To ask how not to stink in the morning?

[Thealarmhasgoneoffagain]

Name changed.

I shower every morning, use deodorant, clean clothes etc. I don't smell during the day.

I wear clean, loose pjs each night. Generally thinish cotton. But oh my, when I wake up, I REEK between my legs! Sometimes I do get hot/sweaty at night (I wake up drenched sometimes) so I know why on those days but other days, like last night I sleep normally, wake up fine and just stink. It's not BV.

It doesn't make much difference if I shower before bed. Other people are still able to smell it in the morning.

I've tried knickers/no knickers and wearing panty liners but that makes no difference either.

Help! I'm due to share a room with a friend in a few weeks.

Wear clean cotton underwear to bed under your pjyamas.

Having read your update I second getting tested for diabetes. Likely to be Type 2, but fungal infections are a typical sign of having a high HbA1c (simple blood test will show your level)

OP clearly says it's not BV... RTFT!

I don't do anything special down there and I smell fine (as far as I can tell). I have a bath in the evening, don't wash my bits with soap or shower gel ever, just the water using my hands. No flannel or sponge. Just pat it dry with a towel after. I think fresh air around it is important, I never wear knickers with my pjs when lounging around the house in the evening. And I usually sleep naked or at least have my bottom half free. I think you need to get it checked by a doctor to make sure it's not an infection.

This. Am so used to my lovely loose nightie that I find pjs a bit icky now - nice to not have fabric bunched up around your Mary!

Having read your update I second getting tested for diabetes. Likely to be Type 2

@ScoobySnacks1 Don't diagnose OP with an illness. That would be frightening to a lot of people.

@Thealarmhasgoneoffagain You could get tests/doctor if you want but how long have you had this? I've been like this all my adult life so it's not any illness, it's just how I am- one of those things.

Too much sugar in your diet can also change your gut bacteria and cause skin irritations so maybe try and reduce that as well to help with the itchy skin.
Are you on contraception? I found that hormonal contraception always messed up my lady parts and made them smell by changing the discharge, as well as causing recurring thrush. Cutting down on sugar, increasing probiotics and eventually stopping the birth control helped.

Honestly speak to your GP, could be something happening behind the scenes. I would shower before bed and maybe see if you can improve your diet

Sorry @OldFan , where did I actually diagnose OP? I said I recommended they get tested based on the symptoms they described especially given they admit their diet contains too much sugar.
IF they have diabetes, it is likely to be type 2 which is far less scary than type 1 which is why I mentioned it. I don’t recall diagnosing them 🤷‍♀️

I have LS also. It’s bloody horrible isn’t it.

I haven’t heard of the lotion you mentioned but I’ll have a google to see what it is. I just use the steroid cream. Do you ever have outbreaks if you’ve eaten too much fruit for eg, or if you’ve had a glass of wine? I didn’t know so much of what we eat or drink is excreted in a persons urine and if you have anything like LS you can end up feeling as if your lady bits have been through a cheese grater.

Are you overweight? I had the same problem when gained some extra weight. It disappeared when I lost 15 kilos. I tried everything - even tested for STD, nothing helped....

Not diabetes. I did a few of the home tests because I'm generally feeling a bit rough and I know that a GP (even if I could get to see one) wouldn't just do a load of tests because I want them. I did the NHS ones so I trust them.

When I have a smear I always ask them to check for everything while they are there. It ALWAYS comes back with thrush even if I don't have symptoms.

Yes to overweight. Working on it though. It's tough, because when I get sweaty it smell s even worse and it makes me VERY self conscious wearing leggings to work out. I gave up yoga gecausd she'd come around adjusting us and if I could smell myself doing certain positions, she most definately could. I don't remember if I smelt when I was a healthier weight.

For years, I kept getting BV, I'd treat it with the gel stuff (and inevitably burn myself), that would give me thrush so I'd have to treat the thrush. Then I'd be all out of wack and would sometimes have to treat the thrusb a few times. The BV would come back and I'd have to do if all again. I did an online consultation with a pharmacist a few months ago and ordered some antibiotics for the BV and that helped with the general smell. I did try to improve my gut Flora afterwards and even used some vaginal probiotics. 😅

Op, are you sure it’s not your belly button that has an odour?

By feeling rough, I mean tired and lots of numerous niggles here and there. Nothing concrete or much of anything by itself. Being honest, a lot could just be due to my weight. I'm also reacting to foods eg tummy suddenly swelling up or making be feel sick. I think (or is it just an excuse?) that's one of the reasons I'm eating so much crap. I haven't seen any patterns with foods so it's just unpredictable and miserable.

@NanaNelly just stuck my finger in and smelt it to be sure and no it isn't my belly button.

It could still be BV. Bacterial vaginosis is an umbrella term for over-growth of one type of bacteria…but our vaginas have many different bacteria flora all in balance. So when OP last had BV she would have smelled what that one type smells like when it’s over grown, but this time a different type could have overgrown. In other simpler terms, BV is not one infection caused by any one single bacterium, it is any infection by any of the usual flora we have getting out of balance. So there is no one smell or symptom for BV. It is different every time for every woman.

Lume. You can use it all over.

Working on it though. It's tough, because when I get sweaty it smell s even worse and it makes me VERY self conscious wearing leggings to work out. I gave up yoga gecausd she'd come around adjusting us and if I could smell myself doing certain positions, she most definately could
@Thealarmhasgoneoffagain You said it’s only first thing in the morning, which doesn’t match with this comment. Is it just mornings or all the time? That’s probably very relevant.

OP, if you could manage to get an appt with a GP then they absolutely would consider doing those sorts of tests. Not just because you want them, but because a lot of the symptoms you describe could be down to medical conditions that are diagnosed by blood tests.

Given what you describe with regards to reacting to certain foods then it would be worth asking for some thorough allergy testing too 😊

Sorry to hijack OP but would the antibiotics treat all the different types of BV causing bacteria?

Yes, but since the OP has had several courses of antibiotics for BV, she probably has an antibiotic resistant strain of BV and probably needs a swab test to see which specific bacteria is giving her grief and then be prescribed whatever antibiotic is a nuclear option for that particular bacteria.

The thing on your thigh is probably not psoriasis. It's probably "jock itch", also called ring worm. You can just use athletes foot cream on it. It will go away. It's hard to see the round circle pattern on the inside of your thich, you might be able to feel. This is probably contributing to the smell.

Have a look at Google images if you want. I had this before and I thought it was eczema too, but it wasn't. A little bit of Canestan won't hurt anyway, just make sure you buy the Athletes foot one because it's way cheaper than the thrush one! Not a doctor by the way.

Go to the doctor, you might have an infection

The reason it would be worse in the morning is because the fungus would feed during the night and reproducing, which is why it smells better after a shower you are washing off some of the surface fungus.

@itsonlysubterfuge I've just gut out of the shower and moisturised so you can't see the dry, sometimes scaly, irritated bits but this is all over my inner thighs. As I say, it's normally a lot drier and scalier and it doesn't look like between my toes. I'll give the athletes foot thing a go though. I have lots because I was using it to try and make my gair grow. 🤣🤣🤣