strong smell of body odor from my vagina. BO

[kb123]

I AM A 46 YEAR OLD FEMALE. I HAVE ALWAYS HAD A STRONG BO ODOR IN MY VAGINA. HOWEVER IT HAS GOTTEN MUCH STRONGER AS IVE GOTTEN OLDER. IS THIS HORMONAL AND IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO DO LESSEN THE BO SMELL. IT IS STRONG ENOUGH FOR A PERSON STANDING IN THE DOORWAY OF THE BATHROOM TO SMELL IF MY PANTS ARE DOWN. I SHOWER EVERYDAY AND HAVE GOOD HYGIENE IN GENERAL. IT IS NOT AN INFECTION IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THIS WAY..JUST STRONGER IN RECENT YEARS.

[Alicebvt]

Girls,

My vulva has a very strong smell, but my actual vaginal mucous has almost none. I know for a fact that I am healthy after long pursuing this issue. The answer?: Sebum and smegma. You have to look diligently to find anything about female sebaceous secretions / odours because most of the conventional wisdom is that it is about the vaginal mileu, i.e. infections, imbalances, diet, etc. You can almost never find out on the net searches that females produce smegma in their vulvas as do males around the head of the uncircumsised penis. Believe me, this is true, and has taken a long, arduous road to realise. Bottom line - my vulva smells the way it does because I have a very strong smell, even when HEALTHY. Scents are very difficult to characterise, much less describe, so it is certainly a judgment call. Fishy, foul, dank, ammonia-like, etc. might indeed define BV, thrush, or some other infection, but mine is much more like regular sexual (musky, perhaps cheesy, slightly piquant). The only difference is that it is pronounced, and I am far more sensitive to it (even clothed) than others, including my spouse. I do not know if being fair / freckeled has anything to do with it, as I am sun-sensitive, allergic, and tend to sweat easily, but I would say that at some point, after ruling out vaginal infections or std's, you have to understand that some women DO smell a bit. So use common sense, see your physician regularly to rule things out, but be positive and don't worry about smelling like a woman!! God Bless!

[nettie1956]

i use to have that same problem it started in my mid 30s and stop in my late 40s my gyn said some women have more of the normal bacteria in their vagina than others mine use to happen about a week before mu peroid would start it use to smell like fish no kidding and i use to think everyone could smell me but they cant smell you only you can smell it i know because i asked my mother and she said no she cant smell it but then she told me the same thing use to happen to her iam now 52 and it has stopped about 6yrs now and my daughter who is 34 has the same problem it seem to be a family thing the females that is.