iVillage logo
Search iVillage
Pregnancy
Parenting
Health
Diet & Fitness
Beauty & Fashion
Relationships
Home & Garden
Food & Drink
Work & Money
Entertainment
Horoscopes
Travel
Health  
  |  Experts  |  Ask the Doctor  |  Vaginal odour
Advertisement
Topics
Women's Health
General Health
Natural Health
Healthy Living
Community
Conditions
Diet & Fitness
iVillage shopping

Hot stuff
Get your 3-a-day
Food intolerance
Be Bikini Beautiful
Competitions
Baby development tracker
Embarrassing ailments
Special offers
Best diet foods
Snack swapper
Hair remedy tool
Diets A-Z
Newsletters
sign up for FREE!




 
Promotions
Lose weight today
Get a personal diet plan
Finger lickin' good
Some surprising facts from the Colonel

Vaginal odour

by Dr Sarah Brewer

question
I have a really embarrassing problem with my vaginal area - it doesn't smell very nice. What could this mean?

answer
All women have a distinctive vaginal smell made up of secretions and pheromones designed to attract the opposite sex. Sometimes the smell can change and become offensive if the balance of bacteria present in the vagina changes. The most common cause is an imbalance known as bacterial vaginosis. This can only be diagnosed by examining fresh discharge under a microscope. Your best bet is to visit your local genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinic for a confidential check-up (phone your hospital for details). The clinic will also screen you for other potential problems such as chlamydia.

Join the discussion live on the Sexual Health message board:

iVillage TV - Health zone

View video in larger player
Delicious     Digg     reddit     Facebook     StumbleUpon