To wonder why my period suddenly smells so bad?

After noticing a bad smell once, a few hours ago whilst feeling perfectly well? I think if we all rang the GP’s with that level of triage and that quickly we would be in an even sorrier state than we are now. I was in agony my this morning, literally thought I was dying. Turns out I needed to fart quite a bit.

Ah my stinky pants were M&S too! Never tried another brand because they put me off.

Honestly yes & I'd check again for a missing tampon. I was feeling very self conscious for couple weeks, of course didnt feel able to say to DH & wasn't until next period flushed the bugger out! Didn't occur to me because I'm always careful. I'd obviously checked several times before & felt nothing but peri menopause & flooding I'm guessing i just shoved an extra one up overnight when totally exhausted 😩 felt so lucky to get it out without any lasting nfection

Of course she should have an appointment if she is worried about an infection or something stuck and rotting inside her.

I think it might be the period pants too. I would ditch them and either sleep on a folded towel at night or maybe wear 2 pairs of normal pants or do both.

A lost tampon smells really, really awful (like a meat filled dustbin on a hot day) but I don't think it would stop smelling til you get it out. But if ditching the period pants for a few days doesn't stop the whiff get checked in case.

@Limth you have such a way with words!😄

@ScarletWitchMall I can say is 😳😳😳😳

Same issue with m&s period pants. Its them not you. Throw em out

Could be bacterial vaginosis triggered by a heavy/unusual period? I had this start after my DH had a vasectomy and me getting a tummy bug around the same time. Just through it all off . Took me months of dithering veggie I went for a gp app and they did a swab and boom. These days you can buy tests in most places and also the solution. I wish I’d had that 20 years ago! It just rotated through fish smell and thrush until I got help.

Could you seee a doctor?

Anyone who can manage with just pads at night for the first two days of their period must have very light periods! I also wear both tampons and pads and there's no way I'm giving up nightly tampons at the start of my period.

All this talk of lost tampons always panics me, I have OCD and am always convincing myself I forgot to take the last one out before I put a new one in. Will be avoiding period pants after this though that's for sure (not that I have any inclination to try them anyway)

Being a woman is shit sometimes! Hope you figure it out!

I came here to say the same. Every period I had for around 6-8 months smelt revolting.

The gp wouldn't help me or refer me for a scan and brushed me off as having bv. The gel and treatment for bv did nothing. I went back every month and they point blank refused to help me. I was labelled a nuisance and time waster. One of the main reasons I eventually left there.

I was so self conscious and I knew that it was not only me that could smell the smell so I ended up calling in sick to work during my periods.

Eventually I saved up enough to pay privately for gynaecology and they took swabs, all negative for bv or infections.

I then paid for an ultrasound and I had loads of fibroids. They said it looks like one had burst and the tissue was stuck in there unable to pass.

One day I had a horrific period that felt like labour pains and I passed a massive clot. It smelt like a rotten corpse!

Ever since then I've not had any more issues with smell. Thankfully the rest of the fibroids seem to be small enough that they don't cause any issues either.

Jad this with a piece of cotton from the tampoon that had got stuck inside.

Finally fell out after a few weeks and it stank!! No bigger than a matchstick head mind.

Also, I can’t quite believe how quick people are to seek medical attention! She’s had a smelly faff for 1 day! There’s definitely things you can to check / eliminate before seeking a precious NHS appt. Some good suggestions on the thread already but if you’re feeling well and the smell has gone then I don’t think you need the panic level of making an immediate appt somewhere. There’s no wonder we’ve got a crisis on our hands. And yes I know people have died from TSS etc but you have to risk assess these things.

If the smell has gone it is likelier some sort of issue with the period pants and/or length of time the tampon was in rather than a tampon left inside as surely the smell would be getting worse if that were the case?

I do a double wash with mine - a cold rinse wash with no detergent followed by a 60 degree wash with unscented detergent.

In my mid thirties I developed an unfortunate fish whiff...never had it before but eating any kind of fish (worse with white fish....who knows why!) i get very whiffy....I have to put a diary reminder in a few days before I am due a wax. I do also use period pants (for bladder leaks) but they get a 30 min cool wash on their own and then go in with the rest of my clothes, they def need a different wash cycle to anything else.

ps there are no real issues to using tampons at night, it's more to do with frequency of changing them.

Goodness, nobody else has suggested this.

I dont think its normal for a period to smell bad. Probably best to get it checked for an infection.

You should go to the doctor to check you have no infection; or a piece of rotting tampon inside.

Really?
Nobody else has suggested this.

Is the smell there when you’re not wearing the period pants?

I’d do this .
I also think it could be BV and I’d get swabbed for it

My M&S bought period pants really smell. Other brands not so much. Very odd and rank.

I can’t answer for anyone else but for 2-3 nights of my period I have to wear a super plus tampon and a pad and I would still need to put a towel down for leaks.

I inserted a tampon without removing the previous one (on holiday, rushing to check out) it was there a week! And the smell was revolting. I don’t know how I didn’t get sick, I wasn’t in the slightest bit unwell.
I only recently started wearing period pants and like you wear a tampon as well at night (very heavy flow) and one day I must say I did smell a bit fishy but assumed it was the pants. I never noticed it again and it was a couple of months ago. Check for a tampon, not that difficult and you’ll find instructions online. If not, give it a few days before panicking I think.