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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Smelly periods

38 replies

RosiesPosies · 21/04/2022 13:53

Embarrassing but oh well🤷🏻‍♀️ I’ve namechanged anyway.

my periods smell badly and I dont know what to do. It’s a horrible but it’s hard to explain what it’s like- it’s sort of a meaty smell, and I only ever get it when I’m on my period.

I use tampons (but have tried pads in the past which made the smell worse) and have tried scented, unscented, all the different brands I can get. Ive tried a mooncup too which didn’t help with the smell either and I just didn’t really like using overall so usually just stick with tampons but I’m still noticing the smell with them too.

it’s as if the smell clings to me when my on my period and it’s always with me. I can always smell it from myself and it’s horrible. It makes me so self conscious and paranoid in case other people smell it too. I shower everyday and use shower gel and body wash, and I change sanitary products every 2 hours so it’s always fresh.

I don’t have particularly heavy periods, I would say they’re very normal/typical. They’re very irregular though and don’t follow a pattern- they often skip months at a time which I’m not sure is related or not.

does anyone know what could be causing it? Is it abnormal or is it just one of those unfortunate things with being a woman and getting periods that I need to just accept and deal with or is it there any way I can stop it?

OP posts:
lightisnotwhite · 21/04/2022 13:59

Assuming you aren’t a period troll I would say it’s some sort of infection. I forgot a tampon and had a similar smell. I eat wild rabbits and when you prepare them the blood smell is similar..
You sure you haven’t already got one stuck somewhere? Bear down and have a route around. Otherwise it will need a trip to the GP to have a look.

Stath · 21/04/2022 14:08

Definitely second the ‘lost’ tampon theory.
Happened to me and had to get the poor GP to have a root round with her arm a la James Herriot up me and Enormous Turnip pulling.

Original poster
RosiesPosies · 21/04/2022 14:09

lightisnotwhite · 21/04/2022 13:59

Assuming you aren’t a period troll I would say it’s some sort of infection. I forgot a tampon and had a similar smell. I eat wild rabbits and when you prepare them the blood smell is similar..
You sure you haven’t already got one stuck somewhere? Bear down and have a route around. Otherwise it will need a trip to the GP to have a look.

Definitely not a troll, MNHQ can check and confirm I’m a regular poster.

sorry I should have said in my OP, I’m NOT asking for personal stories or experiences or anything like that. I’m just asking if it’s normal or not or if not what could cause it or if there’s any products I would buy that would stop the problem. I’m definitely not asking for stories or experiences or personal things or anything troll-like! Sorry I should have said that in my OP x

OP posts:
Hugasauras · 21/04/2022 14:09

I've found reusable pads don't harbour smell in the same way disposables do for some reason. I think periods can smell a bit though, not foul as such but I feel like I do have a distinct smell when I'm on mine that is different from my usual smell. When blood/tissue is exposed to the air, that's just kind of what happens.

I suspect you are much more aware of than anyone else though, so as long as you are changing products frequently and keeping clean, it's unlikely anyone else is going to smell it.

If it's really awful, worth getting it checked out though in case it's an infection. But a kind of blood/metallic smell that you can smell on yourself isn't abnormal IMO.

Kanaloa · 21/04/2022 14:21

Can you ask an honest loved one (close close relative/DH) if there is actually a smell? When I was pregnant I had a horrible smell often but DH and my sister (both honest people) insisted there was no smell. It’s possible it might be your heightened awareness of it.

Kanaloa · 21/04/2022 14:21

But I agree it’s not abnormal for menstrual blood to have a smell. As long as it’s not a really bad smell it may just be a natural smell.

Horcruxe · 21/04/2022 14:25

Get yourself to your GP/ GUM clinic and get an infection ruled out.

As long as no infection may just be normal for you.

user1471504747 · 21/04/2022 14:25

Do you have someone close to you that you can ask to give you a bit of a sniff? May be more paranoia than a genuine stench.

fairylightsandwaxmelts · 21/04/2022 14:28

First off, get yourself to the GP or sexual health clinic and get checked for an infection.

If that's all clear, it may just be normal. Period blood DOES smell differently to "normal" blood and it could be that you're a bit paranoid about it which means you're noticing it even more.

Fabpinky · 21/04/2022 14:28

I think it’s probably most likely that you can just smell yourself and no one else can. I’ve had friends smell around me when I thought I could smell myself

Fabpinky · 21/04/2022 14:29

And they couldn’t smell anything!

Watchkeys · 21/04/2022 14:30

Blood does have a smell. Anything that's meant to be inside us that gets outside us has the potential for smell, because it's normal for our fluids to carry microbes and bacteria.

It's quite natural, unless it smells foul. It smells like meat because that's what blood is: muscle juice!

It's unlikely anyone has noticed it, OP. It's just one more inconvenience of having periods. Get checked out by a professional if you're concerned it's unhealthy.

StrangeCondition · 21/04/2022 14:31

and stop using heavily scented shower gels and body washes on your fanjo, just a mild soap like Simple and water round the outside, and water only inside should suffice.

JetTail · 21/04/2022 14:33

I had this and it was an infection.

SlashBeef · 21/04/2022 14:35

My period smells 'meaty' too but not strong enough that I'm hugely aware of it all the time. Its like a steak smell. If you're concerned you could speak to your GP but I don't think it's that unusual for it to smell a bit like that.

FabFitFifties · 21/04/2022 14:37

If you have no discharge, discomfort, or smell between periods, my money would be on nobody else being aware of this smell. If GP thinks things are OK, and a trusted person says you don't smell, would that be enough to settle you? To be clear, I'm not suggesting you are imagining things, but that what you can smell may be totally normal.

gamerchick · 21/04/2022 14:37

Go to a GUM clinic when you're not on your period and get a screen done. They're the best people to speak to about this.

sayanythingelse · 21/04/2022 15:01

Definitely get checked for an infection or something lost up there. I was checking my cm because we were ttc and I found a fossilised tampon up there 😟god knows how long it had been there.

That being said, period blood does sometimes have a raw meat aroma in my opinion.

grise · 21/04/2022 18:24

A friend of mine occasionally would go too long without changing her sanitary towel (period knickers didn't exist then) and you could occasionally detect a smell when she moved. I think she'd notice it as she'd pop the toilet and the smell would go.

Helenahandkart · 21/04/2022 18:39

Could it be menopause-related? My periods smell a bit now that I’m in perimenopause.

Endeavour1971 · 21/04/2022 18:51

Another one in perimenopause and the first 2 days of bleeding smell like meat and can be a bit ripe! I just put it down to my age

Moonflower12 · 21/04/2022 18:54

@Helenahandkart
@Endeavour1971

I was just going to say the same.

NewbieDivergent · 21/04/2022 19:00

Another one perimenopausal and get the smell now.

fUNNYfACE36 · 21/04/2022 19:08

Meat smells like blood

ChiefWiggumsBoy · 21/04/2022 19:25

If there's a tampon stuck up there it'll smell all the time though? I had that once, it was disgusting and made everything I sat on smell.

I think you need to ask someone if they smell anything as it might be your sense of smell is heightened.