Something else? Ask Aunt Vadge – bottom left of your screen!
Dear Aunt Vadge,
My boyfriend and I had sex for the first time last week. We were both virgins and he used a condom. We were very careful to make sure it didn’t tear or come off or anything like that. I also peed afterwards like I had always been told.
The next day I noticed a weird smell from my vagina. I don’t know how to explain it. It wasn’t really fishy, but it didn’t smell good or normal.
Then I started my period. I thought maybe the smell was just from my period, though I had never noticed it before. The smell went away after a day or two though, so I assumed I was right about it being my period.
A couple of days after my period ended we had sex again, also with a condom, and were careful. Afterwards the smell was back. I meant to mention it to him, but forgot, and then forgot about the smell too, so I’m not sure if it went away before we had sex again three days later. Then I noticed the smell again.
I’ve considered going to the doctor, I’m just trying to find the time. I read somewhere that it could just be the condom. Could that be it? I don’t want to suggest he buy different ones if it doesn’t make any sense anyway.
Yours,
Confused
Dear Confused,
Yes – a weird smell after sex with a condom really can come down to the condom itself, so suggesting a different brand to your boyfriend isn’t silly at all. Go right ahead.
Condoms have a smell of their own – the latex, and whatever lubricant or spermicide is on them – and that can mingle with your own scent and come out a bit funky. Some people are also a little sensitive to latex or to the lube, which can throw your natural smell off for a day or so. So shop around together: look for unscented, sensitive-skin or spermicide-free ones, or try a latex-free variety and see if it settles. Not all condoms are created equal.
There’s a second half to it, though. Even with a condom doing its job, sex itself can give your vagina a little nudge – the friction, the lubricant, a brief shift in your pH – and that can throw up a temporary whiff that clears on its own in a day or two. Which is exactly the pattern you’re describing: smell turns up after sex, then drifts off again. When you’re brand new to sex and to a new partner, your vaginal balance is meeting someone new for the first time, and it can take a few rounds to find its feet.
In our clinical work, a smell that comes and goes around sex can be a small microbiome wobble – but we always check to rule out anything more before assuming that’s all it is. It’s worth knowing what’s normal, too – have a read of vaginal smells and what’s normal, because a faint change of scent after sex is incredibly ordinary.
That said, because it keeps coming back, it’s worth ruling out a low-grade case of bacterial vaginosis (BV) or a yeast infection. A recurring smell that shows up after sex, even with no other symptoms and nothing between times, is a classic early BV picture. A quick swab at the doctor when you can find the time will sort that question out and put your mind at rest. There’s also a free guide to treating BV on the site if you want to read up while you’re waiting.
If the doctor’s swab comes back clear and you’re still getting odd smells, a comprehensive vaginal microbiome test – which you order online and do at home – will show you exactly what’s living down there. The standard tests at the doctor’s are usually cultures, which miss a lot that these newer tests pick up. If you’d like a hand making sense of the results or working out a plan, you’re welcome to book an appointment with us.
In the meantime, you don’t need to do anything to your vagina to manage this. Skip douching and any ‘feminine wash’ products – they strip the good bacteria and tend to make smells worse, not better. Warm water on the outside is all it needs.
So: swap the condoms and see, keep half an eye on the pattern, and get a swab when you get a window. Odds are it’s nothing more than your body finding its rhythm. Enjoy each other.
Warm regards,
Aunt Vadge
This is general information, not a substitute for personalised medical advice.
