11 Reasons Your Vagina Smells Bad

Despite all of the marketing that tells you otherwise, there is likely nothing wrong with your vaginal odor. It’s completely natural and normal for your vagina to have some kind of scent. And, no, that scent probably won't be a field of wildflowers. It's a vagina, not a perfume counter. “When you look at what’s normal, it can have a mild or slight odor that’s not unpleasant,” Lauren Streicher, M.D., an associate professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, tells SELF. “There shouldn’t be a strong odor and it shouldn’t smell like the zoo or fish.” So if your discharge smells bad but not fishy, you’re probably OK (but you should still check out the reasons your vagina might smell below). Vaginal odor is like sweat—everyone has their own scent, Jessica Shepherd, M.D., an assistant professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology and director of Minimally Invasive Gynecology at The University of Illinois College of Medicin...