One Brave Woman Raises Her Hand and Asks: “Is My Vagina … Smelly?”

It’s OK if you’re cringing a little right now. When I read a post over on Yahoo Shine about vaginal odors (oh that phrase just hits you the wrong way, doesn’t it?), I cringed a teeny bit too. But why? It’s a perfectly reasonable thing to discuss among us gals, right? So let’s talk: Have you ever been concerned about the way you smell … down there? Read on, my dears…

“I was just wondering if all vaginas smell the same,” a Yahoo Shine reader writes. “It sounds really weird but … I can’t help but think mine smells wrong or different from other women’s. I can smell mine after I wipe and on my dirty underwear… I’m just not sure if that is normal or not. I have been tested for STD’s and everything, so why does mine have such a distinct scent/taste? Can other people smell it too?”

Dr. Kate, a gynecologist, answers: “No, all vaginas don’t smell, or taste, the same…but they do all smell. Every woman has a different musky scent, and we tend to be very attuned to our own smell, even when no one else is aware of it. No one smells you through your clothes; I will occasionally notice a patient’s scent when she’s undressed (and I’m doing her pap smear), but never when she’s dressed. Odor tends to come from sweat – the vulva and vagina have sweat glands, like elsewhere on your body. And the scent may change as our menstrual cycle progresses, in response to hormones, or at the end of the day. Noticing vaginal odor, if it’s your normal one, does not mean you don’t have good hygiene or (god forbid) should start douching. No need to buy those scented sprays, either – the chemicals may give you a bad reaction, or lead to copious amounts of discharge. Your vagina should smell like…a vagina.”

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P.S. The undies that Joanna over at Smitten loves! And, should you sleep with or without underwear–which is healthiest?

Photo: Gap