all 8 comments

[–]glueb 19 points20 points ago

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You should probably ask a doctor and have your bits looked at.

[–]Tiseye 10 points11 points ago

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You need to go to a doctor.

[–]ella_the_oddling 5 points6 points ago

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You definitely need to go see a gynecologist. The internet might be able to surrender some clues as to what might be going on but the fact is you can't really know 100% without going to a doctor and having them run some tests. Sounds like a bacteria issue though, maybe bacterial vaginosis? You said a 'very gross' odor, is it fishy?

[–]ohchick 4 points5 points ago

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Sounds like a bacteria issue. I have had a couple of these since I hit my late twenties. Def go to the gyno, tell him your issue, and have them send the swab out for testing. Mine said everything was fine but I told him I was concerned so he sent it off for more testing and it came back as a bacterial infection. Nothing sexually transmitted. Just an imbalance that got out of control. He will give you antibiotics and once you get rid of this one be sure to wear cotton panties, stay hydrated, and if you're sensitive down on your lady bits use a cleaner that's made for cleaning those parts. I've started doing this after my last one last month and I've never felt better.

[–]glennington 4 points5 points ago

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Don't worry! Your symptoms are actually pretty common-- but because women rarely discuss things like periods and yeast infections with one another we often have a tendency to freak out over totally normal experiences.

A lot of women experience changes down there following their cycle. The pH level of your lady parts is normally somewhere around 3.5 and 4.5. However, since the pH level of blood is much higher, changes in pH often accompany menstruation as well as the time directly after menstruation. Bacteria tend to thrive in higher pH environments, and as a result many women experience bacterial vaginosis as a result of higher pH levels during and after mestruation. Some women may develop yeast infections after menstruation if the body tries to return to a normal pH level and over-corrects, therefore killing the good, yeast-fighting bacteria that was already present.

These infections are totally normal and the bacterial one tends to clear itself up on its own in healthy women. You should go to the doctor if you are unsure whether you are getting yeast infections or bacterial infections, but once you know which one you are more prone to around your cycle than you can easily deal with them. As I said, BV generally goes away on its own but if the symptoms last longer than you would like or are more invasive or painful than normal, you should see a doctor to get placed on a low-dose antibiotic. For yeast infections, most can be cured by over the counter inserts and creams such as monistat. However, if you happen to have decent insurance, the copay for the generic form of the prescription drug Diflucan is often cheaper than OTC Monistat and works quicker and internally.

I learned all of this from my doctor after experiencing similar symptoms once and freaking out. However, I did some research to back myself up in case you need more proof and many of the sites I found listed ways to combat pH changes during your period leading to infection. This site is the most helpful I think in that it backs up what I said, lists ways to avoid BV, and isn't secretly trying to get you to invest in some certain brand of tampon: http://eon.businesswire.com/news/eon/20100217005268/en/Bacterial-Vaginosis/BV/infection

tl;dr-- pH changes during period often cause either BV or yeast infections and once you know what you have you can easily treat it.

[–]glennington 6 points7 points ago

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Also-- it goes against our first instinct as women, but when vaginal odor increases or becomes more smelly, you should actually avoid many products aimed to correct vaginal odor. Douches are possibly the worst of all offenders as they clean deeper inside the vagina, not just the outside of it, and douches also often lead to BV which causes the odor we were trying to avoid in the first place. Contrary to popular beliefs, our vaginas are not gross, dirty, or something to be ashamed about and they do not need to be internally cleaned and scrubbed. The human body is incredibly effective at maintaining the perfect amount of good, necessary bacteria in the vagina while fighting bad, smell inducing behavior. When odor occurs, step away from the douches and scented soaps and instead go to a doctor or let your body run its natural course.

[–]bendingbeauty 2 points3 points ago

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Absolutely see a doctor. It can be really scary and embarrassing, and may instinctively feel counter-intuitive to purposely show this problem to someone, but If there is a serious issue it's much better to go through some brief embarrassment and get it solved than to leave it.

In the meantime, there are

[–]bendingbeauty -3 points-2 points ago

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Sorry folks on my phone..

There are products you can purchase that may help you feel a little cleaner. Check the feminine products aisle of your drugstore.