What is the Treatment for Bacterial Vaginosis?

What is Bacterial Vaginosis?

Bacterial Vaginosis is an infection of the vagina that is caused by the growth of bacteria present in the vagina naturally, the vagina is an environment with both bad and good bacteria. In bacterial vaginosis the normal healthy bacteria are replaced by an excess of bad bacteria this upsets and throws the vagina environment out of balance bacterial vaginosis is a common condition of the vagina it is harmless and easily treated the condition can affect women of any age but women in their reproductive years are most likely affected most of the time the condition doesn't cause any health problems sometimes having bacterial vaginosis can lead to issues while trying to get pregnant increase the risk of early delivery among pregnant women result in pelvic inflammatory disease and make women susceptible to sexually transmitted infections such as HIV gonorrhea or herpes simplex virus has been shown that HIV infected women with bacterial vaginosis are more likely to transmit HIV to theirs.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis is suspected based on symptoms and may be verified by asking about any prior vaginal infections or sexually transmitted infections taking a swab from inside the vagina to check for overgrowth of bad bacteria or the presence of clue cells to test for clue cells the doctor places a drop of sodium chloride solution on a slide containing vaginal discharge and examines it under a microscope clue cells are vaginal cells coated with bacteria that are a sign of bacterial vaginosis testing the vagina for acidity either by placing a ph test strip in the vagina or by putting a swab of vaginal discharge on a litmus paper a ph greater than 4.5 or higher is suggestive of bacterial vaginosis treatment treatment option includes antibiotics which can either be given orally or applied directly inside the vagina they include metronidazole such as flagel metrogel vaginal which may be taken orally and is also available as a topical gel clindamycin such as cleocin which is available as a cream to nidazole which is taken orally bacterial vaginosis is not a sexually transmitted infection and it is generally unnecessary to treat a male sexual partner of an infected woman female partners should seek testing as they may need.

Treatment pregnant women with symptoms should be treated to help decrease the risk of premature delivery this is highly important.

 

Treatment for Bacterial Vaginosis

The advice to reduce risks is that up to 80 percent of patients can relapse, with some patients recovering on their own without any treatment, and up to about a third of patients recovering or spontaneously.

Resolution and a course of antibiotics may be important for the rest of the patients so metronidazole and clindamycin will be the treatments we will use so roughly 10 percent of patients may not respond to initial treatment and it is not necessary to treat Partners so other conditions may require treating partners and I have mentioned this here because you might think this would be important because there are high recurrence rates.

Treat partners but there was a Cochrane review showing that Partners treatment does not actually affect the relapse rate, so Partners treatment is not necessary, and then some other possible treatments could include lactobacillus supplements, so it was hypothesized that this perhaps increased the amount.

Lactobacillus is present in the vaginal flora, and then another possible treatment was vaginal probiotic prophylaxis, so taking a vaginal probiotic before taking BV again so a patient took this probiotic before taking it seems to reduce relapse rates and this had a probiotic blend.

Risk Factors for Bacterial Vaginosis

İnclude douching the practice of washing or cleaning out the inside of the vagina with water or other cleansing agents that alter the natural balance of the vagina and predispose women to develop the condition the vagina is self-cleaning so douching is often not required having a female partner this increases the risk by 60 percent having multiple sex partners or a new partner smoking using an intrauterine device certain antibiotics symptoms burning during urination vaginal itching thin white gray or green vaginal discharge fishy smell that gets stronger after sex occasionally there may be no symptoms.