.”
A pH result is best treated like one clue in a larger clinical picture. Clinicians may combine it with symptoms, examination findings, microscopy or other validated tests when appropriate. Both ISSVD recommendations and the IUSTI Europe vaginal-discharge guideline place pH within an assessment, not above it as a stand-alone answer (ISSVD; IUSTI Europe).
That distinction matters because online product marketing often turns pH into a target to chase. A number can vary without disease, and symptoms can occur when a reading looks ordinary. Repeatedly inserting products to correct a number may also irritate tissue or obscure the original problem.
Is there one normal vaginal pH?
No. There is no universal vaginal pH target that applies across childhood, puberty, reproductive years, pregnancy, postpartum changes, breastfeeding, perimenopause, and postmenopause. The often-repeated 3.8 to 4.5 interval is used in some reproductive-age diagnostic contexts, but it should not be presented as a lifelong rule or a personal treatment target. (ISSVD; IUSTI Europe)
Even within reproductive years, a reading needs context. Menstrual blood, recent intercourse involving semen, vaginal medication, or a product applied internally can affect the sample. Pregnancy changes hormones and discharge. Hormonal contraception differs by method and by person, so it is not safe to assign every contraceptive user the same expected number.
The better question is not “Is my vagina at the perfect pH?” Ask: “Why was the test done, were the conditions suitable, do I have symptoms, and would the result change what a clinician recommends?” If the answer to the last question is unclear, more home testing may create anxiety rather than useful information.
A clinical range is not a wellness goal
Clinical thresholds are designed for specific decisions in specific populations. For example, pH may form one part of criteria used when assessing bacterial vaginosis. That does not mean everyone above a cut-off has BV, everyone below it is free of BV, or lowering a number treats BV. The CDC BV guideline combines findings rather than treating pH as sufficient by itself.
Likewise, an acidic reading is not proof that the vaginal microbiome is “balanced.” Candida symptoms can occur while pH remains in the usual acidic range, and several infections tested through specific laboratory methods are not identified by pH at all (CDC candidiasis guidance; US FDA).
How vaginal pH changes across life stages
Life-stage variation is central to interpreting vaginal pH. It should not be reduced to one chart that labels every result outside a narrow interval abnormal.
| Life stage or context | What may influence pH | What the number cannot settle |
|---|---|---|
| Before puberty | Lower estrogen and age-specific vaginal physiology differ from adult reproductive physiology | Whether discharge, bleeding, odour, pain, a foreign body, irritation, or infection is present |
| Reproductive years | Estrogen, menstrual phase, semen, products, medicines, and microbial composition | Whether a named infection or STI is present, or whether treatment is needed |
| Pregnancy | Hormonal and discharge changes, plus the clinical importance of possible fluid leakage | Whether fluid is amniotic fluid or whether symptoms are safe to watch at home |
| Postpartum and breastfeeding | Rapid hormonal transition, bleeding or lochia, healing, and lower-estrogen states in some people | Whether fever, offensive discharge, heavy bleeding, wound problems, or pain needs urgent care |
| Perimenopause | Fluctuating estrogen, changing cycles, bleeding patterns, and tissue symptoms | Whether symptoms come from GSM, infection, a skin condition, cervical disease, or another cause |
| Postmenopause | Lower estrogen commonly changes tissue and the vaginal environment | Whether new bleeding, blood-stained discharge, persistent watery discharge, odour, or pain is benign |
Before puberty and adolescence
Adult pH rules should not be applied to a prepubertal child. New discharge, bleeding, pain, foul odour, suspected foreign body, injury, or concern about abuse needs pediatric or adolescent assessment. Children should not be instructed to insert a finger, swab, or test strip into the vagina. Examination choices, consent, confidentiality, and safeguarding differ from adult care.
Around puberty, hormonal change can alter secretions before cycles become predictable. A number by itself still cannot determine whether discharge is physiologic. Persistent symptoms, pain, bleeding, injury, or safeguarding concerns need age-appropriate care.
Reproductive years
Acidic conditions are common through much of the reproductive years, and clinical references often use an acidic interval during vaginitis assessment (ISSVD). Yet “common” is not “universal.” A menstrual sample, semen exposure, collection from the wrong surface, or recent intravaginal product may shift a reading without revealing an underlying diagnosis.
Cycle-related discharge also changes in amount and texture. That is not the same thing as a proven pH disorder. If your main question is whether slippery or egg-white mucus is related to ovulation, the guide to ovulation discharge and cervical mucus explains cycle patterns without using them as exact prediction.
Pregnancy
Pregnancy is not a setting for home fluid diagnosis. More discharge can be normal, but watery leakage, bleeding, bad-smelling discharge, fever, or pain can require maternity assessment. The NHS advises contacting maternity services for possible waters breaking or concerning discharge (NHS pregnancy guidance). A shop-bought pH strip cannot safely distinguish ordinary discharge, urine, semen, infection-related fluid, and amniotic fluid.
Read the dedicated pregnancy discharge guide for pregnancy-specific action once that page has completed clinical review and is live. Do not delay professional assessment while repeating strips.
Perimenopause and postmenopause
Lower estrogen can change vaginal tissue, moisture, microbial patterns, and pH. This means a reproductive-age cut-off may be misleading after menopause. It also means a higher reading should not automatically trigger infection treatment.
Dryness, burning, discomfort with sex, and urinary symptoms may fit genitourinary syndrome of menopause, but those symptoms overlap with infection and skin conditions. A dedicated menopause, dryness and GSM pathway should guide treatment decisions. New postmenopausal bleeding, blood-stained or persistent watery discharge, offensive discharge, or pelvic pain deserves prompt medical assessment rather than a pH product.
What can temporarily change a reading?
A vaginal pH value can be affected by what was sampled, when it was sampled, and what recently contacted the vagina. This is why the instructions for one approved device cannot be assumed to apply to every strip or app. (US FDA)
Common confounders include:
- menstrual or other vaginal blood;
- semen after vaginal intercourse;
- lubricants, spermicides, condoms with additives, or gels;
- vaginal medicines, moisturisers, antiseptics, douches, or deodorising products;
- sampling cervical mucus, urine, external vulval moisture, or toilet water rather than the intended vaginal site;
- reading the strip too early or too late;
- lighting and colour-vision differences when matching the test pad to a chart;
- contamination from hands, containers, or reused applicators;
- pregnancy, menopause, lower-estrogen states, and individual microbial variation.
A shifted result after one of these exposures does not prove harm. It may simply mean the result is not interpretable for the intended question. Follow the exact package instructions about timing, recent intercourse, bleeding, and vaginal products. If instructions are missing, unclear, or not in a language you can confidently follow, do not improvise an internal sampling technique.
What pH can and cannot suggest about infection
Higher vaginal pH may occur with bacterial vaginosis or trichomoniasis, while vulvovaginal candidiasis commonly occurs without a raised pH. Because findings overlap, pH alone can neither diagnose these conditions nor safely choose treatment. (CDC BV guidance; CDC trichomoniasis guidance; CDC candidiasis guidance)
| Possible interpretation | What pH may contribute | What else is needed |
|---|---|---|
| Bacterial vaginosis | A raised pH can be one component of an established diagnostic approach | Symptoms, examination where appropriate, and other validated criteria or tests |
| Trichomoniasis | pH is often raised, but that finding is non-specific | A specific diagnostic test and assessment for other STIs as clinically indicated |
| Vulvovaginal candidiasis | pH commonly remains within the usual acidic range | Symptoms plus microscopy, culture, or another appropriate test when indicated |
| Cervicitis or an STI | pH does not identify HIV, chlamydia, herpes, gonorrhoea, syphilis, or group B streptococcus | Exposure history and organism-specific testing selected for the person and site |
| Noninfectious irritation or skin disease | pH may be unchanged or altered for unrelated reasons | Exposure history and examination of the vulva and vagina when appropriate |
| Menopause-related tissue change | pH may be higher in a lower-estrogen environment | Symptom pattern and assessment to exclude bleeding, infection, skin disease, and other causes |
The FDA specifically warns that home vaginal pH tests are not tests for several STIs and cannot distinguish all causes of symptoms (US FDA). A result must not be used to tell a partner that an STI is present or absent. It also cannot establish when a condition began or where it came from.
Why “normal pH” does not rule out infection
Candida is the clearest example. The CDC notes that vaginal pH is usually normal with vulvovaginal candidiasis, yet diagnosis still depends on symptoms and appropriate examination or testing (CDC candidiasis guidance). Cervicitis and many STIs also require organism-specific tests rather than a general acidity measure.
If a strip looks normal but you have persistent itching, burning, pain, unusual discharge, sores, urinary symptoms, bleeding, or an exposure concern, the symptoms take priority. Reassurance from a strip can delay the right assessment.
Why “high pH” does not prove BV
BV is one possibility, not the automatic answer. Trichomoniasis, blood, semen, menopause-related change, and sampling factors may also raise a reading. The CDC uses pH as only one part of the Amsel criteria for BV, alongside other findings (CDC BV guidance). Treating every higher result as BV risks using the wrong medicine and overlooking another cause.
For disease-specific detail, use the separate guides to bacterial vaginosis, vaginal yeast infection, and STIs with vaginal discharge once clinically reviewed and live.
What a home vaginal pH test can tell you
A home vaginal pH test may tell you that the sampled fluid produced a colour corresponding to a stated pH band under that device's conditions. It may sometimes help a clinician or patient decide whether further evaluation is sensible. It cannot provide a complete diagnosis. (US FDA)
Studies suggest some users can obtain a pH reading, but performance is device-specific and population-specific. A 2008 diagnostic study examined women's ability to perform vaginal pH self-testing, while a 2021 study assessed a particular self-test approach for vaginal infection (self-testing accuracy study; 2021 self-test evaluation). These studies do not validate every strip sold online, every sampling method, every phone-camera colour reader, or every marketing claim.
What it may do
- produce an approximate acidity reading for the fluid actually sampled;
- add one piece of information when symptoms are being discussed with a clinician;
- indicate that the result is outside the range specified by that exact device;
- prompt you to read the instructions, limitations, expiry date, and regulator information more carefully.
What it cannot do
- diagnose BV, trichomoniasis, candidiasis, cervicitis, PID, or a skin condition;
- identify HIV, chlamydia, gonorrhoea, herpes, syphilis, or group B streptococcus;
- prove that you are infection-free;
- distinguish vaginal fluid from urine or amniotic fluid in pregnancy;
- confirm fertility, ovulation, pregnancy, miscarriage, or menopause;
- tell you which medicine to use;
- measure the complete vaginal microbiome or define whether it is healthy;
- prove that a pH-balancing wash, suppository, gel, probiotic, or supplement works.
How to use a home test more safely
If you choose to use a legally marketed home vaginal pH test, keep the question narrow: “What does this device show under its labelled conditions?” Do not turn it into “What disease do I have?”
- Read the full instructions first. Check who should not use it, where the sample should come from, and whether bleeding, sex, pregnancy, or vaginal products affect timing.
- Check the packaging. Confirm the product is intact, within its expiry date, stored as directed, and supplied with a readable colour chart and limitations.
- Do not substitute generic paper. Pool or laboratory paper may not be designed for vaginal use. Never insert improvised objects or loose strips.
- Use clean hands and the supplied method. Avoid touching the test area. Do not collect from the vulva, toilet tissue, urine, or underwear unless the device specifically instructs that method.
- Read it at the stated time. Colour can continue changing. A late photograph is not necessarily the original result.
- Record context. Note symptoms, menstruation, recent sex, products, medicines, pregnancy status, and the test name. This is more useful than a bare number.
- Do not repeat compulsively. Multiple uncertain readings do not create a diagnosis. Stop if testing causes pain, bleeding, distress, or escalating product use.
- Act on symptoms, not reassurance. Seek appropriate assessment if symptoms persist, recur, worsen, or carry red flags, regardless of the strip.
Do not ask a prepubertal child to self-test. For an adolescent, confidentiality, consent, safeguarding, and age-appropriate examination or testing should be handled by a suitable service.
The pH result decision framework
This framework is designed to prevent a number from taking over the decision.
| Situation | Best next step | Why |
|---|---|---|
| No symptoms, one unexpected home result, and a likely confounder | Do not self-treat. Review instructions and avoid repeated testing solely to reach a preferred number | The value may reflect timing, exposure, or sampling rather than disease |
| New or persistent odour, discharge, itch, burning, urinary symptoms, or discomfort | Arrange appropriate clinical assessment even if pH looks “normal” | Several causes cannot be diagnosed or excluded by pH |
| Higher reading with symptoms | Do not assume BV or select medicine from the number | BV, trichomoniasis, blood, menopause, semen, and other factors can overlap |
| Usual acidic reading with marked itch or soreness | Do not assume there is no infection or that it must be yeast | Candida may occur with usual pH, and irritation or skin disease can resemble it |
| Possible STI exposure | Seek confidential, organism-specific testing appropriate to exposure and body site | Home pH does not test for the major STIs listed by the FDA |
| Pregnant with possible watery leakage, bleeding, pain, fever, or feeling unwell | Contact your maternity service promptly; use 997 or the nearest emergency department for severe or life-threatening symptoms | A home pH strip cannot rule in or rule out ruptured membranes or pregnancy complications |
| Postmenopausal new bleeding, blood-stained or persistent watery discharge, offensive discharge, or pelvic pain | Arrange prompt medical assessment | A number cannot distinguish lower-estrogen change from infection, cervical or uterine causes, or other disease |
| Repeated product use to “correct” pH with worsening burning or soreness | Stop non-essential irritant products and seek assessment | Irritation can be caused or prolonged by products, regardless of their labelled pH |
If the change is persistent, recurrent, uncomfortable, associated with bleeding, pain, or urinary symptoms, or you are pregnant, consider a general gynecological assessment. This is a conditional invitation, not a claim that a specific clinic test or treatment is available.
How to assess pH-balanced product claims
“pH-balanced” describes a formulation claim, not proof of clinical benefit. A product can have a stated pH and still be unnecessary, irritating, unsuitable for internal use, unsupported for treating infection, or tested only in a laboratory rather than in patients.
Marketing often compresses several unproven steps into one sentence: a product has a certain pH, therefore it changes the vagina, therefore that change restores a microbiome, therefore symptoms or infection improve. Each step needs separate evidence. Mechanistic plausibility is not the same as a patient benefit.
Use this checklist before buying or inserting anything:
- What exactly is the product? External cleanser, vaginal gel, moisturiser, medicine, lubricant, test, probiotic, or supplement are not interchangeable.
- Where is it meant to be used? A product intended for external vulval skin should not be inserted. “Intimate” does not define an anatomical site.
- What exact claim is made? Comfort, lubrication, moisturising, odour masking, infection treatment, recurrence prevention, fertility support, or pH change each needs different evidence.
- Was the exact formulation studied? Evidence for an ingredient, another brand, or a laboratory pH does not validate this product.
- Who was studied? Results in a selected reproductive-age group may not transfer to pregnancy, adolescence, menopause, immunocompromise, or recurrent symptoms.
- What was the comparison and outcome? A change in a strip reading is not the same as symptom relief, confirmed cure, fewer recurrences, or freedom from harm.
- What are the risks? Fragrance, preservatives, botanical ingredients, acids, applicators, and repeated internal use can irritate. Pregnancy safety and medicine interactions may be unknown.
- What is the regulatory status? Cosmetic wording, a device listing, and approval to treat a disease are different categories. Status can vary by jurisdiction.
- Does the label tell you when to stop and seek care? A credible product should not tell you to ignore bleeding, pain, fever, pregnancy fluid loss, recurrent symptoms, or possible STI exposure.
Products should not replace diagnosis
Do not use acidifying gels, suppositories, douches, boric acid, yogurt, vinegar, herbs, steam, antiseptics, or fragranced washes to chase a home reading. This article does not provide a pH-correction treatment because pH is not itself the diagnosis. Disease pages and a clinician should own indication-specific treatment.
The evidence map found no product-specific evidence sufficient to support a broad “pH balancing” recommendation. Exact product efficacy and current regulator status remain unknown unless they are checked for that product. The safe editorial position is therefore neither “all pH products are useless” nor “balancing works.” It is: require exact-product evidence, an appropriate indication, transparent harms, and regulatory clarity.
External comfort is a different question
Some people need a bland cleanser substitute or an external product recommended for a skin condition. That choice should be based on external vulval comfort and diagnosis, not on changing internal vaginal pH. The vagina and vulva are different anatomical areas. A product can be tolerable on external skin yet inappropriate internally.
What a clinical assessment may involve
A good assessment starts with the symptom, not the strip. You may be asked about onset, odour, colour, texture, itch, burning, pain, bleeding, urinary symptoms, pregnancy possibility, cycle stage, menopause symptoms, recent sex, possible STI exposure, medicines, antibiotics, contraception, products, douching, and previous episodes.
Examination is not automatic in every case. When it would help, the clinician should explain its purpose, ask consent, and adapt or stop if you are uncomfortable. Depending on the concern, appropriate testing may include a vaginal sample, organism-specific STI testing, or another investigation. No single swab or panel is universal, and this article does not imply that Dr. Dina Rezk Clinic offers any particular laboratory test.
Bring the test packaging or a clear photo of its name, result window, expiry date, and instructions if you have it. Also bring a short symptom timeline. A useful note is: “Burning began three days ago, discharge changed yesterday, I used a fragranced wash two days before symptoms, menstruation ended five days ago, and the strip was read at the instructed time.” That is more clinically informative than “my pH is wrong.”
🚨 Red flags and pregnancy safety
Seek urgent medical help rather than repeating a pH test if you have:
- sudden severe or worsening pelvic or abdominal pain, collapse, fainting, confusion, breathing difficulty, or signs of severe illness;
- heavy bleeding or bleeding with severe pain, weakness, dizziness, or possible pregnancy;
- pregnancy with possible fluid leakage, significant bleeding, severe pain, fever, reduced fetal movement when movements are expected, or feeling very unwell;
- fever with pelvic pain, vomiting, or rapidly worsening symptoms;
- a severe allergic reaction after using a product, such as facial or tongue swelling or breathing difficulty.
In Saudi Arabia, call ambulance 997 or go to the nearest emergency department for life-threatening symptoms (GOV.SA emergency contacts). A clinic message or routine booking is not an emergency pathway.
Arrange prompt, non-emergency assessment for new postmenopausal bleeding, blood-stained or persistent watery discharge, offensive discharge, pelvic pain, postcoital bleeding, possible STI exposure with symptoms, recurrent symptoms, or symptoms that continue despite self-care. If you are unsure where to seek care in Saudi Arabia, MOH 937 can provide general health advice and navigation (Saudi MOH 937).
Frequently asked questions
1. What is a normal vaginal pH?
There is no one normal value for every life stage. An acidic range is common in many reproductive-age diagnostic contexts, but age, estrogen status, menstruation, semen, pregnancy, products, and sampling affect interpretation, so do not treat 3.8 to 4.5 as a universal personal target (ISSVD).
2. Does vaginal pH change during a period?
Menstrual blood can affect a vaginal pH reading. Follow the exact test instructions about bleeding and timing, and do not interpret a period-time result as proof of infection or imbalance (US FDA).
3. Can semen raise vaginal pH?
Semen can temporarily affect the sampled vaginal environment and make a reading harder to interpret. Follow device-specific timing instructions after sex, and never use the result to infer infection, fidelity, or fertility.
4. Can a vaginal pH test diagnose bacterial vaginosis?
No. Higher pH is one possible component of BV assessment, but the CDC diagnostic approach uses additional findings or validated testing; pH alone cannot confirm BV (CDC BV guidance).
5. Can normal vaginal pH rule out a yeast infection or an STI?
No. Vulvovaginal candidiasis commonly occurs with pH in the usual acidic range, and home pH does not test for HIV, chlamydia, gonorrhoea, herpes, syphilis, or group B streptococcus (CDC candidiasis guidance; US FDA).
6. Are home vaginal pH tests accurate?
Some studied users and devices can produce useful readings, but accuracy and usability are product-specific and population-specific. Even a technically correct reading cannot identify the cause of symptoms or prove that no infection is present (self-testing accuracy study; 2021 self-test evaluation).
7. Can I use a pH strip to check whether my waters have broken?
No. Ordinary vaginal pH tests and improvised strips cannot safely distinguish amniotic fluid from urine, discharge, semen, blood, or infection-related fluid. If you may be leaking fluid during pregnancy, contact your maternity service promptly (NHS pregnancy guidance).
8. Do pH-balancing washes, gels, or supplements work?
A pH label or biological theory does not prove that a product treats symptoms, prevents infection, or changes meaningful health outcomes. Check evidence and regulatory status for the exact product and indication, and do not insert products or start treatment solely to change a home number.
The bottom line
Vaginal pH is contextual information. It can contribute to an appropriate clinical assessment, but it cannot diagnose BV, trichomoniasis, candidiasis, an STI, menopause-related symptoms, or leaking amniotic fluid on its own. The familiar acidic interval mainly belongs to selected reproductive-age contexts, not every person throughout life.
If you use a home test, follow its instructions and keep its limitations in view. Do not repeat tests until you obtain a preferred colour, and do not buy a balancing product simply because marketing presents pH as a problem to fix. Persistent or recurrent discharge, odour, itching, burning, pain, bleeding, urinary symptoms, pregnancy concerns, or possible STI exposure deserves assessment based on the whole picture.
A general gynecological assessment may be appropriate if symptoms are persistent, recurrent, uncomfortable, or associated with bleeding, pain, or urinary change. Seek emergency or maternity care first for the red flags above. This article is educational and cannot determine the cause of an individual patient's symptoms without medical assessment.
References
- US Food and Drug Administration. Vaginal pH home-use tests. https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/home-use-tests/vaginal-ph
- Bornstein J, et al. ISSVD recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of vaginitis. 2023. https://www.issvd.org/application/files/4916/7897/2719/ISSVD_recommendations_for_the_diagnosis_and_treatment_of_vaginitis.pdf
- International Union against Sexually Transmitted Infections Europe. 2023 European guideline for the management of vaginal discharge. https://iusti.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/IUSTI-vaginal-discharge-guidelines_2023.pdf
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Bacterial Vaginosis, STI Treatment Guidelines. https://www.cdc.gov/std/treatment-guidelines/bv.htm
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Trichomoniasis, STI Treatment Guidelines. https://www.cdc.gov/std/treatment-guidelines/trichomoniasis.htm
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vulvovaginal Candidiasis, STI Treatment Guidelines. https://www.cdc.gov/std/treatment-guidelines/candidiasis.htm
- Ravel J, et al. Finding a Balance in the Vaginal Microbiome. 2021. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8232816/
- Roy S, et al. Clinical evaluation of a vaginal infection self-test. 2021. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8363453/
- Accuracy of women performing vaginal pH self-testing. 2008. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18447759/
- NHS. Vaginal discharge in pregnancy. https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/common-symptoms/vaginal-discharge/
- GOV.SA. Emergency Contact Numbers. https://my.gov.sa/en/emergency-contact
- Saudi Ministry of Health. 937 Services. https://www.moh.gov.sa/en/937/pages/default.aspx