Your fishy vagina smell is an amazing place, home to a delicate ecosystem that keeps your pH balance just right through a range of changes like your period, sex and ovulation.
Vaginal Odor: Types, Causes, Diagnosis & Treatment
However, sometimes the vagina can get thrown off course, with bacteria and acidity levels fluctuating. This causes a fishy smell that can be a sign of bacterial vaginosis, an infection in which the vaginal microflora is disrupted and harmful bacteria grow out of control.
Bacterial vaginosis can also cause other symptoms, such as itching and burning. It’s most common among women aged 15-44 years, and the CDC estimates that it affects about 29% of females in that age group.
Trichomoniasis
Another possibility for a fishy vagina smell is trichomoniasis, which is a sexually transmitted infection (STI). This can lead to a foul-smelling vaginal discharge that’s white, gray or yellow, along with genital itching, burning, and redness when you pee or have sex, per the Mayo Clinic.
Pelvic inflammatory disease
This condition is rare, but can also cause a heavy fishy-smelling discharge and other symptoms like pelvic pain, bleeding during or after sex or between your periods, a fever, and pain when you pee, according to the Mayo Clinic. The condition can be treated with antibiotics. It can also result in scarring of your reproductive organs, which can make it difficult to become pregnant.
