What are the Causes of Vaginal Odor?

Vaginal odor is a common female complaint and source of embarrassment. Many women live in fear of the ‘fishy smell’ in fact and this fear translates to lowered sexual activity, lowered feelings of worth, and even feelings of disgust and anger. The causes of vaginal odor are a bit varied, though it boils down to an unbalance in the healthy bacteria in the vagina that are supposed to keep everything clean and scent free. There are a few causes of the bacterial problem and understanding these causes is a great way to get rid of the vaginal odor.

Diet

You are what you eat after all and if you have a positive vaginal odor diet, you will have odor! Diets that are high in stink factor include foods such as fish, a lot of red meat, garlic, curry, cheese and high fat, high sugar foods. If you want to lower your stink factor, try eating more vegetables, drinking more water, and cutting way back on the fish you eat (or eat fresh fish at least which has less of the chemicals and junk in it that translates to odor). It’s not hard to keep your diet vagina friendly; stinky vaginas purely from diet are rare. You should also steer clear of the food foreplay; whip cream and chocolate may be popular ‘toys’ for the bedroom, but keep them away from the vaginal area or you increase the risk of yeast infections and smelly vaginal discharge.

Too Much Douching/Washing

Many women with a smelly vagina try to fix it by washing it excessively, but this is the opposite of what you should do! The vagina has it’s own ways of keeping clean and by using a lot of soap and shower gel, you disrupt this process. Instead, you should take a look at the more underlying causes of the odor and use something gentle such as Virgin Stick for brief cleaning, not excessive cleaning! And on the topic of cleaning, try not to douche too much; a little is all right, but douching every single time you have sex or a menstrual cycle is going to disrupt your vagina’s natural cleaning cycle and can lead to vaginal odor.

Sex

Sex always lets off a bit of an odor, but unsafe sex ramps up your chances of infection and thus vaginal odor. For example, having anal sex and then having vaginal sex right after, without protection, will increase the chances of you contracting an infection. Using food as part of the foreplay can increase the odds of a yeast infection. And of course, not using sanitary toys or even washed hands will do it. Keep it clean, keep it safe, and you’ll keep the stinky vagina away.

Taking care of your vagina and its odor means playing things smart and clean. Use a gentle cleanser such as Virgin Stick to get rid of vaginal odor, have safe sex and try to enjoy a healthier lifestyle (healthy foods, exercise and not wearing tight clothing all time) and you’ll find that the fear of the fish odor will fade into oblivion.