Worried about vaginal lip length and odor/discharge!!

I don't mean to sound grosse with this post, Im looking for some advice so please bear with me!! :) I am twenty years old, and have dealt with minor to moderate odor and discharge for many years, at least 3 or 4. The discharge is a whitish color and is enough to bother me, maybe about a tspoon every day. I dont ever get through the day with a dry panties. I also have odor that's enough to make me self conscious about my body. It doesn't smell "fishy" just kind of like BO from sweat or something, it just doesn't smell clean or nice. It is like this no matter how often I shower or wash, within thirty minutes of getting out of the tub it smells again. I am a very clean person so this really bothers me!! I have dealt with this for so long because I am shy I guess from asking the doctor about it. Also, my vagina lips are too long; this is my biggest thing I have about my body. It literally kept me from having sex for a year longer than I would have waited had I felt "normal". They are very noticeable when I wear a thong or bathing suit. It is rare that I will go swimming due to this! My lips measure about 1 1/2 to 2" in length-I am not sure what a "normal" size is but I know mine are not. This has bothered me ever since I realized that they were not right and now me and my boyfriend of three years just broke up, and I am more anxious than ever of being with someone new. I have a 15 month old so I have gone to the Dr regularly before, so I know I don't have any stds. Anyone know how abnormal these things are, or how much surgery would cost to fix my lips? ANY ADVICE? THNX SOMUCH!

[justlittleolme]

you know... vaginas come in all shapes sizrs, smoothnesses, bumpinesses, etc...

I thought I had something SERIOUSLY wrong with me because I have these like bumpies (not like sores... like bumpy skin) near the bottom of my vagina.. more on one side.... the OB said he saw nothing out of the ordinary and we are just built different. I also have big "lips". Only one of my ex's have commented on it and he thought it was pretty cool. I'm always self concious about how "open" I am.  In pics and stuff you usually see these outer lips covering... but near the bottom mine do not meet and like I said, you can see the opening to my vagina and those bumpies on the side.


I havent had A LOT of partners by any means, but none of the ones I have had have ever said anything about it being wierd or anything... kwim?


As for discharge... I think its fairly normal. If its clumpy then it could be yeasty??? I do know that some women sweat more than others there... not sure on remedies, but its not something to be embarrassed about at all... its completley normal. Hopefully someone on here can relate and give you some tips to help :)

[need_help_plz]

There can be several things that could be causing the discharge. Starting with what comes to mind is BV Bacterial vaginosis. If you do some reading on this condition you will find out if this is more to your discharge, etc. Because some people with this don't always have symptoms at all, but with the discharge this might be something you want to ask your doctor about. I have read that another sign would be a "fishy" smell, but that is not always present like you. So to be safe I would get checked out because if this could possibly be it then it needs to be treated before it does damage. I would ever not go to the doctor if I thought something is wrong with me and you shouldn't either. I realize it can be imbarrassing but just think how many people actually go in for the same thing, the doctors see that type of stuff all the time. You can only hurt yourself by not being treated.

Best of luck.

[monkeyflower]

"I just know that none of my girlfriends in like basketball in high school ever had to deal with this same thing"

How do you know this? Did you ask? Honestly, you sound perfectly normal to me. That discharge is how your body cleans itself. The scent could be an infection, or it could be just how you smell. No one is unscented - and that's a good thing :-)

As for labia size, you are also perfectly normal. Betty Dodson has said vulvas are like snowflakes - all are different, and all are beautiful. Size, color and texture vary WIDELY from person to person. I'll also add that many, many, MANY men (and women) find larger inner labia extremely sexy. Trust me on this one. This is a huge generalization, but I bet any guy who has issues with it is probably VERY inexperienced (like you, believes it's not "normal" because he's seen few actual vulvas) or has other issues. Anyway, I really think you'd benefit from seeing some other vulvas. Check out the book "Femalia" by Joani Blank, or www.bettydodson.com. Google "large labia" and check out the first site. I think you'll see that you're in excellent company ;-)

[beautiful_starrs]

Thanks for the comments, justlittleolme! It's not clumpy or anything, as I had already examined the issue of yeast and it's not that. It's just bothersome, something that I have to deal with on a daily basis and I just know that none of my girlfriends in like basketball in high school ever had to deal with this same thing and I don't get what it is or what I could do to treat it. I am hoping, like you said, that someone will be able to identify with me and offer some advice!! Thanks again for your post, every little bit of info/advice helps!! :) :)

[AnnieBrooke]

I once asked my husband about this when a poster on the Women's Forum talked about her labia being "too big," and I asked if a man would ever think a woman's lips there are too big. He laughed and said "Never in a million years."  Apparently if a guy is in the happy position of seeing a woman's labia in person, the last thing on his mind is the size of her lips.  All labia seem to be created equal in men's minds.  

As for the discharge, ask the ob-gyn to do a culture.  Maybe it's not yeast, but it could be something, and wouldn't it matter to you to know?  Don't be too shy of the doc, he or she has seen so much that your question won't even register a "1" on the surprise scale.

Good luck, sweetheart, you are not misshapen or even unusual!  And GUYS DON'T CARE.  

Annie

[jhawley]

As a male, I can tell you that I have never once heard another male comment negatively about the size of a "woman's lips."  If they comment at all, it is a positive reaction.  For a man, no matter what a vagina looks like, it's just great to see one.  Relax and whatever you do, don't have surgery to fix something that is not broken and which, in fact, many men will find extraordinarily attractive.

[oceans3]

where did you come from??? LOL. all of a sudden vaginal lips are being talked about and men come out of the woodwork! see poster, you have nothing to worry about!  nice to have a mans perspective on these things.

[beautiful_starrs]

Thank you guys SO MUCH for all the great tips!!! You have really made me feel better and encouraged me. I agree with oceans and really appreciate the male feedback as well!! :) Thanks for caring-you guys rock! :)

[sunseeker]

Here's another comment from a guy....IMHO there is no such thing as an ugly vagina,  different maybe but never ugly.  Since (most) women arn't in the habit of looking at other womans crotches, you're probably just comparing yourself to what you've seen in gym class showers,  or maybe sex ed books.  Be at ease that you don't have anything down there that is deformed.

As far as discharge, I'd say go see a doctor. They would be the best ones to test for a problem.  You mention its not a "bad" odor, so maybe thats just the way your body works.

BTW, A female friend has commented that she wears pads 24/7 because she's always wet down there.

[hawaiiangirlie]

i know exactly how you feel. i have big lips too, and ive had them since i was young, lets say, since i discovered my vagina! haha i thought it was normal but i was still ashamed of them. i'd hear girls in school, making sick jokes about "big lips"...callling it "teryaki" and "beef curton" and thats when i started to get VERY insecure. i was in a relationship for 3 years and and whenever we'd make love, i was ashamed of him seeing me. i mean he saw, but RARELY.  i was ashamed ashamed ashamed. that was almost 2 years ago and i'm presently in a serious relationship, we're a lot more open and he helped me not to feel too insecure in the beginning, until one day he asked me, why it was like "that"? and i near lost my soul. i was so hurt. i know he didnt mean to hurt me but he did. the thing that made me hurt worse was the fact that he had been with an AMOUNT of girls already, so the fact that i had to be the FIRST to stand out made me just wanna crawl up and hide. he said its not a bad thing, he just thought it was from having sex with a lot of  people. so im still very self consious, but i know i can't change it. but if i could....I WOULD.

[Dreamz08]

:O:O:O i have EXACTLY the same problems! :( but its 2 embarressin 2 tell the doctor or anyone about !

[six32010]

i'm currently in high school and when i was very young my mom died, so i have been with my dad since before i can even remember. i have kind of large lips and it wae something i would always worry about because i didn't know who to talk to about it or to see if it was normal. but this really helped me out so i wanted to say thanks :)
and i have one question,
i'm 15 now and have never been to like a doctor for anything like this?
should i have gone before or when should i start to go?

[MzButterfly]

I too have large labia lips.... I am somewhat used to them now. I have been to the strip clubs, where I've had the chance to see more woman with the same looking lips. So I'm alittle more confindent now... But it is just the way you were born!  Not from having tooo many sex partners. Mine was like that before sex partners.... So a boyfriend asked why they were so big? I replied "better to hold onto you" He loves them......And I call them Butterflies..... They are rare and special ladies.....we got that good, good... down there......you are unique........

p.s oooh and I've found that the oder comes from different things.....After ur doctor says its not a std or infection, try changing your diet, What u put in comes out......

[sol_ange]

i'm 18 and i've had that 2 same problems since i can remember. i don't know how big my lips are but they stand out on my panties wich is the thing i dislike the most about them. besides that, they are always wet and i too can't get dry panties. i used to wash myself 3 to 4 times a day because of that and got to a point when i even used pads every day for like a month. also like you, i retarded my sexual life because of it, and for +/- half a year we did it in the dark, and i didn't let him look (all the time he said he liked the touch and that nothing bothered him but i didnt believe him even though it was true).
the most interesting thing i read in your comment was that it started happening about half an hour after you wash, and it is exactly like that with me its always coming down.
but end of the story, i finally lost my shame and told the doctor everything (except for the big lips, i'm still getting courage for that) and she is now working on it, she got some fluid from me and i'm picking up the results this next week. and my boyfriend can look now ;)

P.S: be happy, you are normal, and you dealt with this problems a lot better than i did

[salvichick]

Ok, first of all monkeyflower is wrong. It's not normal, it sounds like BV (Bacterial Vagenosis). I actually had BV and had those symptoms about 6 months ago. It's nothing extremely dangerous but if you dont treat now, in the long run it will. So, the treatment is easy. For me, I just had to drink 4 pills a day, 2 at a time for a week(that my doctor prescribed). and no sex for 10 days and you should be ok after that. Now, regarding to the big lips, I have big lips too, it's nothing clinically wrong.  

[Starlighta]

I am in the same position, literally exactly the same discharge and all. And I have been extremely self conscious about it, so for me seeing people say it's normal and that guys don't care is a huge uplifting feeling thanks so much x