Odor Following IUD Placement
Question
I have recently had an IUD placed in no more than a week ago. Now I have a fishy odor present. What could this possibly be? My pap came back normal and I only have one sexual partner; that’s my husband.
Trey
Answer
Last Updated: December 13, 2014
Dear Trey:
The fishy odor is usually associated with a bacterial infection of the vagina. Partners can pass it back and forth between each other. Sometimes women will have the overgrowth of this bacteria and it not necessarily be from a partner.
The insertion of the IUD may have triggered this. One would be concerned that you would have a serious infection brewing which would be manifested by pain, bleeding, discharge, temperature, etc.
Another concern with the IUD’s is ovulation which occurs even with the progesterone impregnated product. In other words, you can still conceive a child but the IUD makes it very difficult for the growing child to implant into the womb and grow normally. Without implantation, the child dies.
If the odor continues, please consult your doctor to get treated and to make sure there is no bad kind of infection in the uterus.
Dr. Gretchen Marsh
The fishy odor is usually associated with a bacterial infection of the vagina. Partners can pass it back and forth between each other. Sometimes women will have the overgrowth of this bacteria and it not necessarily be from a partner.
The insertion of the IUD may have triggered this. One would be concerned that you would have a serious infection brewing which would be manifested by pain, bleeding, discharge, temperature, etc.
Another concern with the IUD’s is ovulation which occurs even with the progesterone impregnated product. In other words, you can still conceive a child but the IUD makes it very difficult for the growing child to implant into the womb and grow normally. Without implantation, the child dies.
If the odor continues, please consult your doctor to get treated and to make sure there is no bad kind of infection in the uterus.
Dr. Gretchen Marsh
Answered By:
Gretchen Marsh, D.O.
Dr. Marsh graduated from Western University of Health Sciences in 1987 in Pomona, CA and is board certified in Family Medicine by the American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians. She has been certified as a NaProTechnology® Medical Consultant (NaPro) and Creighton model Fertility Care System (CrMS) teacher since 2001. She and her husband, Jon, have 5 sons and live in the Reno region, where she sees patients in person, in addition to her telehealth services offered via MyCatholicDoctor.com
