Hi Aunt Vadge,
My discharge is thick white/yellow and smells very strong. If I don’t use tampons the smell will stain my panties and through to my trousers.
It started three months ago the day after I was harshly fingered by a friend. The strength of the smell can vary but it has never smelled “normal” since then. There are no other symptoms. I have been tested for all STDs and for bacterial infection. All came back negative.
In my last doctor’s appointment I was told to wear cotton underwear, stop shaving my vagina and to try not to irritate it. I have stopped using tampons to see if it gets better.
I haven’t been to a gynecologist yet. Please help me, I have stopped having sex because the smell is too embarrassing.
Yours sincerely,
Embarrassed
Norway, Age 21
_____
Hi there, Embarrassed,
It sounds like you have the wrong sorts of bacteria overgrowing in your vagina, and they are causing bad smells. You know when bacteria get onto food or old socks, and start to smell? That happens in the vagina as well. If there were no bacteria in the world, nothing would smell or go bad.
With yellow, foul-smelling discharge, you may have a bacterial imbalance called aerobic vaginitis (AV).
How to investigate and treat your vaginal symptoms
First, get a comprehensive vaginal microbiome test and visit your doctor for diagnosis.
Vaginal probiotics
Get yourself a high-dose probiotic that has as many strains that normally live in the vagina as possible. We use Life-Space Women’s Microflora Probiotic orally and V-Spot Vaginal Probiotic vaginally.
Milk kefir for healthy bacteria
Buy yourself some milk kefir grains online and learn how to ferment them at home. Make one cup of milk kefir per day and split the dose into morning and night. Drink whenever.
You can also insert some milk kefir into the vagina using a syringe (20ml or so is usually ok) and put a tampon in afterwards. Instructions for using milk kefir vaginally are here.
Garlic vaginally
Garlic is antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal, so you can pop a slightly crushed clove of garlic up your vagina (with cotton thread through it so you can pull it out) at night only. Instructions for using vaginal garlic are here.
Hydrogen peroxide vaginal douche
To give your vagina a good rinse out, you can try douching with 3% or 6% hydrogen peroxide once daily for a week, separate from the above options. Do not continually douche, but use this to rinse out discharge.
What not to do with vaginal treatments
Avoid semen in your vagina (use condoms), since semen are high in fructose, which is an energy source for disruptive vaginal bacteria. Semen also changes the pH unfavourably.
If your symptoms don’t resolve, please see your doctor or schedule a consultation with a My Vagina vulvovaginal specialist naturopath.
Warmest regards,
Aunt Vadge
Specially formulated probiotic for vaginal application to promote a healthy vaginal microbiome.
Unique, comprehensive BV, AV and 'mystery bad vag' treatment guide, one-of-a-kind system, with effective, innovative treatments.
