Have you ever been to the bathroom and felt an unpleasant smell coming from your vagina?
If this has already happened to you or is happening to you right now, we’ll help you figure out what you can do to improve it.
And if it hasn’t happened yet, pay attention to these tips so you can continue having great vaginal health.
A healthy odor
The vagina is a moist organ by nature, its internal anatomy (unlike the penis which is an external organ) provides this moisture.
In addition, our vagina is inhabited by microorganisms which are part of its composition.
I usually tell patients that it’s as if these microorganisms had found the perfect place to stay: dark, warm and humid.
They must keep quiet, or “dormant”, there however. If this is how things go, everything will be normal, and the vagina will keep its typical smell.
The vagina has its natural odor, which is part of the female nature. This odor is even pleasant for many men and women, and some say it serves as pheromone (sexually arousing hormone).
The typical vagina smell is therefore completely normal.
When does the smell stop being normal?
When these microorganisms “wake up” and begin to alter the vaginal flora, causing abnormal discharge and itching, unpleasant odors can also appear.
A bad smell is an indication that something is unhealthy. When doing a Pap test at the doctor’s office, we might feel a smell that we call “fetid”, close to foot odor or the smell of dead fish.
Curiosity:
We cannot tell what a vagina smells like, each woman has her own smell.
Our habits, the foods we eat, and the laundry detergent we use to wash our clothes may all influence our smell.
But you can learn to recognize what your body’s normal smell is like.
Run your fingers through your vagina and smell them, really smell them.
We were educated not to put our hands in our vagina, but we need to let go of this taboo in order to get to know our body.
Just as a man that holds his penis to go pee or a mother when looking at her child’s feces on a daily basis.
Once you are able to recognize your “normal smell”, the day you have an alteration you will know how to recognize it too.
Vaginal Health Care
1) Let your vagina breathe
The first and most important thing is to air out your vagina. You’re laughing, right!
That’s just what I said, letting your vagina breathe is very important.
What do we do in the most humid rooms in our homes? We open the windows and doors for air, don’t we?
The same should be done with the vagina, as it needs oxygen to maintain its health.
2) Ideal clothes
We should wear less clothes made of thick and tight fabrics like jeans and less synthetic fabrics that prevent vaginal perspiration like spandex and lace panties.
Leave them for special moments. In everyday life, make sure to wear cotton panties.
3) Avoid panty liners
Avoid daily panty liners that keep the air further out.
As I’ve told you, the vagina needs to breathe. Panty liners are filled with pressed materials that receive the menstrual flow, and there are several layers of material there that prevent the passage of air.
We also shouldn’t use small pieces of toilet paper.
If you sweat a lot during the day or if you present a lot of normal-looking discharge (that is, clear and no foul odor), don’t worry, it’s normal.
On hotter days, the chances of this happening are greater.
Carry extra panties in your bag and change them as necessary during the day. This will provide comfort and help improve the situation.
Using any kind of product to absorb discharge and to prevent soiling your panties can actually make your discharge worse.
4) Spend time without underwear
When you get home, change your clothes for light and loose ones and preferably do not wear underwear.
This is also good for bedtime; always sleep without underwear on.
The day has 24 hours and we spend a good part of it at work, sometimes in uncomfortable and tight clothes. We also wear jeans a lot.
When we get home many of us still keep the same clothes on, because in a few hours we might have to go out for another reason – to go to church, to go pick up the kids, or even to go straight from work to an appointment or to university.
During the little time that’s left in the day, if you can get into the habit of not wearing underwear (maybe just a pair of baggy cotton shorts), your body will appreciate it!
5) Do not spray any perfume onto the vagina
Another important thing is to take care of your personal hygiene.
Wash the vulva (external part of the vagina) daily, but do not introduce anything into the vagina, such as products or a shower jet stream.
Do not use perfume or any other product advertised for this, neutral soap is enough to maintain the integrity of the vaginal flora.
6) Avoid too many sweets
Taking care of your health is also part of keeping your vagina healthy.
Eating lots of sweets raises the sugar that is circulating in the body, which helps to “activate” the microorganisms.
Emotional states alter odors
Altered emotional states may also “wake up” the dormant microorganisms making up the vaginal flora.
We know that our body has a defense system that we call the immune system.
When we are not well emotionally, this reflects on our immune system and makes it weaker, allowing diseases to attack our body.
An example is pregnancy, a moment that puts a woman in a more sensitive emotional state, which can lead to changes in vaginal discharge in terms of consistency, color and odor.
Always consider
The composition of the vaginal flora is not constant and varies in response to several factors.
These factors can be the different phases of the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, use of contraceptives, frequency of sexual intercourse, use of showers or deodorants, use of antibiotics or other medications with immunosuppressive properties (which lower immunity).
So that’s it! Every vagina produces discharge, a normal moisture, clear and with a characteristic odor.
It is also normal at the end of a long day of work for this odor to become a little more intense.
It is no longer normal when it changes color to yellowish or grayish, with an unpleasant odor (a sort of foot odor), accompanied or not by itching.
In this case you can try “vaginal douching”, that famous tip from our mothers to sit in a basin of warm water with a little vinegar.
Vinegar or acetic acid helps relieve symptoms, but remember to go see a doctor.
A consultation with a gynecologist is essential for any woman’s health, and of course, indisputably, use a condom during sexual intercourse to avoid these and other worse problems.
If you have any other questions about sexuality, relationships, sexual intercourse, STD’s, sexual dysfunctions, or any other reason, feel free to contact us. Contact me and I will clarify all of your doubts.
Take care of your health, be sexually healthy too. Remember that being healthy is much more than not having a disease, it is taking care of yourself.
We seek sexual health just as we seek other things in our lives.
Sources:
- Clinical and microbiological profile of women with bacterial vaginosis
https://www.scielo.br/j/rbgo/a/skzw9PjMxtrg8vfQfzJcyHp/?lang=pt - Brazilian Protocol for Sexually Transmitted Infections 2020: infections causing vaginal discharge
https://www.scielo.br/j/ress/a/X9WkLLZRBbcW3mFwbRYBHXD/ - Vaginal discharge reported among pregnant women in an urban location in southern Brazil: prevalence and associated factors
https://scielosp.org/article/csp/2008.v24n3/558-566/
