Your vulva’s bouquet can vary throughout the menstrual cycle and can be particularly apparent after sex or masturbation, sweating can also increase vaginal odor. Even though it can be tempting to try don’t douche or use a vaginal deodorant as these products can actually increase irritation and cause more problems than they fix.
Bacterial vaginosis, which is an overgrowth of naturally-occurring bacteria, is the most common infection that can cause vaginal odor. Trichomoniasis is a sexually-transmitted infection that can also lead to vaginal odor. Gonorrhea, chlamydia, and yeast infections do not typically cause a change in odor although a particularly strong yeast infection can smell like rising dough.
When vaginal odor comes with cottage cheese-looking discharge that’s yellowish or whitish, burning, itching, or just regular irritation of the vagina, labia, and vulva – chances are good that the culprit is an infection. The type of smell can vary from person to person and also the kind of infection. If there’s blood in the discharge, then the infection may have reached the reproductive organs and medical attention is needed as soon as humanly possible.
It’s good to remember that if you have vaginal odor WITHOUT other symptoms, it’s likely the smell is normal. If you’re particularly worried about it, however, it’s never a bad idea to make an appointment with your gynecologist just to be sure. The medications that you take, even natural supplements, can change your personal smells to something less pleasant than what you are used to.
Good hygiene is important. The vagina is essentially a rich ecosystem, everything has to exist in the right balance and it is easy to upset it. If you use soap, antibacterials, use pools frequently, take hot baths, use lotion too close to the vulva, don’t change underwear often enough, use scented pads, use underwear made out of stifling material (amongst other things) this delicate balance can be upset and cause problems. Basically all you need to do is to avoid these things (and douches and vaginal deodorants), rinse your vulva with warm water, avoid soap, and wear clean clothes.
A simple way to improve vaginal health is to consume yogurt with live and active cultures every day. You can also make a great vaginal suppository by freezing greek yogurt (plain, with live and active cultures) in the fingers of a glove. Insert it before going to bed with a pad in your underwear to catch the secretions.
Another powerful antibiotic you probably have in your kitchen is garlic, specifically a clove of garlic. Insert one into the vagina and keep it there for a few hours to alleviate odor.
A long, warm (not hot!) bath with two or three cups of apple cider vinegar will help restore the acidic quality of the vaginal flora as well as fight off toxins that cause infection.
Change pads and tampons every four to eight hours during the menstrual cycle, as needed.
If it’s your natural body odor that is offending you, try increasing your fish, fruit, and vegetable intakes while reducing consumption of red meats.
Never think that your natural smells are bad smells, it’s designed to smell like a vagina and that is a good thing, it’s not supposed to smell like soap or flowers!
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