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Smell from Vulva

For weeks I have had an awful smell that I believe is coming from my vulva. The nurse thought maybe it was hormonal but blood tests and internal swabs came back negative and they have said that this is just my natural smell.
This can't be my natural smell as on some days it is rancid and at times I feel wet. I wash 2 or 3 times a day as I'm sure others can smell me

Has anyone else ever explained this?
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134578 tn?1693250592
COMMUNITY LEADER
First guess would be bacterial vaginosis, since a bad smell is one of its hallmark symptoms.  You said "internal swabs came up negative," were they testing for BV?

Did you have a standard pelvic exam, with a speculum and the doctor looking up inside your vagina?  Second guess would be a forgotten tampon, but it would have to be a poor job if a medical person did a pelvic exam and actually looked and didn't see an old tampon.

Have you had any odd periods or a recent miscarriage? Sometimes a little bit of tissue can linger in the uterus, but I haven't heard those are related so much to a bad smell.
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Thanks for your reply...
They gave me strong antibiotics to treat both BV and Trichomoniasis (although I am not securely active)
I wasn't offered an examination of any kind just the swabs.
She then said she had asked advice from someone in gynaecology and that they told her that if they come back negative there is nothing they can do.
I wasn't offered an appointment with a doctor to investigate further.

I don't use tampons as I am on the Mini pill and haven't had periods since starting them.
How did they get the swabs into where it matters if you weren't having a pelvic exam? Usually it takes lying on the table with your feet in the stirrups.  And, where you say "she had asked advice from someone in gynaecology and that they told her that if they come back negative there is nothing they can do," it sounds like you are saying they came back negative. But you also say they gave you strong antibiotics for BV and trich. (They did that before they knew if the swabs were negative or positive?) Or are you saying the swabs were positive, and you took the antibiotics, and now you still have the smell and they are now telling you in advance that they won't give you more just on the basis of the smell and warning you that if you don't have a positive swab, they won't help you?

If you've been on the mini-pill a while, some say it can alter the pH balance in the vagina and encourage bacteria to grow. Home remedies for that include vinegar-water douches, and also oral probiotics (from the refrigerator case at a health-food shop, not just a bottle of pills). I've never thought douching was a good idea, and I haven't ever seen much difference with probiotics when I would take them for various things, but you never know. I'd think changing off the mini-pill would be faster than probiotics, if the mini-pill is really what is triggering the problem.

A nurse phoning it in to the gynecology department doesn't really inspire confidence that your diagnosis was final. If you can, get another consult, but with an ob/gyn.
They gave me the antibiotics at the same time as taking my swabs and yes the smell is still there.
There was no investigation, it was just like a sweep swab.

Yes they came back negative and told me that there was nothing else they could do.... it was more likely my natural smell which can happen.
I went for bloods to check hormone levels and they too came back negative.



What does "I went for bloods to check hormone levels and they too came back negative" mean? It's not possible that they found no hormones.
Thanks for the input. I came on here for help not to be made to feel stupid.
Please refrain from commenting further.
Have you ever been sexually active? If you have been, have they done any other STD testing besides trich?

When you are washing so often, what are you washing with? Is it harsh? Scented? It could just be disrupting the really delicate balance in the vagina, even if it isn't causing an infection.

When you said your hormone tests came back negative, I'm assuming that means there just aren't any issues with your hormones? Is that correct?

Did the doctor smell what you smell? Do you smell it all the time, or just when you're using the bathroom, or changing your clothes...? If it's just when you're using the bathroom, could it be your urine that has the smell, and that's what needs to be tested?

Hang in there. I'm sure it's very frustrating.

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