Having period blood that smells like something died inside your vagina can be terrifying and gross, but there are reasons why this happens and things you can do about it. The first element of this deathly odour is understanding the problem so you can use the best treatment.
Why your vagina and period blood smells like death
The reason your vagina smells like death is that there is an overgrowth of the wrong sort of bacteria. Maybe you put a tampon in and forgot about it, or you may also have bacterial vaginosis (BV) or a sexually transmitted infection (STI) like trich or gonorrhoea.
What you’re aiming for – a healthy vaginal microbiome
In a healthy vaginal microbiome, we typically see an abundance of protective harmonious microbes that keep the vagina healthy, often lactobacilli species, but a healthy vaginal microbiome can look many ways. Not having a vagina that smells like death is at the top of the list.
What is causing this dead meat smell?
The foul smell in your vagina is being produced via the same process of rotting meat or food.
We produce ‘stuff’ as part of our life cycle (gas, faeces, carbon dioxide from breath), and so do bacteria. These metabolites interact with the fluids in your vagina, and chemistry happens, creating odours.
What can be incredibly confusing is why me, why now.
How to treat a vagina that smells like death
How to get a test and the right treatment
An imbalance of vaginal microbes is producing this putrid smell, but the cause of that imbalance should be investigated.
First, visit a doctor or sexual health clinic and be examined, to ensure there isn’t something stuck up there that shouldn’t be, or something else wrong. While you’re there, get a vaginal swab, including an STI test, to rule those out.
I’ve been tested and treated, and it didn’t work – what now?
If you’ve already been down this road, and want more answers, get an at-home comprehensive vaginal microbiome test and check the treatment section below for some ideas.
If you aren’t sure what to do, book in with a My Vagina practitioner. We know what to do, and it’s not more antibiotics!
Things to consider with vaginal odour
- Have you lost something inside your vagina? (Condoms, tampons, tissues, etc.)
- Have you had unprotected sex with a new partner recently?
- Are you prone to vaginal issues and perhaps need a more comprehensive solution?
- Are you aged 40-55 (in perimenopause or postmenopause) and things are changing?
- Are more things going wrong with your health overall?
A vagina problem may be the symptom of another problem in the rest of your body, so if you have recurrent problems, it can pay to book in to see a practitioner who can help you work it out.
Non-antibiotic treatment options for a foul-smelling period
The goal, therefore, is to increase the number of protective microbes so that when the environment changes, you don’t experience such a sharp shift to the negative.
You first need to establish the cause (see your doctor, get a test), then look at your treatment options.
Antibiotic treatments for vaginal infections
Antibiotics will be prescribed by a doctor, after a test and examination is performed.
If the odour is recurrent, antibiotics may not work for very long. If that’s the case, see Killing BV for some different treatment options.
More resources for vaginal odour
- See suggestions for managing a bad-smelling vagina
- Tools and tips for clearing up a non-infected smelly vagina
If you have ongoing issues and nothing is working, please make an appointment with a practitioner who specialises in vaginal infections.
Understanding vaginal bacterial imbalances or infections
When the wrong bacteria colonise your vagina, they change the way your vagina smells and behaves for the worse. This is usually called bacterial vaginosis (BV) or aerobic vaginitis (AV), but can be caused by STIs or other more (rarer) serious problems with the reproductive organs.
In BV, AV and STIs, the normal protective bacteria that live in your vagina, typically the various species of lactobacilli, become displaced by unfriendly bacteria, leaving your vagina in an unhappy state that it is struggling to recover from.
You may experience bad smells, unusual discharge, itch, soreness, redness or inflammation. You may not notice something wrong until you get your period and the environment changes.
Why does period blood change the way my vagina smells?
Your period changes your vaginal ecosystem temporarily. If you have an overabundance of unfriendly bacteria living there already, they can thrive in menstrual blood for a few reasons: hormonal changes, pH changes and iron in the blood.
How hormones change your vaginal microbiome
The low levels of oestrogen during your period mean there is less food (glycogen) in your vaginal cells for your protective lactobacilli species, so numbers naturally decrease during this menstruation.
You can’t change this. Oestrogen is always low during your period and is one of the reasons you even get your period.
Why vaginal pH matters
Menstrual blood has a less acidic pH than usual, which disruptive vaginal flora prefer. You can’t alter the pH of menstrual blood.
Usually, lactobacilli species keep the vagina acidic because they produce lactic acid. When there are fewer, there is less lactic acid. Less lactic acid means less defences against opportunistic bacteria.
Iron as a microbial substrate
The iron in your menstrual blood is a critical substrate for almost all bacteria. You can’t change the iron levels, so don’t think eating less iron will help! It won’t – it will lower your immunity and worsen the problem.
Ensure you have plenty of iron from food to support your energy levels and body.
A period: the perfect storm for a period that smells like death
Sometimes after your period, the ‘bloom’ of odour-causing bacteria will shrink, your protective flora will increase with the higher oestrogen levels, and your vagina will go back to normal.
Consider this a warning shot, however, that your vagina has lurkers and malingerers, and next period they are likely to come back out again.
References1–5
- 1.Mogilnicka I, Bogucki P, Ufnal M. Microbiota and Malodor—Etiology and Management. IJMS. Published online April 20, 2020:2886. doi:10.3390/ijms21082886
- 2.Hill GB. The microbiology of bacterial vaginosis. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Published online August 1993:450-454. doi:10.1016/0002-9378(93)90339-k
- 3.Sobel JD. Bacterial Vaginosis. Annu Rev Med. Published online February 2000:349-356. doi:10.1146/annurev.med.51.1.349
- 4.Donders GGG, Bellen G, Grinceviciene S, Ruban K, Vieira-Baptista P. Aerobic vaginitis: no longer a stranger. Research in Microbiology. Published online November 2017:845-858. doi:10.1016/j.resmic.2017.04.004
- 5.Tempera G, Furneri PM. Management of Aerobic Vaginitis. Gynecol Obstet Invest. Published online 2010:244-249. doi:10.1159/000314013
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