What Does Vaginal Odor mean?
From the start, it’s important to know that your vagina should have a bit of an odor. Dr. Mary Jane Minkin, gynecologist and clinical professor of obstetrics at the Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut said:
“Just like with the gut, the vagina has its own microbiome filled with different bacteria and yeast, many of which are incredibly helpful.”
The acidic pH found in the vagina might give your vagina a sour smell, but it should never be an overwhelming odor. However, if your vagina doesn’t have a typical smell, you should go and visit a doctor, especially if the smell is accompanied by itching. This could be an indicator of bacteria and the best thing you can do is visit your doctor.
For example, if your vagina has a fishy smell, it could be an indication of bacterial vaginosis, the most common infection in women between 15 and 44 years old. Please keep in mind that bacterial vaginosis is not an STI and it is pretty harmless. You can re-balance your vaginal acidity with some simple over-the-counter “pH warfare.” You can find a pH gel in your local drugstore. The gel is designed to balance out odors and the vagina’s ph.
If the pH gel doesn’t help you with the smell in a week or two, you should visit your gynecologist. You might need some antibiotics to clean the infection, or you might have a common and easily treatable STI, trichomoniasis. It’s important to take care of yourself and visit a gynecologist at least once a year.
Are You Obsessive About Your Health?
Are You Obsessive with Monitoring Your Health?
Technology helps us to be able to monitor our health, diet and fitness habits on a daily basis. However, some people get obsessive with monitoring health indicators and with every heartbeat they Google what disease they have. Of course, Google will only suggest that you might have some deadly disease.
Hypochondria can easily sneak in when we are visiting different doctors for no reason, not trust any doctor who says that we are in perfect health.
On the other hand, many are very much aware that they are healthy, but they keep on checking their health to maintain their health status. Some are not where they want to be with their weight or overall health that they are trying to reach their personal goals by downloading a bunch of apps where they will carefully count their calories.
Obsessive thinking about your health can lead to living under stress believing that you are not moving enough, or eating healthy enough. Stressing over counting calories can become an obstacle in living a healthy and stress-free life.
What should we do? The best thing to do is to simply live your life with full awareness of how much you are moving and what are you eating. You don’t need ten apps as proof that you are living a healthy and fulfilled life.
Seeing Clogged Arteries May Change Your Lifestyle
They say a picture may be worth a thousand words. It’s true in many ways and a recent study showed that this applies to your health as well.
The study included more than 3 100 people who were between 40 and 60 years, and who had at least one risk factor for heart disease. All participants involved in the study received medications (if needed) and advice about lifestyle factors. Half of the participants were also given a drawing which depicted the amount of plaque in their neck arteries, along with their biological age based on their blood vessels.
After one year, the risk of heart disease dropped among those who saw the pictures of their clogged arteries, while the risk remained the same or was increased among those who did not get to see their clogged arteries. People who saw the picture of their neck arteries lowered their LDL and total cholesterol. People who had the worst initial levels also had the greatest improvements.
The study proves that sometimes to adopt certain healthy habits or to get rid of the bad ones, all we have to do is see the effects of our bad habits.
