The Ovarian Cycle

Each month in a woman's reproductive years an egg develops in one of the ovaries and is released to potentially be fertilized and reproduce. So how does this happen and how is it regulated?

The stimulation to the ovary comes from the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland is a small peanut sized gland that is attached to the bottom of the brain, and is housed in a thin-walled bony part of the skull called the sella tursica.

Each month the hypothalamus, the part of the lower brain that regulates pituitary function, senses that there is no pregnancy, and stimulates the pituitary to release a hormone called follicle stimulating hormone, or FSH. The FSH stimulates several germ cells in the ovaries to start to develop. Over a few day's time one of these developing eggs becomes dominant and the others stop developing and atrophy. The dominant follicle becomes larger and about 14-16 days from the prior menses beginning the pituitary produces a surge of a different hormone called luteinizing hormone or LH. The LH surge stimulates the ovary to release the egg, and for the remaining cells of the follicle the egg was released from to further develop into what is called the corpus luteum. The corpus luteum produces progesterone. The progesterone causes the lining of the uterus to mature and become able to support a fertilized egg.

If the egg is fertilized and successfully implants in the uterus the developing embryo produces a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin which stimulates the corpus luteum to continue to develop and produce progesterone. If no pregnancy occurs, without the HCG feedback the ovary stops producing progesterone after about 12-14 days, and without the progesterone support the lining of the uterus starts to be shed, resulting in the monthly menstrual bleeding. This bleeding lasts for 3-8 days in most women. On about the first day of bleeding, the hypothalamus recognizes that the progesterone levels have dropped, and that no pregnancy has occurred, and it again stimulates the pituitary to release FSH, starting a new cycle.

This cycle repeats itself until a pregnancy develops, the ovary fails to respond in menopause, or artificial hormone intervention like birth control pills are used.

What Causes Vaginal Odor - Number One Cause of Vagina Smell In Most Women

Vaginal odor is an issue that a lot of women learn to live with rather than solve it. If you manage to understand what causes vaginal odor it is fairly simple to prevent it. In my case it came to a point where my self-esteem was at its lowest thanks to my smell "down" there. There was no way to get intimate with my partner because of the fear of the odor seeping through and getting noticed. Even in public places like the elevator I was constantly concerned just in case someone caught my smell. Finally I decided enough was enough. There was no way I could let my vagina smell could control my life.

Without wasting much time I did some research on my own on the modern day wonder - the Internet. What I found was that in majority of women bacterial vaginosis happens to be the number one cause of the smell. When you suffer from this infection you will have kind of fishy odor accompanied by a whitish grey vaginal discharge and vaginal itching.

To avoid this infection there are a few things to bear in mind

a)The most common cause of BV is not wiping in the right direction. After you use the washroom always wipe front to back to prevent the e-coli bacteria present naturally in the rectum from entering the vagina.

b)Another popular cause of getting this infection is wearing underwear made of synthetic fabrics and tight fit clothes. To let the vagina breathe and keep it dry you must wear cotton underwear and loose fit clothes like skirts instead of jeans and trousers.

c)Vaginal douching and/or making use of scented sprays should be avoided at all times, especially when you are suffering from vaginal odor. Douches or sprays tend to disrupt the natural pH balance of your vagina and worsen the infection.

d)The use of unscented soap daily is the best hygiene practice.

e)Avoid bubble baths and always dry your vaginal area by gently patting with a clean cotton towel after the wash.

f)Avoid scented toilet tissue, tampons and sanitary napkins and are not recommended. Make sure you change your sanitary protection at regular intervals even if your flow is light.

Take a close look at your personal habits to exactly figure out what causes vaginal odor personally for you. Once you figure this aspect out take preventive measures to keep the vagina smell at bay.