idk maybe grab soulsource dilators instead. Something like 4x/day with surgilube. They might smell better since its hard plastic and the lube is, well, for medical things like this.

A shocking amount of these surgeons do the surgery itself and then just do jack shit for aftercare. Aftercare is the most important fucking part. It's infuriating. I've heard of doctors who just ram the orange dilator in when the packing comes out. They're absolutely ignorant about dilation.

A pt should not be going into this surgery, let alone coming out of it, not knowing how to dilate. You should know months in advance what it entails.

I disagree with the commenters suggesting to douche. Vaginal malodor is typically caused by the wrong microflora establishing itself inside the vaginal cavity, often due to a pH imbalance. The medical term for this is Vaginal Dysbiosis. Douching can further disrupt the pH, thereby worsening the problem. My surgeon (McGinn) recommends using a pH-balanced lube for dilating, specifically Almost Naked by Good Clean Love, and *not* douching. This will promote the growth of lactobacillus ("good" bacteria) in the vaginal canal, which in time should give it a healthy, yoghurt-like odor.

This early in your wife's recovery, sloughing tissue and serosanguinous fluid could also be contributing to malodor, but that will resolve in time as the tissue heals.

Beyond that, make sure she's practicing good hygiene with the dilators, cleaning them with antibacterial soap after each use. There should be no need to boil the dilators. Also, whenever she pees, she should use a peri bottle to gently spritz her labia clean with water, then pat dry. And if she doesn't already know: wipe front to back after bowel movements (ie, away from her vulva).

Good luck!

What surgeon is this? A minute at a time? Your wife needs to get seen by another doctor ASAP or this surgery is going to fail. If I sound concerned, it’s because I am. This is the critical healing stage and lack of dilation now is going to cause permanent problems. I cannot imagine who would send her home with no instructions and dilators that didn’t have any depth measurements. Depending on the technique, most people need 3 to 5 sessions a day for about 30 minutes each. However, I am not a doctor and I’m only recommending what most people have. She needs to see an actual physician or talk to her surgeon and I am hoping this is not one of the two American doctors that I know are high-risk and not recommended.

To add to what others have said, yes, she should be douching. Every surgeon (should) have their own douching instructions i.e. frequency, whether to use soap or not, etc.

My personal instructions for at least the first few weeks post-op while you still have open wounds, were to do a rinse 3x a day (I usually just do it after I dilate) and after bowel movements. I was told to first rinse with water with Johnson baby shampoo in it, and then a plain water rinse.

I’ve seen some surgeons instruct patients to use distilled water, or boil their water (and then let it cool before dilating) if the local water has issues.

Thank goodness she has you there to help and care for her.❤️❤️❤️

Im just curious but is it possible that the dilators are absorbing something in the material or somehow having a reaction and thats causing the smell? Maybe try a different set of dilators and see if the same still happens?

Please tell me she's atleast getting to depth. Cause yeah a minimum of 10-15mins at depth.

Given that it sounds like your wife may be experiencing bacterial vaginosis, I would highly recommend avoiding cheaper glycerine-containing lubricants and instead getting something which is pH balanced. Ideally with a pH around 4. I used OptiLube for the first couple months and a 150ml tube lasted me.. maybe 6 dilation sessions at best. I'm now using Yes WB Lube which costs 5 times as much, but it lasts me 25 or so dilation sessions. It's about the same cost overall.

Lubricant brands which are pH balanced will usually be raving about the fact. If you have to dig for it beyond looking at the manufacturer's product page, chances are they aren't pH balanced.

If going the pH balanced route, you may want to look into vaginal microflora supplements to accelerate the process. If not going the pH balance route and instead using SurgiLube or other glycerine lubes, then don't bother with this.

I have used many different dilators (I own about 20). Silicone dilators are fine, but if they're retaining a smell then that suggests to me that they are poorly made and that the silicone was not degassed during the manufacturing process, meaning that the surface of the dilators will be covered in teeny tiny holes that harbour bacteria. Bien Australia do high quality dilators, though they have an aggressive shape. CalExotics do tapered dilators which max out at about 32mm (they said 35mm but my calipers disagree), which can be useful up to a point but if you're already on larger sizes than this then I would recommend looking at alternatives. Soul Source dilators are excellent, though they are completely solid and have no "give"; this still works for the majority of people, silicone is just slightly more comfortable (although some silicone types require a bit more lube, as lube seems to kind of.. pool on the surface. Not much of a problem if dynamically dilating or on a comfortable size, just difficult if you're sizing up really).

Note that the lubricant brands I have listed are only really available in the EU/UK. I've heard good things about Almost Naked by Good Clean Love which GenderRebellious recommended, and google tells me it has a pH of 4.2-4.7.