bad vaginal smell in 6 year old granddaughter

[Candy Haley]

My 6 year old granddaughter has a problem with her privates smelling bad. She has to take two baths a day to keep the smell from offending other people. She has been to the doctor about it and the doctor said she has a chemical imbalance. She is wanting to put her on birth control. My daughter is completely against that. Do you know of a natural way of balancing her out? She was told there was a type of vitamin she could give her to do it. Anybody know what it could be? I would appreciate ANY information.

[MrsKoehn]

Oh dear, I would certainly not put her on BC, esp at the age of 6. I would find a natural dr in the area who can test and see what chemicals/hormones (if that's correct) are causing the smell. There are options, I'm sure. Just not certain what to do. Iodine balances hormones. You can safely rub a couple drops into her skin where it won't show (don't put it on her privates, it'll burn) every day and see if that helps. And a baking soda sitz bath might help balance the chemistry down there. Those are the first things I would try.

[HarperCait]

What does her diet consist of? Does she eat a lot of meat or dairy? If yes, I'd suggest decreasing those foods a little. 

[vermontgirl]

Can a person smell it if she is fully clothed?

My daughter often has smell down there as well and I think it is because she doesn't wipe as well as she should.

Does your grandaughter drink lots of water? I find that with myself I am completely odor free if I drink lots of water.

[Alasen]

I'd check her diet too. That's my first suspect if something on any person smells off.

She might have a hidden allergy to something. One that doesn't cause the typical 'allergy kid' symptoms, but that her body is internally not reacting well to. That might be something to bring up.

Also things to consider:

Do you live in a warm climate, or a damp/warm one? That can cause excess perspiration not to dry out well.

Is she a heavy child, since extra skin tends to accumulate 'funk' that might not be getting washed well enough?

Is she changing her undies every day?

Does she reliably wipe correctly?

Is she "developing" early? Do you see any other signs of development? Sometimes the hormones start going with that and can cause a funk down there, just like under the arms. 6 is really early, but sadly not entirely uncommon these days.

ETA: If she doesn't have any objections to it, and doesn't already do it, you might try having her not wear underwear to bed, to get that space to 'air out,' and see if that helps too.

[erigeron]

Was it birth control they wanted to start, or some other sort of hormonal treatment? If she has precocious puberty, sometimes hormones are given to delay it.

Does she have smell issues otherwise?

Is there any possibility that she is being sexually abused?

There are diseases that cause excess smell--a diet change typically can treat them, but I'm not sure of the details.

[kfillmore]

My first thought was what KIND of smell. Not wiping/pee smell? Vaginal infection smell? Other?

I would consider going to at least one appointment with a Naturopathic Dr or Chinese Medicine. IMO, if it is an imbalance then they would be better suited than a regular Dr. to manage it.

[Jen Muise]

eating live culture yogurt or taking acidopholous (sp?) does a world of good for vajayjays