Green, malodorous discharge is often the telltale sign of bacterial vaginosis (BV). When this discharge appears after vaginal steaming, users might mistakenly believe that steaming is worsening their BV. However, one must remember that steam cannot introduce mucus into the vaginal canal. Just as a shower might help to drain nasal congestion, a vaginal steam session may drain mucus sitting in the vaginal canal, cervix or uterus. If green, malodorous discharge appears after steaming, it is important to understand that the steam encouraged this discharge to exit the body, it did not create it.
When using vaginal steam for BV, the steam plan objective is to remove the irregular discharge so the bad bacteria no longer has a hospitable environment to thrive in and the good bacteria can repopulate. In this way, green malodorous discharge after steaming is a good sign.
If wanting to use steaming for infections working with a practitioner is helpful to understand what to expect and to interpret successful outcomes.