Guide to Typical Symptoms and Their Meaning

When you feel sick, sometimes the most troubling part is not knowing what's wrong, fearing what might be wrong, and not wanting to hear the worst. Some women worry about what the doctor might do, whether the examination will be painful, and whether any help is available. Others view feeling sick as an annoyance and hope the symptoms will go away.

Symptoms as Clues

Physical discomforts are your body's way of telling you something. Unfortunately, the body's language is often quite vague and symptoms can mean many things. Pelvic pain can be a troublesome but harmless part of ovulation or a sign of serious infection. Breast lumps could mean cancer, but many are benign. The best way to learn what's wrong is to consult your doctor who can use other clues to decode the body's messages and diagnose the underlying problem. Even if you think the problem is small and will go away, you should call your doctor. Many illnesses, both major and minor, are easier to handle if caught early. And a diagnosis gives you the comfort of being certain what's wrong.

For many women, something out of the ordinary about their sexual organs, reproductive system, or urinary tract has the added complication of being embarrassing and difficult to discuss. Furthermore, the possible explanations for gynecologic symptoms may be more upsetting than the cause of, say, muscle pain. A monogamous woman who thinks the changes in her vaginal mucus are caused by a sexually transmitted disease (STD) may fear that her partner has been seeing other women. The possibility of pregnancy or cancer may be frightening enough to keep a woman out of a doctor's office where she might hear bad news.

Like everything else in life, however, it's better to face a potential problem than to deny it. You may prefer to ignore an annoying symptom. But an illness that requires treatment will only worsen without care. And most doctors want to find out what's wrong and help you, not judge you. Most women experience problems at some point in their lives with menstruation, their vulva or vagina, uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes, breasts, or urinary tract. Gynecologic and urinary symptoms are common -- your doctor has almost certainly seen women with similar problems many times before. It will not be nearly as alarming to a doctor as it may be to you.

This overview is designed to allay unfounded or exaggerated worries by identifying common gynecologic and urinary tract symptoms and explaining possible causes. It also briefly discusses what to expect at the doctor's office. Keep in mind that your doctor's evaluation may differ from what you read here based on your description of your symptoms, medical tests and your personal history. The medical terms for some problems are included so that you'll know what they mean if your doctor uses them.

The areas to be covered are:

• Excessive or abnormal vaginal bleeding
• Abnormal vaginal mucus or discharge
• Genital warts
• Pain during menstruation
• Menstruation stopping (or never starting at puberty)
• Pain during intercourse
• Pelvic pain
• Discharge from the breast (other than postpartum)
• Breast lumps
• Painful urination
• Blood in the urine
• More frequent urination