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Do women smell different after menopause?

By Expert HERWriter December 15, 2008 - 9:41pm
 
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Do any of you who have gone through menopause think you smell different than you did before? By that I mean the way your body smells to you, not that your nose is working differently. I always thought it was just me that felt this way, but tonight I read an article about someone else who thinks she also smells different now that she's post-menopausal.

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EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

I came to this discussion since not knowing what to do with my body, reading all this wonderful ladies discussion and stories made me understand about what is happening to my body, getting trough matured ages is really a challenges and insecurities a part of as a woman body and looks. I am 50 years old sometimes I stare myself in the mirror I don't even look my ages not act my ages sometimes, I thought I am always in a wrong body I always look young as Asian, everyone always compliment me as look 36 close to 40. I always dress nice and taking cared of myself to look good and stay active. My problem is I have hysterectomy at the age of 25, and at this age I had never had of system of hot flashes, yes moody changes it happened a lot my eyes start getting blurry that I have to wear glasses from time to time to read, then when I do have intercourse with hubby its painful in my lower abdomen, and I seem start losing less desire for sex, felt anything to climax, I seem just doing it to please him its painful and very dry then I smell down there after the sex horribly I felt like I lost my libido among other things. I don't know what type of vitamins or medicine to take, I felt like I aged inside my body last couple of months. if any advise will be much appreciated.
Thank you

November 7, 2018 - 9:25pm
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

Hi ladies,
I, too, have been dealing with this embarrassing problem for a year or so now. Products that have a scent to them, like Norforms and fragranced douches, caused me irritation and just masked the smell anyway. I became so self-conscious that I started avoiding being intimate with my husband. After much searching, I found an unscented product called Ladybits Hydrette Jelly that is working well for me. It helps to balance my pH, which seems to be the source of the trouble. I also started taking a probiotic supplement, Jarrow Fem Dophilus. I use the Jelly a couple of times a week before bed and the odor is completely gone. It has helped with dryness, too. These two products are kind of expensive (about $50 a month for both), but its well worth it to have my self-confidence and my sex life back.

January 21, 2018 - 10:47am
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous (reply to Anonymous)

The body changes, as hormones change. I would suspect that is the cause but what we eat, and medicines we take can change body odor. Are you on new medicines? Heart, blood pressure, blood sugar? Are you taking more pain pills? All these things can change your urine odor, which gets on your bottom, you may think its vaginal and its urine. Drink plenty of water, rinse with water after toilet.

March 14, 2018 - 11:36pm
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

I am 55 years old. I am in menopause stage and recently I am experiencing bad odor in my body that cause loosing my job because everybody use to make fun of me and I couldn't take anymore, so I quit. Any suggestion that can help me in this issue?

September 8, 2017 - 3:25am
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

I've had the same vaginal foul order issues. I was totally stressed out. I knew that if I could smell myself, what the heck were people around me smelling? I found a website discussing the issue and a couple of women suggested trying Rephresh Pro-B. It's a supplement that balances the yeast and bacteria. I tried to order off of Amazon but for whatever reason they ended up not delivering it. I then found it on the Target website. I looked for it at my local Target but they didn't carry it. I think it's a website only kind of thing. Anyway, after about four days of taking the pill I am proud to say I no longer have that vaginal stench. Hope this helps.

August 10, 2016 - 8:31am
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous (reply to Anonymous)

Hi! Im 31 and recently had both ovaries removed. Only to find out that before this my husband had said he noticed a smell down there but never brought it to my attention. I had to have my ovaries out due to cysts the size of golf balls. since my surgery nothing. I told him he should have told me as that is not normal to smell like lowtide for a woman no matter what his friends said lol. Always get it checked. I almost died on my 31st birthday when my tube ruptured i had also had an undetected pregnancy in the same ovary. My other had been removed in 2007 due to a rupture.

May 28, 2017 - 12:11am
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous (reply to Anonymous)

Thank you so much for your suggestion. I have gone online to look this product up and ordered it online for pick up in store. The store has it but its $32.00, for goodness sake. Online it was only $16.00, so I got two boxes. I sure hope it works because I'm know I'm a clean woman but this menopause makes me feel so..."nasty" (my best description).

September 27, 2016 - 8:45pm
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

I am 63, startec menopause 10 yrs ago, hate everything about it, prior to that i looked young, then a few months into menopause ppl started treating me differently, I v quickly looked years older. Last night heard myself described as an "old lady" even though I do my best to look young and dress youthfully, I do no want to look old, I like Japanese vocaloid MMD videos and would like to make my own, collect some of the figurines like Black Rock Shooter, etc, I have interests that only young ppl usually are interested in, not because I'm forcing myself to be interested in things like that, but because I just am naturally. I'm not interested in things that most ppl my age are interested in. I don't fit in anywhere, no longer look or smell the same so get treated differently, ppl treat me like a funny old eccentric woman instead of me, with my unique personality, all that is ignored, in the eyes of the world, I'm just 'old'. I hate it, have no friends, except one man years older than me fdwho treats me badly and he has strong interest in really young girls I recently discovered so don't even like being in his company but have had to rely on him for certain things becasue there is no one else, I have tried so hard to make friends, have sought help from so called professionals, can't walk properly anymore, try to walk fast but can't, i am terrified, have no one to rely on, want to enjoy life, nobody cares about me except me myself. I want to look like me again, not just like an old woman, even without all the obvious signs of age, there are obviously still giveaways, probably the way I walk , upper arms loose flesh, squared off jawline droopy eyes, old lady smell, even sweet candy vanilla type scents seem to end up as the old lady cologne smell. Nature is trying very hard to make me as unattractive as possible in every way possible because no longer fertile and heaven forbid anyone of the opposite sex should still be interested in a woman over 50 let alone over 60, not that I want anyone ,i don't, but the fact that from being seen as young and desirable , i went from that, to straight to being old and undesirble in the eyes of the world. it is all so depressing. i used to be told , if you think things are bad now, wait until you get older! it gets even worse then! I now know what they mean!

July 24, 2016 - 7:10am
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous (reply to Anonymous)

Oh you poor thing. I do know exactly how you feel, but you seem like you are in a really vulnerable place with not enough support in place around you.

I'm going through menopause. I've been peri-menopausal for years -- years early I might add. I don't have a family, so I don't even get the satisfaction of feeling like a matronly woman who has been there and done that but martyred my my foxy years to momhood.

I have a much younger boyfriend (which sometimes make me feel very insecure) and a lot of similarly youthful interests (old stuff that only 20-somethings like). A few short years ago, I went back to school and fit in very well with all the students, who were all amused that I was the age of their mothers and a few abuellitas. I took Capoeira for crying out loud. I was in good health and glowed.

Today, not so much. I just came back from trip where suddenly and without warning, I stunk up a crowded airplane. I was clean, wearing clean clothes, but two days of underhydration and one painful sex act later, my pH was waaaay off. I still smell like low tide. I am also getting my mom's puppet mouth and jowls and my dad's droopy yet bulgy eyes with concentric burple (brown purple) circles. And just when I think I've tackled the strange eyelid hairs, the gray pops out of my head again.

I don't know how women go through this. I was never vain, but it's still pretty hard to cope with.

I'm also long-term unemployed, have an over-financed education and I'm gaining weight like a sinking ship.

What gets me through it is that liking my hobbies and being "unique" in that same way gives me a little self esteem boost, just enough to do the work I need to do to --try to -- counter balance things. Knowing that I cultivate interests other people would never invest the time in, is somehow a point of pride. And my cat. I hate being a cat lady, since it furthers the stereotype, but at the end of the day, I am here to serve the animals. The unconditional love is just a side benefit. My boyfriend has his own interests, and has no patience to hear about mine. He would sooner put his eyes out with lemon rinds than listen to me talk about Jim Sterenko's comic style, Transmedia >IF in the 3D world, Dennis Tek's Detroit influence on Australian punk rock n roll, or which Italian or Korean cult horror movies would have been improved by a Humane Society animal monitor (That's your bad, Dario and Park.)

I'm proof, you don't need to build relationships with the people who like what you like. That's always pretty hit or miss anyway. The people who like what I like either want nothing to do with me, or they're old fogeys like me and the comic book guy from the Simpsons. I once tried dating online (in the days of dial up) and all I attracted with my quirky profile were man-boys twice my age and looking for women half. Your online anime comrades serve one solid function, but for everything not Miku or Manga related, you'd do better to surround yourself with kind loving people of any age, but particularly women, who understand what you feel like. Even if they don't get you on other issues. Frankly, I'm not surprised the old dude who likes MMD is a sexist, agist jerk. That stuff is very very girlly. If you're a fancy girl deep down inside that sophisticated woman body, it probably touches your happy place. If you're a big overgrown man, I don't want to know what part of your brain it lights up. If you need his assistance, I don't want to say you shouldn't accept it, but it may be damaging to your self esteem in the long run. Sometimes people chip away at it even when they're just being who they are. Do your best to avoid those people.

In general, needing help from people might not be such a terrible thing. Sometimes it can open doors. Some fellowships are so hardcore that members will go out of their way to get you there. I'm not saying you should fake a 12-step problem or Belief with a capital B, but lineage and cultural societies, have fellowship to rival a church. And some social media is geared towards neighbors, like NextDoor.

After typing this, I already feel I've overstepped the comments section, but you seem like you're at a crossroads, and I've been there over other issues in my life. I hope I framed some of this in terms of what worked for me, rather than what you should do. And I hope everything works out. I'm glad I'm seeing your comment on a website entitled Empower Her. We are all still gorgeous beauties even if we don't feel like it. Or even if no one wants to sit in coach with me.

September 24, 2016 - 6:20pm
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous (reply to Anonymous)

My question is I have no Oder at all. The normal smell the vaginal area normally had, its very dry for the most part. Is this normal I'm 58

February 6, 2017 - 6:20am
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