To learn the difference between the dry feeling, the wet feeling and the slippery wet feeling, we can make similar observations on other parts of our body.
Following are some examples:
Dry: Rub your fingers over the lips on your face.
Wet: Rub your tongue over your lips.
Slippery Wet: Put lip gloss on your lips and rub your tongue over them again.
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Dry: Rub your arm.
Wet: Wet your arm with plain water and rub it again.
Slippery Wet: Put hand cream, oil, or aloe vera gel on your arm and rub it again.
Wet: Put your hand in water.
Slippery Wet: Touch a fish swimming in the water.
Cervical mucus character and vulva sensation are always described together because they are linked to each other.
Cervical mucus is produced by the cervix, which separates the uterus from the vaginal canal. Cervical mucus is a mixture of different types of mucus, several of which have specialized functions. Some of its functions are similar to those of semen: cervical mucus promotes sperm life by decreasing the acidity of the vagina and providing nourishment to the sperm. One type of mucus has a structure that helps guide sperm into the cervix and then the uterus. The production of fertile cervical mucus is caused by the same hormone (estrogen) that prepares a woman's body for ovulation. By observing her cervical mucus and paying attention to the sensation as it passes the vulva, a woman can detect when her body is gearing up for ovulation and also when ovulation has passed.
When ovulation occurs, estrogen production drops slightly and progesterone starts to rise. The rise in progesterone causes a distinct change in the quantity and quality of mucus observed at the vulva.
During the menstrual cycle, changes take place in the mucus produced by the cells lining the cervical canal. Cervical mucus can be recognized by sensation, by appearance and by testing with the fingertip.
WHAT SHOULD YOU OBSERVE
Sensation is very important and often the most difficult to learn. Throughout the day the presence or absence of mucus will be recognized by the sensation at the vulva (the vaginal lips), the way the beginning of a period is noticed. The sensation may be a distinct feeling of dryness, of dampness or moistness, stickiness, wetness, slipperiness or lubrication.
Appearance: Soft white toilet tissue should be used to blot or wipe the vulva. There may be dampness only on the tissue resulting from vaginal moistness. This moistness soaks into the tissue and any cervical mucus will appear raised as a blob on the tissue. The colour should be noted. It may be white, creamy, opaque, or transparent (clear).
Mucus is often noticed on underclothing, where it will have dried slightly causing some alteration in its characteristics.
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Finger Testing: A fingertip can be lightly applied to the mucus on the tissue then pulled gently away to test its capacity to stretch. It may feel sticky and break easily, or it may feel smoother and slippery like raw egg white and stretch between the thumb and first finger, from a little up to several inches before it breaks. This stretchiness is described as the Spinnbarkeit or Spinn effect and shows that the mucus is highly fertile.
I recommend that you ask your partner to do the charting. At the end of the day, he asks you what to put on the chart. Although this may seem like an unimportant detail, it sets the stage for the communication necessary for this cooperative effort. To find out more, you can check out Infertility Treatments For Women.
