Does garlic act as an anti-bacterial ointment to treat vaginal odour?

Hyderabad: A home remedy to treat vaginal odour has gone viral on social media.

First of all, your vagina is not supposed to smell like anything. There are no standards as to how the vagina must smell like. It’s all good and you have nothing to worry about unless you develop an infection down there.

The viral remedy is garlic! According to the post, “Combat a smelly vagina with smelly garlic. Not many people know the power of garlic, but let us tell you, it works. And that’s because garlic is a great antibacterial.”

It adds, “Make fresh garlic paste by crushing a couple of cloves. Then apply the paste to your vaginal walls. Keep it on your vaginal walls for about 10 minutes and then have a bath to wash it off.”

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the viral home remedy is false.

Talking about vaginal odour, it is not supposed to smell like flowers or perfume. It has a scent just like our other body parts, such as the armpit. But if there an unpleasant vaginal odour, you must run to a gynaecologist at the earliest.

Cleveland Clinic has listed some causes for unpleasant vaginal odour:

· Bacterial vaginosis (BV): An infection that’s caused by an imbalance in your vagina’s flora. BV is responsible for the fishy smell most commonly associated with unpleasant vaginal odours. The fishy smell may be especially strong after sex. Another common symptom to look out for with BV is a gray or grayish-white discharge.

· Trichomoniasis: A sexually transmitted infection caused by a parasite. Trich doesn’t always cause symptoms. When it does, it can cause a fishy odour, similar to BV, or a musty smell. Another common symptom of Trich is a greenish-yellow discharge.

Rarely, vaginal odour is a symptom of:

· Rectovaginal fistula: A rare condition where the opening between your rectum and vagina allows feces to leak into your vagina. The leakage causes a foul-smelling discharge.

· Vaginal cancer: Symptoms include heavy vaginal discharge with a strong odour.

· Cervical cancer: Symptoms can include a strong, bad-smelling discharge.

An article by Independent, titled “Doctor goes viral for telling women to stop putting garlic in their vaginas – because apparently it’s a thing,” stresses how putting garlic into the vagina could be dangerous.

Dr. Jennifer Gunter, the gynaecologist and writer who put forth the facts, said, “The latest addition to bizarre items that definitely do not belong in a woman’s vagina, is garlic. For years there have been rumours that garlic can help treat yeast infections. Despite no clear scientific evidence to this effect.”

Meanwhile, a study found that garlic supplement tablets had a similar therapeutic effect in treating bacterial vaginitis as metronidazole, an oral antibiotic.

It should be noted that this study assessed oral garlic supplements only. Placing a garlic or garlic products in or around the vagina is not advised.