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...

If you have to really try and detect it I don't think it'd be BV - that smells really badly and obviously! It could just be how you are naturally.

You could try probiotics for vaginal pH balance and see if that helps.

I use nivea love sunshine shower gel on my body (it smells amazing and as I use a tiny bit on a sponge then foam it by squeezing, the bottle lasts for months) and outer bits, then plain water on vulva, don't wash anything internally.

When things have felt sensitive I used bottled water (a small amount) for a day or so which clears things up.

I don't like the quality of my shower water tbh. Have replaced the shower tubing and cleaned inside it with long brushes and nothing really helps. The water is horrible. It smells chemically.

I once had a bladder/kidney infection but that was from a partner.
I've lived in 13 different places and never had a problem with the water until here. It's really unfortunate. Interestingly, it's from a different supplier. Was mostly Severn Trent before and no problems.

Oh and if it's after sex it could be a reaction to the pH change because sperm is very basic.

Boric acid pessaries are my saviour when that happens. Completely eliminates the odour. They're also sometimes prescribed for cases of recurrent thrush and BV. You can get them on Amazon and Etsy.

I really don’t believe that water alone removes the build up of bacteria etc on the labia. If you wash your hands or bottom with only water, that doesn’t clean either adequately. Women also get smegma! If there’s white build up down there, it’s a sign you need soap - a very mild soap. There’s really no issue with that - it’s using a harsh soap or getting any soap inside the vagina that causes problems.

A BV fish smell would be awful and like that all day long. If it’s only after 24 hours of not washing and your husband doesn’t seem to care then I’d imagine all is well.

No one ever believes me when I say I have this issue if I eat fish, but I dont have it any other time unless I wear underwear or clothes in bed, I try not to.

Ive read about it online, people who cant metabolise fish and end up smelling like that, its particularly bad with white fish and prawns etc. Its not BV

A smell from your vagina and vulva is 100% normal - it is only a problem if it becomes offensive, when infection could be a problem.

Men are attracted by the smell of females' genitals - look at any other mammal - they merrily sniff the genitals.

All this emphasis on making sure that all natural smells are eliminated seems totally OTT to me. And the use of things like Femfresh and special vulval washes is totally unnecessary and can be harmful.

I cannot imagine leaping in the shower and washing specifically in order to prepare for sex. What is that about?

This post is very ironic as I'm guessing you don't mean 'vagina' either. The 'proper' word is vulva, unless you're cleaning internally which I'm guessing you're not lol.

Having sex without a condom does create a particular odour. I don't like it so always wash. My own odour isn't bad or fishy.

She clearly does mean vagina. The vagina is self cleaning. The vulva isn't.

You've tried to embarrass her and embarrassed yourself.

I wouldn't care less and would happily go with it!y DP doesn't seem to care and I more than happily will also give him oral in the above situation. He doesn't ever taste or smell bad. He knows when I've last showered and makes that decision himself 😂

@Spiaderbot so embarrassed 🤣🤣

Awww OP don't be embarrassed (I say knowing how embarrassing to do talking about this kind of stuff for some 🙈).
As many have said a fishy smell could well be BV. I've had it before, it's reaaaalllly common and not a reflection of anything bad about you! Go get a swab to en certain! Or it might even be a hormonal thing!
Personally I don't shower daily. I don't generally need to. I don't really sweat much but if I did or if I'd applied false tan or worked out of course I would. I tend to shower every 48 hours, never leave it longer then that!
But absolutely everyone is different. It doesn't mean anything bad if you need to do it more or less. As longer as you're taking care of yourself that's the main thing ♥️

After 24 hours I'm not fresh but I dont smell like that. It could be a symptom of something else?

Please don't scrub your foof with chemicals - its kind of a self regulating system and if the PH goes out of whack you will get all sorts of problems. I just blast mine with the power shower.

sounds like bacterial vaginosis, can be easily treated with antibios

I don't think fishy is normal. Go to gp. Normal natural smell though I wouldn't worry about washing before sex my dh prefers it when it's a bit ripe !

@bellac11 exactly the same! Always used to feel so embarrassed, then realised that it’s not actually ‘me’ that smells of fish, it’s my urine. For two days after eating any white fish or prawns. God knows why. I’m really picky about eating it now 🙈. So you’re not alone!

I’ve been having uro-gynae issues and was having a chat with a specialist nurse. I mentioned how I’ve been thrush prone since forever, swabs have shown nothing.

I tried washing with just water before but didn’t feel clean so I’ve always used soap or intimate wash type stuff. She suggested using just water and a soft cloth so I’ve given it a go and funnily enough I smell so much better even up until before my next shower.

I’m in the water and a cloth camp.

Please don’t feel that leaking urine is something you have to put up with after having a baby. It has been normalised because postnatal care in this country is so poor, but it is not normal – it’s a health problem and it can be very treatable. Postnatal physios are amazing – you can book privately or ask for a referral through your GP (though this could take ages) (and don’t let your GP tell you it’s normal either!). There are plenty of online resources as well – look up thebellemethod and the.vagina.whisperer on instagram as a starting point.

(I don’t know your specific circumstances, and you might already be addressing this, so I apologise if you already know all of the above.)

Bloody hell, at over £20 for 200ml I'd expect it to rejuvenate my whole damn body every time I shower!

i have no smell after 24 hours if ive not been exercising

fishy smell is never normal, needs checking out

Fishy smell is generally due to bacterial infection but I find that if I haven't washed for 24 hours it does start smelling a bit fishy. Not strong fishy though, if it was strong I'd see a doctor.

I usually shower at night then just have a quick spray down of underarms and undercarriage with the shower head and a bar of soap in the morning.

I only ever wash my bits with water ( mum's advice) and never smell and have never had thrush.

Yeah, I meant what I said. I'm not 12.
The vagina is self cleaning.

You need firstly to work out where the smell is actually coming from. Three most obvious possibilities:

1. Vulval folds - these are damp and clammy, shed skin such gets trapped, likewise traces of discharge, urine, sweat, menstrual blood, semen if you've had sex etc. If these aren't washed away regularly the folds will start to whiff after a few hours. I wouldn't necessarily describe as fishy but can have a slightly prawny odour shall we say. I wash with soap in this area, no problems and don't feel I can get the area properly clean without it. My daughter can only use water though or she gets sore and thrushy with soap.

1. The vagina itself - bv or thrush. The vagina should not be washed (ok to rinse the opening with water) and ideally the discharge should have a faint and pleasant smell. It might be fishy if you've recently had sex but that should fade over a few hours. If the smell is unpleasant then something is out of whack. I sometimes get a touch of bv after my period (I use a menstrual cup and have a copper coil which seem to increase the risk) but a single canesbalance tube seems to reset things. It doesn't smell fishy but kind of musty/strong and not pleasant.

1. The urine leakage. That can have a fishy whiff when dried/exposed to air. If that is it then you need to address the leakage issue, though it would be beneficial to do so anyway.

For the time being wash before bed and after rising. No pants in bed. No soap up the vagina.

good luck.