Vaginal Odor: 10 Causes & 7 Ways To Fix It

Here, you'll find exactly what you need to know to tackle vaginal odor. We'll cover what counts as normal, when odor might signal a problem, what to do about it, and which popular home remedies are basically useless.

Nobody wants to discover they've got an unwanted body odor. It's embarrassing and can chip away at self-esteem. Even without a partner ever mentioning it, you might still worry your vagina smells too strong, which can stop you from fully relaxing and enjoying yourself — including when your partner is eating your pussy.

But if a partner has actually commented on it, that can genuinely affect your self-image and body confidence.

Try: These sex positions if you are feeling unconfident.

Some odor is completely normal and healthy – Noticing a scent, or having someone else notice it, doesn't automatically mean something's wrong. Most of the time, what people call "vaginal odor" isn't even coming from the vagina itself.

Unless there's an infection at play — bacterial, yeast, or certain STIs can all cause unpleasant smells — what you're smelling usually originates outside the vagina. The outer labia specifically contain apocrine sweat glands nestled in hair follicles, and these are responsible for the stronger smell people typically associate with vaginal odor [1].

Truly, some level of natural odor is always going to be there – And it can shift from sweet to musky to metallic depending on where you are in your cycle, when you last showered, whether you've recently had sex (and used a condom or not), or whether you've been sweating from exercise. A sour smell falls squarely within the range of normal too.

Every body carries its own scent – When clean, it's usually neutral, and some people even find their own scent pleasant. It might genuinely turn your partner on, the same way some women love the musky smell of a man fresh from the gym or after a day sweating outdoors. This natural scent varies in intensity from person to person.

Read: How to smell good for your partner.

Most men genuinely enjoy how you smell and taste – And nobody who makes you feel bad about your natural scent deserves your time, as long as you're keeping up with reasonable hygiene. Odds are you're far more fixated on your own scent than he ever is — that's true for basically everyone. We're all a little self-conscious! None of that means you actually need to eliminate vaginal odor.

Full guide: How to make your vagina smell and taste great.

That said…

Some smells can genuinely signal something's off. Talk to your doctor if you notice any of the following, particularly alongside unusual discharge, itching, or burning.

• Yeasty – sweet, beer-like, or bread-like
• Fishy – an unmistakably unpleasant smell
• Rotten – like garbage or decay
• Bleach-like – a faint chemical smell resembling cleaning solution
• Musty – like a damp basement

10 Things That Cause Vaginal Odor

Plenty of factors can trigger vaginal odor, and not every one requires treatment. Understanding what's driving the smell is the first step toward addressing it.

1. Sweat

As mentioned, the outer labia house sweat glands capable of producing a strong scent, especially under certain conditions. That sweat contains oils that bacteria feed on and break down, creating odor the same way it happens under your arms.

There's no need to panic here. Your body naturally hosts plenty of bacteria, many of which you actually need to stay healthy. Problems arise only when the wrong bacteria show up, or the balance shifts.

Excessive sweating, medically called hyperhidrosis [2], can be one culprit, and this awkward condition has several possible triggers.

For instance, SSRIs used to treat depression can increase sweating [3], as can adrenaline, amphetamines, and pseudoephedrine, among other substances [4]. More sweat means more fuel for odor-causing bacteria, leaving you searching for a real fix.

Anxiety and stress can also trigger sweating. Even liver or kidney issues, though they seem unrelated, can increase perspiration and contribute to smell.

Sometimes hyperhidrosis has no identifiable cause, but it can mask your naturally mild scent with something more pungent.

2. A Changed Bathing Routine

If odor shifted after you tweaked your bathing habits, that change might be the culprit. Douching specifically can throw off your vagina's pH and disrupt its natural bacterial balance (the microbiome), potentially leading to a smelly infection.

Douching isn't healthy in general, honestly. The vagina cleans itself, so there's no need for internal intervention. Cleaning inside can actually damage delicate tissue, raising your odds of developing an infection that brings its own unpleasant smells and symptoms.

That's exactly why caution matters when researching fixes. Take anything not backed by real science with a grain of salt.

Related: Check out our guide to shower sex and these super-pleasurable sex positions for the shower.

3. Medication

A new prescription or supplement might explain a shift in odor. Some medications carry their own smell, or generate smelly byproducts in the body [4]. Antibiotics and antifungals, in particular, wipe out specific microorganisms, shifting your natural flora and potentially triggering odor as a side effect.

4. Your Underwear

Noticed a change after switching underwear brands? That could well be the cause. Synthetic fabrics sometimes trap sweat closer to skin or increase perspiration overall, boosting odor. Skipping fresh underwear regularly can also let fluids and bacteria accumulate, creating a smell of its own.

A new laundry detergent could also be behind it if it contains fragrances or dyes that irritate sensitive skin.

You've probably also heard thongs get blamed for odor. Since they sit closer to the anus than other underwear styles, that theory sounds plausible, though no research actually confirms it. If you'd rather stick with more conventional underwear advice anyway, there's no harm in doing so.

5. Sex

Sex itself can trigger odor, though it's typically short-lived and clears up over time or after urinating. During sex, your bodily fluids mix with your partner's, and the resulting combination isn't always pleasant.

Sex can also introduce infections that bring their own smells.

6. Your Period

You've probably noticed a different scent during menstruation. A faint blood smell is completely typical, and a metallic note is nothing to worry about, even if you can catch a whiff through your clothing.

7. Period Products

Menstrual products themselves can add to body and vaginal odor. Pads absorb blood along with sweat and body oils and can start smelling stronger if not changed often enough.

Tampons rarely cause external odor unless left in too long, which risks a dangerous condition called toxic shock syndrome [5]. Even without developing TSS, an overworn tampon can cause odor and smelly discharge [6].

Get medical help right away if a tampon feels stuck.

Though less common, IUDs or menstrual cups can occasionally attract bacteria that lead to odor as well.

8. Infections

Several infection types can cause vaginal odor alongside other symptoms.

• Yeast infections often bring thick, cottage-cheese-like discharge with a sweet or beer-like smell
• Bacterial vaginosis (BV) develops when good and bad bacteria fall out of balance
• Certain STIs cause odor too — trichomoniasis, chlamydia, and gonorrhea can all be responsible, and all respond to antibiotics

9. Illness and Underlying Conditions

A handful of medical conditions can also trigger vaginal odor.

Trimethylaminuria, for example, prevents the body from breaking down a specific compound, leaving behind a fishy smell [7].

Rarer causes include rectovaginal fistula — a tear connecting the anus and vagina — and certain cancers. Excessive sweating is also a documented symptom of hyperthyroidism.

Cervical and vaginal cancers specifically can produce odor, and treating the underlying disease often resolves it too.

Finally, people with diabetes tend to develop infections, and their accompanying symptoms, more easily, so keeping an eye out for skin infections matters. Women with diabetes also face higher odds of yeast and bacterial infections [8].

10. Hormones and Hormonal Shifts

Hormonal changes can influence odor too. Pregnancy commonly brings changes in discharge, which can also indicate infections discussed earlier. If you're pregnant and suddenly noticing your own scent more, an amplified sense of smell might just be making you seem more odorous than you actually are.

Menopause can bring odor changes too, sometimes linked to infections caused by shifting vaginal microflora [9]. Hot flashes during menopause can also increase sweating and, in turn, odor [2].

Related: Sex After Menopause – Overcome These 3 Issues & Make It Orgasmic

7 Ways To Treat, Prevent, or Reduce Vaginal Odor

There's no single universal fix — the right approach depends entirely on what's causing it…

1. Bathe Regularly

If sweat is driving the smell, several habits can help.

• Bathe often, and dry off completely before dressing.
• Use wipes or a washcloth for quick cleanups when a full shower isn't possible.
• Swap out sweaty clothing as soon as you can, even if that means changing underwear more than once a day.
• Use a sweat-absorbing body powder or similar product.

You may need to be extra vigilant in summer or after intense workouts, when sweating and odor both ramp up.

2. Try Antiperspirant and Deodorant

Beyond bathing, antiperspirant and deodorant applied to your inner thighs and the outer labia can help. Plenty of products combine both functions, though they work differently.

• Antiperspirants reduce sweat by blocking sweat glands.
• Deodorants shift skin pH to make it less hospitable to bacteria.

Applying either before bed tends to work better than in the morning, since it has all night to take effect. Bonus: it may also cut down on inner-thigh chafing!

3. Wash Gently

For cleaning the outer genital area (the vulva), choose a gentle, unscented product — fragrances often irritate. Dr. Jen Gunter, gynecologist and author of The Vagina Bible, notes you don't need to wash the inner labia at all, and if you do, water alone is best since that tissue matches what's inside the vagina [1].

Dr. Gunter also notes products can be used around the anus and outer labia, and more frequent cleaning may be needed if urine or fecal leakage is an issue. Soap in particular can strip your skin's natural protective barrier, so a gentle cleanser works best. In fact, the same product suitable for your face often works fine on the outer labia too.

There's no shortage of options, and marketing terms like "gentle" or "natural" don't always mean much, which explains why even those products can occasionally cause irritation. Here are Dr. Gunter's guidelines for choosing wisely, though if your current routine isn't causing issues, there's no need to switch:

• Skip dyes and fragrances.
• Look for a pH between 5.3 and 5.6.

And of course, stop using anything that causes irritation.

Be cautious with wipes too — they feel cleansing but can actually irritate. A gentle cleanser and washcloth, or even a bidet, can get you properly clean after bathroom use and help curb odor. Specialized cleaning tools for hard-to-reach spots in the shower can help too.

4. Tweak Your Diet

Diet doesn't connect directly to the vagina, but what you eat can still shape your body's overall odor. Caffeine, alcohol, and spicy food are known to increase sweating, for example.

Garlic, onions, and asparagus all contain compounds that affect body odor broadly, not just vaginally. Cutting back on these might improve your overall scent, odor included.

A sugar-heavy diet passes through your system via urine, and that sugar can sometimes fuel yeast overgrowth on the vulva, leading to a smelly yeast infection — one more reason to moderate sugar intake.

Finally, some women notice eating pineapple improves how their vagina tastes.

5. Stay Hydrated

Dehydration makes sweat smell stronger, including sweat from the apocrine glands in the outer labia. Drinking enough water can help if sweat is the underlying cause.

6. Keep A Healthy Weight

Carrying excess weight can contribute to body odor generally, including vaginal odor, both by increasing sweat and making thorough cleaning trickier. Maintaining a healthy weight may help as a result.

7. Use Condoms

If odor tends to worsen after your partner's semen enters your body, condoms might be worth trying, even without needing them for birth control. Latex has its own distinct smell, and some women notice a chlorine or bleach-like scent with certain condoms — non-latex options, including internal condoms, exist too.

7 Remedies Without Real Evidence Behind Them

Unfortunately, most popular home remedies for vaginal odor don't actually deliver. Some can even cause new problems, even when they seem to mask the smell.

1. Eating Fruit

Fruit won't change how you smell or taste, since it gets absorbed into the bloodstream and very little actually reaches the vagina [1].

2. Supplements

There's no shortage of supplements marketed for vaginal health, but we couldn't find solid research backing their effectiveness for odor or overall vaginal wellness.

Our best guess is the same reason fruit doesn't work — the relevant compounds never actually make it from your digestive system to your vagina.

3. Douching

Douching might mask your natural scent temporarily, but it won't eliminate odor and can actually cause infections that produce their own smells. Perfumes work similarly, covering odor without addressing the actual cause.

Along the same lines, there's no need for a special "feminine wash" either. As mentioned above, a gentle, non-irritating cleanser gets the job done.

4. Cotton Underwear

We've all heard cotton underwear is the way to go since it breathes better than synthetic fabrics like polyester or nylon. Loose-fitting clothing gets recommended too. However…

The research supporting this isn't particularly strong.

What matters most is choosing well-fitted clothing, underwear included, that doesn't chafe or irritate. Cotton lining in the crotch can help absorb discharge and reduce odor. Changing underwear regularly also helps keep smell at bay.

Some people find going with minimal layers, or skipping underwear entirely, helps too. Sleeping naked is another option if letting things breathe overnight seems to help.

5. Peeing After Sex

Everyone's heard that peeing after sex wards off UTIs. But the research is genuinely mixed — some studies find a benefit, others find no connection at all, and some even find an association in the opposite direction. Without a solid meta-analysis, there's no firm consensus yet.

Regardless of the UTI question, odor usually isn't even a typical UTI symptom, so this advice may not be especially relevant here anyway.

Bottom line: there's no urgent need to rush to the bathroom post-sex. That said, if it's a habit you can't shake, it's unlikely to cause harm as long as UTIs aren't already an issue for you.

6. Probiotics

Probiotics might genuinely help if odor stems from an infection, particularly a recurring one. Keep in mind most research on probiotics and vaginal health looks at probiotics applied directly to the vagina, not ones taken orally [10]. Yet most probiotics marketed for vaginal health on shelves are oral supplements.

Home remedies won't help much if you're treating the wrong issue entirely (even with at-home test kits available), so seeing a doctor to confirm whether it's bacterial, yeast, or something else ensures you get the right treatment.

7. Boric Acid

Regular boric acid use can cause more harm than good. While boric acid may help with vaginal odor and certain infections, that's because it's toxic to cells generally. It kills off unhealthy bacteria and yeast, but it can also irritate your own vaginal cells in the process.

Given that, treat boric acid as a last-resort option, only under medical guidance, for tackling a persistent fishy smell.

When It's Time To See A Doctor

Reach out to your doctor if you notice a sudden shift in vaginal odor, especially paired with unusual or smelly discharge (beyond the typical white or clear discharge throughout your cycle), fever, pain, itching, or other discomfort.

If excessive sweating seems to be driving the smell, or contributing to other body odor issues, a doctor can help address that too.

Uncertain whether your natural scent falls within normal range? Ask your OBGYN. You might learn there's nothing to fix at all.

If an infection is confirmed, your doctor can prescribe antibiotics or another appropriate treatment to clear up odor and any related symptoms.

Now that you understand the difference between typical and concerning vaginal odor, you can hopefully relax a bit. Chances are good nothing's actually wrong. But if something ever does seem off, you'll know exactly what to watch for and how to respond.

March 29, 2023