Vaginal odour can seriously affect our intimate health and well-being, besides making us feel uncomfortable and worried. However, this problem has several solutions that will ensure an improvement, allowing you to regulate the smell of the intimate area properly. This area of our body has a particular pH and a different smell, but with the proper care and hygiene it shouldn't smell bad. Bad vaginal odour might be due to infections or some other problems. But don't worry, vaginal odour can be tackled following some steps. Read this OneHowTo article and find out how to eliminate vaginal odour.
The first thing you must do to eliminate bad vaginal odour is to determine its cause. There are several reasons why we can present odour in this area, including health problems, bad habits when choosing the clothes we wear or vaginal infections.
One of the main causes of bad vaginal odour are vaginal infections. If in addition to odour in the vaginal discharge there are other symptoms like burning during urination, itching, or discomfort during sexual activity it is very likely that you are suffering from a vaginal infection.
In this case the best option is to visit a gynaecologist, as each infection has its own treatment and medication. Furthermore, faced with the presence of this condition a medical opinion is important.
Among vaginal infections, candidiasis is one of the most frequent. You'll know if you have candidiasis if you have a thick white discharge, burning, itching and discomfort during urination. Read our guide to vaginal yeast infection if you want to know more about candidiasis.
If the problem does not come from a vaginal infection then it will be appropriate to review our intimate hygiene and consider some preventative measures:
- Always wash your vagina with intimate soaps and avoid the use of other products that could alter the delicate bacterial flora of this area.
- It is important to wash your vagina daily, further enhancing hygiene steps during days of menstruation.
- During these days you will need to change the pad or tampon frequently, at least three times a day as prolonged use causes vaginal odour.
- Dry the intimate area well after a bath as excess moisture enhances the growth of fungi and bacteria.
- Clean and wash the vaginal area from front to back and so avoid bacteria localised in the anus to come into contact with the vagina.
- Excess hygiene is not advisable as this can cause the good bacteria located in the area to disappear, making the infection of this area easier.
- If you are sexually active you should wash the area after intercourse.
To eliminate bad vaginal odour it is important to check the type of underwear that you wear. We recommend you choose appropriate lingerie made from 100% cotton that is your size and does not squeeze your intimate area and allowing proper breathing of the skin. Thus, we will control sweating and odour.
If you are looking for a home remedy to remove the build up of bacteria that causes vaginal odour we offer two alternatives:
- Baths with apple cider vinegar: dilute two cups of apple cider vinegar in your bath and bathe in it for at least 20 minutes. This ingredient will effectively help control the production of bacteria. If you do not have a bath then dilute half cup of apple cider vinegar in a large bowl and soak your intimate area in it.
- Tea tree oil: mix 3 drops of this product in 1 cup water and applied in the intimate area, then dry as usual.
If your vaginal odour doesn't disappear with these remedies and it's really disturbing for you, consult your gynaecologist.
This article is merely informative, oneHOWTO does not have the authority to prescribe any medical treatments or create a diagnosis. We invite you to visit your doctor if you have any type of condition or pain.
If you want to read similar articles to How to Eliminate Bad Vaginal Odour, we recommend you visit our Family health category.