When it comes to gynaecological symptoms we don't feel comfortable talking about openly, the strong fishy smell associated with bacterial vaginosis is definitely up there. Bacterial vaginosis – or BV – is the most common vaginal infection, with symptoms including a greyish-white, watery discharge and unpleasant fishy odour. It's not sexually transmitted and half of those affected don't have any symptoms, but it can cause complications in pregnancy. And despite the fact that as many as one in three of us will get BV at some point in our lives, it's still badly understood and notoriously difficult to treat.