To ask if your bits smell?

[BobVanceVanceRefridgeration]

NC for very obvious reasons! This is inspired by another thread on personal hygiene that made me a little concerned

I wanted to understand if I potentially have a problem with my hygiene and if I need to do something about it!

Let me paint a scenario for you

-you get up in the morning and go through your usual routine (for me, shower, wash everywhere with shower gel, dry off, make up, brush teeth, hair, dressed)

-you then go through a normal day...no physical exercise or anything that makes you overly sweat

-go to bed. For me, I don't shower pre bed, just wash face, teeth etc then where pants to bed overnight.

-the next morning... so 24 hours after your shower and before you've got up again, your DH/partner initiates sex with foreplay.

What do you do?

For me, I would get up and go and have a little wash and freshen up if I thought this was on the cards. After 24 hours, I do have an odour and smell which would be unpleasant and concern me.

Is it normal to have a fishy unpleasant odour in the above scenario? I thought it was but now I'm wondering if it is!

....hiding behind the sofa from embarrassment...

I would stink after 24 hours too.

Boob sweat, hair a mess etc etc

I don't think it's abnormal.

Fishy smell might be good to see a doctor

Fishy odour could indicate BV so see your gp

Fishy odour is never normal

It would be normal to smell after 24 hours. Shouldn’t be fishy though.

It’s completely normal for vaginas to have a “smell”, I mean it produces bodily secretions. However the smell shouldn’t be offensive, what colour is your discharge? Usually anything other than white or red/brown (if menstruating) could be the sign of a bacterial imbalance or an infection.

The only thing you should use to clean your vulva should be water on a soft cloth made of natural materials. Using any type of product increases your chances of infection or bacterial imbalance, as does cleaning it too roughly or too much.

Also never be embarrassed to ask questions related to your health or wellbeing, we’re not taught this stuff at any point in our lives, if we don’t ask we don’t know.

I use wet wipes never toilet roll because I get UTI1 this is the only thing that stopped me getting them, not going to enter into a debate on environment with anyone on this one

I use femfresh in the shower, then I smell like femfresh for a few hours or just clean and like a body but not sweaty

After a day I would smell kind of like hormones I guess but I would absolutely quickly have a wash and jump back into bed for sex

A fish smell indicates a bit of a balance problem, maybe not BV but that you're a bit out of balance, example had sex day before and didn't wash and then you smell maybe vaguely fishy

If you smell strong of fish I think you could have BV just get the gel from the chemist, it works fab

I would always wash before sex so I can relax, it doesn't "kill" the moment like some people suggest, it would be a moment killer for me if I couldn't feel relaxed. I'm happy to have a shower in the morning and have sex in the afternoon but if it were the evening I just skip to the shower quickly

I always have a quick wash before bed because then I can have sex without being tense - I would have sex in the morning first thing if I had a shower the evening before but that is because I use wet wipes,

I would brush my teeth first though!! But I do love a morning cuddle and back tickle that turns into sex

It's hard isn't it with kids and commitments to have that sort of spontaneous amazing sex though, I get it. It's a bit more kind of planned and on the cards with kids about which can take away a part of the appeal I would say that for sure

Not fishy or in any way repellent, don't think that's normal, but normal not clean sweaty type smell is normal. I shower every night before bed without fail, some mornings not straight away if I'm going to be exercising/doing housework, going for a long walk, outdoors activity straight away. I think going to bed not clean is a bit grim! And likewise getting up and not showing if you are going to work (office based- looking presentable) or going out to socialize, not overly active, is a bit grim!

If the smell is fishy I'd get that checked at the doc

Otherwise, if he is initiating sex then he can't be that bothered and I'd happily have the sex.

(I shower before bed though)

I would describe the smell as 'potatoey' if I hadn't washed for 24 hours 🤣 but for me that is my healthy balanced smell and it isn't offensive. I've noticeably had a fishy smell twice in my life and both times it was BV, another time I would describe the smell as 'vinegary' and that was BV too. I used to get a lot of UTIs after sex and learnt to only wash with water and my hand down there. When I need to use shower gel to shave down there I really notice the difference, I feel irritated and out of balance for the next few days. I also wouldn't let anyone go down on me when I first wake up if I hadn't had a shower, you just feel a bit gross in general don't you 😂😬. Might sound silly but are you definitely sure it's from your vagina area, when my little girl hasn't wiped her bottom properly I sometimes notice a fishy smell..

If he hasn’t showered for 24 hours either I wouldn’t worry about it.

Try active balance

Everyone has a 'personal odour' and it's quite normal. Why do women get uptight about it? Does your DH/ partner have a quick wash before foreplay/BJ or clean his teeth/ wash his mouth before oral? Some quite natural secretions are more off white or pale yellowish.
I use toilet tissue after a pee and then a baby bottom wet-wipe. Tissue gets flushed, wipe goes in bin. They're Superdrug pks of 60 and quite thin, on the small side and non- fragranced, as you'd expect for babies.
Nobody smells of nothing.

Yes potatoey!! That's exactly it!

A fishy smell is not normal, make a dr appointment

I usually have a shower around 6pm and I’m still fresh the next morning.

I don’t think I would be overly smelly if it was 24hours but I’d feel uncomfortable that I wasn’t feeling very fresh.

If you often have sex in the mornings then I’d personally start showering the night before.

I have to use a product to wash throughly between my legs including between the creases and around my anus. Just washing with water I wouldn't be clean and would have an odour. Water does not wash away discharge, sweat and urine on me. Maybe it does on other people.

I use femfresh or Superdrug own brand or if ive run out face wash.

Soap is better for cleansing that those chemical "shower gels."

With all of that plastic it's really a pity that consumers have taken to them so voraciously.

Yes me too

But I only use intimate soap like femfresh there and I use the fragranced one. If I used face wash on my front bottom I think I would smell funny because I'm not sure it's acidic enough for intimate areas?

I don't use normal body soap on intimate areas as I don't feel clean enough

My husband always washes before sex and a blow job to the other user who asked about that

A fishy unpleasant smell is not normal. See your doctor.

Do not use femfresh as it makes your PH out of balance and more prone to BV. (From experience and doctor)

Femfresh is a life saver for me. If I use anything else I get thrush, especially bar soap. With FF I feel clean and never have any side issues.

Obviously I just use it externally, not internally.

I’d see your doctor just to make sure. That said I prefer being clean before sex too. Not rigid about it but same goes for a partner. I wouldn’t give oral to a bloke who’s not washed his cock for the last 24 hours either.

@cultkid thats good to know about face wash I didn't realise about acidity.