quote:

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Originally posted by Pink768:
Why is it that my guy friends are always talking about how they love the way a girl's vagina smells? I've also read alot of book when the author comments that something smells (great)like a woman's vagina. Are vagina's suppossed to have a certain smell? And do they appeal to some guys and repel others?

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I dont really know Iv'e heard they hate the smell
I dont know sorry

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Jenny kissed me when we met, jumping from the chair she sat in;
Time, you thief, who love to get sweets into your list, put that in:
Say I'm weary, say I'm sad, say that health and wealth have missed me, say I'm growing old, but add,
Jenny kissed me.
-Leigh Hunt
(1838)

[This message has been edited by Spiral (edited August 24, 2000).]

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peace, music and anarchy
-erYn

Healthy, reasonably recently washed women's genitals do *not* smell like dead fish. They really don't. Trust me on this one.

There is occasionally a little smell of saltiness to women's genitals, a little like the way the ocean smells... know why? Because our bodies are mostly made of salt water and various types of proteins, much like the ocean and the critters that live in it. However, that's generally a really pretty pleasant, clean sort of smell.

It is possible, even common, for women's genitals to smell kind of musky when they are aroused or during particular parts of their menstrual cycles. That's also generally not an unpleasant kind of smell. Some people do find it genuinely very arousing and are quite fond of it.

Women's genitals sometimes can smell "off" or "bad" or somewhat "fishy" IF one of the following conditions is present:

1) She hasn't washed too recently. Crotches, like armpits, get mighty sweaty in the normal course of our daily lives, and yeah, if you don't wash up, you'll eventually start to grow nice little bacteria colonies down there and they'll smell kinda funky.

Solution: soap and water, baby.

2) She has old semen in her vagina and/or on her vulva. Semen, unfortunately, is not like fine wine. When semen ages, it often smells pretty darned rank. Both semen and vaginal fluids are also very good bacterial breeding grounds. The combination of aged semen and flourishing bacteria can make a girl smell less than fresh.

Solution: WEAR A CONDOM, DRAT IT ALREADY! If there is no semen going into the vagina, chances are it's not going to get old and bad-smelling in there, either. Aside from that, soap and water will do you just fine.

3) Many kinds of vaginal infections, including yeast infections and trichomoniasis, can smell bad or "off" or "yeasty" or "cheeselike" or "fishy."
If something smells "off" to you, and soap and water doesn't do the trick, go see a doctor pronto, 'cause it might be one of those sneaky little infections.

But honestly, people, women's genitals simply DO NOT generally smell bad or offensive. If you are concerned with how your own genitals might smell, here's what to do to find out:

Go wash your hands with unscented soap. Rinse and dry them thoroughly. Masturbate, and/or put a finger or two into your own vagina. Give that finger or two a sniff. I guarantee you that it's not an awful experience. The smell is usually very mild and often kind of pleasant.

Yes, there is a smell, just like our bodies themselves have a smell to them -- you know how if you stick your head in someone else's clothes closet, it smells like them? Same thing here. You will smell like your own normal happy healthy body, and that is absolutely fine. You're a human being, not an air freshener, for crying out loud. Regular showers are all you or anyone else should really need to smell A-OK, unless there's an infection, in which case you need to shower and then see a doctor.

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Hanne Blank
Co-Editor, Scarleteen

hope this isn't too explicit, but here goes:

make sure your nails aren't too sharp. you're delicate there (as if I had to tell you that) and nails can hurt like crazy.

pull back on the labia majora and rinse out the crud (smegma). scrub *very* gently if need be.

avoid lathering the area directly with soap. it can go up your urethra and vagina and irritate it and lead to infection.

rinse, and you'll be fresh as a daisy

WE ARE NOT GOING TO HAVE ANOTHER PUBIC HAIR DISCUSSION, OKAY?

OKAY.

Pubic hair is a matter of personal preference, just like the hair on your head. No one else has a right to tell you how to wear your hair. THere is no "right" or "wrong" way to wear your hair, whether it be the hair on your head or your pubic hair.

As for whether or not any one of us likes or dislikes our partner's pubic hair, please, that's a matter for you and your partner(s) to discuss. Keep it that way.

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Hanne Blank
Co-Editor, Scarleteen

The second time, I was utterly crazy about it.

It doesn't smell anything like fish.

However, there is one simple, handy-dandy, totally niftoid and COMPLETELY 100% SAFER SEX WAY to avoid having to get someone's vaginal juices in your mouth, and to cut down on the smelling-the-juices factor too. Yes indeed, ladies and germs, it's (drum roll, please...) the DENTAL DAM! (Huge applause, screaming, cheers of thousands)

Dental dams are small squares of latex that are stretched over the vulva and clitoris (put some waterbased lubricant on the side that is going against your partner's body), so that you can stimulate your partner with your mouth without getting your saliva in her genitals and without getting her vaginal secretions in your mouth. It cuts way, way, way, way down on the possibility of transmitting STDs (which can be a real risk with oral sex on women, particularly things like herpes).

No dental dam? No problem. Just go into the kitchen and steal the roll of plastic wrap. That's right, good old fashioned plastic wrap -- Saran Wrap, Cling Wrap, whatever you've got. Tear off a hunk and use it in the same way: smear some waterbased lubricant on one side, plaster that side up against your partner's genitals, and ta da! A perfectly useful barrier device for oral sex, thin and flexible, and cheap, too.

WHo knew safer sex could solve so many different kinds of problems?

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Hanne Blank
Co-Editor, Scarleteen

You're right tho; infection can't be fought with just washing. Infection needs to be looked at by a healthcare professional.

Washing DOES help get rid of some of the buildup that can lead to vaginal odours ... Just as it would w/ any other body part.

I am a woman and I had the problem.

I found a solution.

I tell you what the solution is.

The solution is not readily available for anybody so I organize it to be available for other women, that have the problem.

Cleansing with warm water and a little bit of soap at least once/day should combat any offensive odours.

Anyone with a fishy odour needs to see their doctor, not go online to buy products that could possibly mask the problem, or even make it worse.