This last month I had a late and super heavy period. In addition to that, I had a smell that was awful. I had been very sick, very stressed and overall not feeling my best and I started to think- did these outside factors cause my period to smell like rusting metal and fishy? Let’s talk about it!

What does a normal period smell like? Well, like blood! Blood is high in iron and the smell can be metallic. A slightly metallic smell is normal and usually is not noticeable to others.

Let’s talk about the fishy smell though. Most periods I use our Rif Care hemp menstrual pads. Our pads are bacteria fighting, because we use hemp fiber. This month I was testing several period panties to try to do a full period without disposables and I did two days of just Thinx which were mostly  made  of synthetic materials and left them on for 8 + hours each. These days I got the bad smell! It was the underwear and bacteria overgrowth, not the blood. If you find your blood smells fishy it could be Bacteria Vaginosis though so you should head to the doctor for an antibiotic or head to CVS to pick up boric acid suppositories. Do not douche! Also remember, BV sadly does not go away on its own so it must be treated ASAP. We love the brand PHD and Honey Pot for suppositories!! I used one after switching back to our pads just to be safe. Happy to say I was in the clear within a few hours!

Another reason you could smell is because you left your tampon in too long. Just like when I left on the synthetic period panties too long, causing a bacteria growth overload - tampons can be especially dangerous and smelly if left in too long or worse, you forget to remove it. Besides bacteria vaginosis, you also are at higher risk for toxic shock if you leave your tampon in too long. If you’re super busy or running around all day like me- you need to set timers for period products and always have extra with you!

Have you had abnormal smelling periods ? Symptoms that you are worried about? Sometimes google doesn’t have all the answers so contact your gyno to get any abnormal smells or discharges checked out.