She Won't Take The Stench, So The Sex, She's A-Ditchin

A young woman and her uncircumcised boyfriend share intimacy... and something else: a strong, fishy odor arising from the genitals. He cleaned, she cleaned, the smell returned. Antibiotics aren't helping, and she's losing interest in having sex with a man who'll give her a “gift” like that. What's going on? And more importantly, how can they fix it? Read on, get the facts and find out!

Case #: 1649

Concern：

I was just wondering if anyone had any similar experiences like mine or could help me with my problem. A few months ago I had unprotected sex with my boyfriend who is uncircumcised and he ejaculated inside of me. Soon after that I began to notice a really bad odor, sort of fishy, coming from my vagina. Neither one of us ever smelled like this but I eventually started smelling that fishy smell from him. I went to the doctor and before he could check me he knew that it had to be an infection I got. He prescribed me some antibiotics and I resumed unprotected sex with my boyfriend. I noticed that fishy smell again and then I found out where it was coming from, his penis. It even smelled after he cleaned himself up. I have searched online but none of the symptoms match to an infection or anything like that. What could this be? I don't want to have sex with a man who has a penis that smells like fish, or have him ejaculate inside of me and me get another infection. Please help. I still want to be able to enjoy sex.

Discussion：

Your skin is your largest biological organ, considering that it contains all the others. It's amazingly strong and flexible, capable of keeping many pathogens out of your bloodstream and it even repairs itself to a degree. The secret of these amazing abilities rests in constant renewal: a human skin-cell takes an average of eight weeks to move from first appearance at the deepest level to finally drying out and sloughing away from your body as dust.

Bear in mind that said dust does not simply “go away”, nor is it “just dust”. It still contains all the biological matter that it had when it was living skin, which means that it's food for various kinds of microorganisms.

Your Own Personal Zoo

Your vocabulary word for the day is “microbiome”. It refers to the community, a literal miniature ecology, of lifeforms on and in the human body. It masses between a little more than 7 ounces to as much as 3 pounds, and it is in practically every part of your body. For purposes of this discussion, we will focus on the portion that subsists on your skin; both in the sense of “atop the surface” and “consuming”. Before you start panicking, please bear in mind that the skin-eating bacteria and mites (and occasional fungi) focus on the dried-out, cast-off cells from the outermost layer of your skin.

Pressing Skin

Trouble arises in areas where significant portions of your skin get pressed together for extended periods of time. Your boyfriend's foreskin normally covers his glans, which means that all those dead skin cells shed daily by both of those small patches of skin have nowhere to go. A buildup of this debris from poor hygiene represents an irresistible feast to any microorganisms in the area, enhanced by being found in an environment that is warm, moist, and very rarely encounters any light. To be fair, your clitoral hood and clitoris presents the same environmental factors, but the proportionately smaller surface area means that a similar infection will produce a weaker smell and therefore go unnoticed for much longer.

Cleaning House

Given the situation you describe, the likely villain of the piece is not bacterial, but mycological in nature. In other words, it's possible that (irony of ironies) you have given him a yeast infection, especially if the prescription antibiotics and a basic regimen of using soap and water to clean underneath his foreskin has not eliminated the odor. Unlike the slightly-acidic natural environment in your vagina (which helps combat invading microorganisms like yeasts), he has no such protection. This doesn't mean that he should stop cleaning under there every day, but it does mean that he should speak with his health-care provider about topical anti-fungal skin creams or lotions suitable for use down there.

I also recommend that he consider combining this new hygiene regimen with an all-natural herbal supplement, designed to enhance his immune system. (SEE: Herbal Penis Foul Smell Removal Formula) It also addresses some of the factors that lead to the smell, such as imbalanced pH levels in the prostate fluid (which is at least half of the volume of his ejaculate) and clearing out some accumulated toxins.

Give him some time and encouragement to make this a habit, and your sex life will go back to smelling much more pleasant in due course. Good luck!