Wanda The Fish. That was the most humiliating name any chick
could get labeled at my middle school. Getting chastised as
“Wanda” simply meant that your vagina reeked of “Tuna Of
The Sea”.
Understandably, girls, myself included, would go to extensive
lengths to avoid this dehumanizing stigma.
So what do you do when your stinky midsection betrays an
otherwise healthy vagina? The first step is to actually make
sure that your vagina is in tip-top shape.
What’s a Vagina Supposed to Smell Like?
Throughout your menstrual cycle, it’s normal to have a variety
of vaginal discharges. Vaginal discharge can take the form of
the non-fertile, viscous- and sticky-type discharge to the very
fertile, slippery- and clear-type discharge that occurs close to
menstruation.
Abnormal discharges are accompanied by itchiness, raunchy
smells, and/ or gray-, yellow- or green-colored discharges.
The second step to restoring your vagina to health involves
to ruling out the possibility of having vaginal conditions like
bacterial vaginosis, a yeast infection or trichomonas vaginitis.
Bacterial vaginosis
Bacterial vaginosis (BV), while more common than yeast
infections, doesn’t get much attention in the media.
The cause of bacterial vaginosis remains unclear but this
condition is linked to sexual activity and douching. According
to a University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) study, a sexually
transmitted virus that infects vaginal lactobacilli may cause
bacterial vaginosis.
Vaginal lactobacilli are required to maintain a healthy pH
and bacterial balance within the vagina. Once this balance is
disrupted by a virus, the vagina no longer has a protective
barrier and is more susceptible to infection.
In the 1999 UIC study, Sylvia Pavlova, senior research
specialist, and Lin Tao, associate professor of oral biology,
found that viruses may cause bacterial vaginosis. Moreover
bacterial vaginosis could be sexually transmitted.
If untreated, bacterial vaginosis can lead to pelvic
inflammatory disease, tubal pregnancy, or, pre-term labor if you
are pregnant.
Only your doctor can diagnose bacterial vaginosis. Your
doctor would prescribe oral antibiotics or antibiotic vaginal
inserts to treat bacterial vaginosis.
What to look and smell for:
Increased vaginal discharge. A fishy vaginal odor and white or
gray milk-like discharge.
Yeast infection
If you’ve used antibiotics, been pregnant, have diabetes, or
wear tight clothing, chances are you’ve experienced an
overgrowth of vaginal yeast. Overgrowth of the yeast Candida
albicans is largely blamed for causing yeast infections.
Most women find their yeast infection treatment in
over-the-counter preparations at drug stores. Other times you
can find yeast infection relief by moderating your sugar intake
and supplementing your diet with more foods that contain
Lactobacillus (L.).
Dr. Tori Hudson, who serves a medical director of A Woman’s
Time, recommends that you eat foods that contain at least three
of the following forms of Lactobacillus when naturally treating
a yeast infection: L. acidophilus, L. fermentum. L. plantarum, L
bulgaricus, L. casei, or L. rhamnosus.
While a research war still ranges over the effectiveness of
Lactobacillus against combating yeast infections, women still
notice improvements with their vaginal infections after
supplementing their diet with this probiotic.
What to look and smell for:
Symptoms include a white cottage cheese-like discharge, itching,
redness, and irritation.
Trichomonas vaginitis
Trichomonas vaginitis comes in as the third leading cause of
vaginal infections.
Commonly called "hooker", I mean "trick",
trichomonas vaginitis is a sexually transmitted infection caused
by a tiny single-celled parasite. Like bacterial vaginosis,
trichomonas vaginitis can be transmitted through intercourse.
Your doctor would have to test you to diagnose trichomonas
vaginitis. She will prescribe antibiotics as a treatment.
What to look and smell for:
Increased amount of vaginal discharge. Possible itching. Itching
and redness accompanied by a yellow-green discharge.
You know what the ironic thing about this smelly vagina
business is?
It is that if you get bacterial vaginosis or trichomonas
vaginitis, your doctor will prescribe antibiotics, but after
using the antibiotics, your chances of getting a vaginal yeast
infection shoot up. Who designed this health scenario anyway?
Before you curse, Wanda, let me offer you these tips for
vaginal health to use at you own discretion:
- The vagina needs to breathe, so let it. Wear pantyhose
less often. Use knee-highs or thigh-highs instead.
- Wear cotton underwear instead of synthetic underwear.
- Use condoms during sex. Even though the theory that sex
can cause a vaginal infection remains contested, use a
condom is a preventative until the infection gone.
- Add one teaspoon of boric acid or a half-cup of hydrogen
peroxide to two quarts of warm water. (For the boric acid to
mix well you need to make sure the water is warm). Use the
boric acid or hydrogen peroxide douche for two weeks and
stop. The boric acid and hydrogen peroxide should increase
the amount of lactic acid within the vagina. This increased
amount of lactic acid within the vaginal helps restore the
proper bacterial balance within the vaginal and reduces the
chances of re-infection.
- Eat less sugar so that you don’t feed the yeast.
- See a doctor if you still have doubts. The Mayo Clinic
Women's “HealthSource” newsletter has cautioned women
against hastily self-diagnosing vaginal problems and
labeling every smelly vagina issue as a “yeast
infection”. This may not allows be the case.
Ok, I hope you smell better now and if in doubt, check it
out.
Health author and Stanford University graduate
Naweko San-Joyz lovingly writes from her home in San
Diego. Her works include Acne Messages: Crack the
Code of Your Zits and Say Goodbye to Acne (ISBN:
0974912204) and Skinny Fat Chicks, Why We’re
Still Not Getting This Dieting Thing (ISBN:
0974912212). Naweko created the Noixia philosophy to
help people enhance their lives by connecting with
their inner-mysteries and inner-selves. Her works
take often over-looked, yet viable research and
transforms in into practical tools that people can
use to improve their health. Get useful, but too
often ignored women’s health news by visiting http://www.Noixia.com,
Where Beauty Means Health.
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