Bacterial Vaginosis – Symptoms, Causes and Treatments For Bacterial Vaginosis

Bacterial vaginosis is an infection of the vagina that can cause vaginal discharge and results from an overgrowth of normal bacteria in vagina. The infection was initially called as Gardnerella vaginitis, which was named after the bacteria that were considered to cause the condition. But in later research, it was discovered that not a single bacteria, but a number of species of bacteria are responsible for this infection, and it was renamed as bacterial vaginosis. These bacteria are naturally present in vagina. Sometimes these various kinds of bacteria become excessive, and may cause bacterial vaginosis.

According to studies, Bacterial vaginosis is witnessed in approximately 29% of women ages 15 to 44 in the United States. According to the author of Bacterial Vaginosis Freedom, about 16% of pregnant women in United States are affected by bacterial vaginosis.

There are multiple options for bacterial vaginosis treatment. If you want to diagnose and get an effective bacterial vaginosis treatment, here is your basic guide to check whether you have Bacterial Vaginosis or not.

Symptoms of Bacterial Vaginosis

There are numerous symptoms of bacterial vaginosis. But it is witnessed that at number of times bacterial vaginosis is symptomatic and was diagnosed through pelvic exam. Here are some bacterial vaginosis symptoms:

  • Vaginal discharge is main symptom of bacterial vaginosis and it is usually yellow, grey, white or green in colour.
  • Fishy pungent like odor is the most common and obvious bacterial vaginosis symptom, and it usually becomes worse after sexual intercourse being considered as the most embarrassing symptom of bacterial vaginosis.
  • After sexual intercourse and menstrual period , the vaginal discharge may increase with the same fishy smell. This is a very irritating symptom of bacterial vaginosis.
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When bacterial vaginosis is not treated, it becomes complicated and a woman may experience certain severe symptoms of bacterial vaginosis like:

  • Swelling in vagina- a very painful symptom of bacterial vaginosis
  • Painful sexual intercourse- a symptom of bacterial vaginosis that can spoil your sex/love/married life.
  • Itching and soreness in vagina- a very irritating symptom of bacterial vaginosis and can be very embarrassing at times
  • Burning sensation in vagina- a less witnessed symptom of bacterial vaginosis
  • Painful urination- another very painful symptom of bacterial vaginosis
  • Itching and soreness in vagina- a very irritating symptom of bacterial vaginosis and can be very embarrassing at times
  • Burning sensation in vagina- a less witnessed symptom of bacterial vaginosis
  • Painful urination- another very painful symptom of bacterial vaginosis

Causes of Bacterial Vaginosis

It is very important to get knowledge about the causes of bacterial vaginosis. A possible cause of bacterial vaginosis can be a change in the pH factor in vagina. When vagina goes through a change in the level of acidity, it becomes weak. There are number of good bacteria and a lesser quantity of bad bacteria in vagina. When the change in acidity level occurs, the balance between good and bad bacteria gets interrupted and bad bacteria outgrow the good bacteria and vagina becomes infected by bacterial vaginosis. Lactobacillus is good bacteria in vagina that keeps the pH level low and prevents the overgrowth of bad bacteria. But when a woman is infected by bacterial vaginosis, the number of lactobacillus bacteria get reduced and do not meet the requirement. This lesser number of good bacteria is not able to control the overgrowth of bad bacteria

Although there in not an obvious and specific cause of this imbalance, a number of physical conditions and lifestyle aspects are said to be a cause of this imbalance between good and bad bacteria.

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Vaginal Douching – a common cause of bacterial vaginosis – this is a method of cleaning the vagina while washing the vaginal cavity by using a liquid. Usage of these liquids have multiple reasons including washing menstruation and to avoid sexually transmitted diseases. Douching may disturb the chemical balance in vagina and cause bad bacteria to overgrow.

Multiple Sex Partners – an indirect cause of bacterial vaginosis. Having sex with a number of different partners can lead to bacterial vaginosis. It does not interrupt the level of acidity, but this infection can be transmitted through sexual intercourse.

Contraceptive Device – less possibility to cause bacterial vaginosis: IUD is a small t-shaped contraceptive device. It is inserted into the uterus through the vaginal cavity in order to control the birth. This device is made of plastic and it may cause itching in vagina ultimately causing bacterial vaginosis.

Antibiotic – a medication cause of bacterial vaginosis: Recent use of antibiotic may cause bacterial vaginosis because antibiotics kill good bacteria along with bad ones.

Menopause – a natural factor becomes a cause of bacterial vaginosis: Menopause is the most common cause of bacterial vaginosis. If you are about to reach your menopausal years, it is highly recommended to take preventive measures to avoid the infection.

Smoking – an unnoticed cause of bacterial vaginosis: As stated by the author of Bacterial Vaginosis Freedom, smoking is another cause of bacterial vaginosis

Bacterial vaginosis Treatment

Mostly antibiotics are used for bacterial vaginosis treatment. A few antibiotics are normally used among them Metronidazole and Tinidazole are most common.

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Metronidazole can be used as an oral pill or a vaginal gel as a treatment for bacterial vaginosis. A third option is the vaginal clindamycin cream. The oral metronidazole can cause some minor, but unpleasant side effects; however, it is said to be the most effective cure. The gels do not usually cause side effects, but oral pills are more vulnerable to side effects and as a result yeast vaginitis can occur as a side effect of the medication.
Tinidazole (Tindamax) is another antibiotic used for the treatment for bacterial vaginosis. It is believed to have fewer side effects than metronidazole.

BV TREATMENT through Natural Home-Made Remedies V/S Antibiotics

If you are suffering from a chronic bacterial vaginosis, the requirement and value of bacterial vaginosis treatment though natural process should not be overlooked.

The typical bacterial vaginosis treatment like antibiotics does not attack the root cause of bacterial vaginosis. They simply kill the bacteria and cure the disease for the time being, but impacts of these medications do not last long and infection comes back. So it is not an effective bacterial vaginosis.

Alternatively, one may prefer to seek natural process to restore the normal levels of vaginal acidity so that the vagina is no more suitable for bad bacteria to grow. So the second one bacterial vaginosis treatment that is the natural method is a perfect option to kill bacterial vaginosis. Natural methods for bacterial vaginosis treatment have proved to be successful as they do not interrupt the proportion of good bacteria and they cause no side effects.

 

References & Sources:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/std/bv/stdfact-bacterial-vaginosis.htm
Women’s Health: https://www.womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/bacterial-vaginosis.html
US Clinical Trials: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02236429

One thought on “Bacterial Vaginosis – Symptoms, Causes and Treatments For Bacterial Vaginosis

  1. Really good article! I have been a bacterial vaginosis sufferer for about 20 years.. It’s really important that this condition get some focus.

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