Have you ever wondered what your vagina smells like? Every woman is different: we have different skin tones, hair colour, nail strength, and we all smell different. A healthy discharge will usually have a weak smell, and can be thick or thin, more or less abundant, depending on the monthly cycle and current hormonal balance.

Every woman has experienced vaginal discomforts at least once in their lifetime. Most common symptoms include discharge, odor, itch, pain and vaginal burning. These symptoms cause you to sit restlessly, always feeling like something is not quite right “down there”. If the symptoms get stronger, they can seriously affect the quality of life, especially your love life, since sex can become very uncomfortable and even painful.

Discharge is an important factor in your overall vaginal health. The glands inside your vagina and cervix produce a fluid that plays several roles in the female reproductive system: it washes away debris, dead cells and microorganisms; it helps prevent and fight infections; and it lubricates the vagina.

A healthy vagina is a balanced vagina – this means that millions of bacteria living in the vaginal environment do not disturb each other and are essential to keep our body healthy. However, once this balance is disturbed, uncomfortable symptoms such as a burning sensation or itching occur.

Any sort of sensitivity and discomfort in the vaginal area can make us very uncomfortable and nervous, feeling that something is not quite right down there.

Have you experienced irritation in the intimate region? Or other discomforts such as itching, burning (during urination), light bleeding after intercourse, pain during penetration, vaginal soreness or inflammation? It could be that you suffer from vaginal dryness.

Vaginal irritations can be uncomfortable, but more often very painful, therefore affecting the quality of life. Swollen labia can cause you to feel restless, not being able to sit still or wear trousers because of friction. This condition is often accompanied by other symptoms, like burning or itching.

If you ever wondered what you look like down there, you might have taken a little pocket mirror and looked at yourself from a different angle. However, most of us will probably only do that if we have reasons to believe something is wrong. If you experience vaginal itching, irritation and pain, then you are likely to notice that your vulva looks red and sometimes swollen.

Menopause is a natural stage of a woman’s life – it marks the end of the woman’s fertile period and it can happen due to the natural aging process, after certain surgeries or a medical treatment. It is caused by a drop in sex hormones called estrogen and progesterone that are no more produced by the ovaries.