For many women open discussion about their private area remains a very delicate topic and it becomes even more unpleasant when it involves vaginal odor.
When a woman first notices the fishy smell the initial reaction is embarrassment and panic especially when it doesn't go away.
It is important to realize as soon as possible that the reason for the smell emanating from your private area is caused by a bacterial imbalance, otherwise known as Bacterial Vaginosis (BV).
Now that we've put a name to the problem we can now explore the reasons why it occurs in the first place and also find out what we can do about it in order to prevent it from getting worse.
This condition is a lot more common than you might think, for example did you know that an estimated 1 in 3 women will develop this condition at least once during their lifetime? It is important to remember that recurrence is very much possible especially when you might have believed that the odor was gone for good.
One of the tell tale signs that you might have this annoying problem is the "fishy" smell that you will notice.
When this happens it means that the natural balance and ratio between good bacteria and bad bacteria has been disturbed.
To explain further, a healthy vagina is comprised of both kinds of bacteria because both are necessary, and if for some reason the bad bacteria overtakes the good then you will begin to perceive the bad odor from your private area.
The body requires a certain amount of natural yeasts which counterbalances the body's bacteria, so if there is an imbalance it is not necessarily considered to be an infection.
Some Causes Of Bacterial Vaginosis 1) Antibiotics 2) Douching 3) Sexually Active A healthy vagina should be slightly acidic with a pH level between 3.
8 - 4.
2.
If the results of testing the discharge from your private parts yields anything greater than 4.
5 then it has become a perfect environment for bad bacteria to flourish.
Some antibiotics actually do more harm than good because they can cause this ph imbalance where the more resilient bad bacteria can easily gain the upper hand and rapidly multiply.
Douching is the method of rinsing the vagina using water or a special mixture, and the equipment needed can be purchased from any drug store.
Im sure that you have already figured out why this can be a bad idea because It can definitely cause a ph imbalance and this is bad because the vagina needs to maintain an acidic environment.
The third point is that this condition is common among women who are sexually active.
Women who have developed BV are now more prone to contracting STD's because they now have less protection against it.
If you suspect that you may have BV you should pay a visit to your gynecologist and get prescribed treatment.
In some situations, medication like Probiotics along with Antibiotics such as Metronidazole have been effective solutions.
But in many cases, women have not been able to get rid of their Bacterial Vaginosis even after a series of visits to one gynecologist after another.
And they have falsely believed that they had to live with smelly vagina for the rest of their lives.