Feminine odour is something all women deal with. And while it's completely natural and normal for your vagina to have some kind of scent, certain vaginal smells can signal something's wrong. Here's how to tell whether the smell 'down there' is normal for you. That said, Morton reminds us that the odours are not meant to be unpleasant and if the vaginal discharge has a fishy or pungent smell there is nearly always something wrong.
How should a vagina smell?
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We include products we think are useful for our readers. If you buy through links on this page, we may earn a small commission. If you notice a fishy odor from your vagina or vaginal discharge, it may be caused by sweating, a bacterial infection, or even your genetics.
Vaginal odour and sex
As women, we grow to learn what is normal and healthy for our bodies. The same is true when it comes to our natural feminine odor. Our noses can be the best detectives in identifying whether everything is ok, or whether there may be a problem. A healthy vagina may have a subtle but not unpleasant odor, but when the bacteria is out of balance due to an infection, our noses are likely to detect it right away. In fact, any fishy or smelly odor is not normal, and is a good indicator that you may need to talk with your healthcare professional. White, gray or yellowish vaginal discharge, itching or burning, and a slight redness and swelling of the vagina or vulva. Watery, yellowish or greenish bubbly discharge, pain and itching when urinating, with symptoms most apparent after your period. Normal vaginal discharge is usually clear or milky and may have a subtle scent that is not unpleasant or foul smelling.
A poster to one of our forums , ashley, wrote about her concerns of an abnormal vaginal odour after her male partner ejaculated inside her during sex. She also felt the semen would continue to leak out from her vagina for a week and was concerned the duration was contributing to the smell. To help answer ashley's question, it is firstly important to understand what is a 'normal' smell for a vagina. A healthy vagina is never odour-free. It is completely normal for your vagina to have a natural scent that is individual to you. What is causing my boyfriend's cum to smell so bad inside of me? Sometimes I feel like it rots in there and then leaks out. It smells so bad!! Your vagina is a carefully balanced ecosystem and will normally be host to a community of 'good' bacteria. One of the main bacteria is called Lactobacillus , similar to the type found in 'live' yoghurts.
