What is Bacterial Vaginosis?
Bacterial Vaginosis (BV), is one of the most common causes of vaginal discharge, and is an overgrowth of bacteria in the vagina. BV does not normally cause any associated symptoms of itching or soreness around the vagina or vulva, unlike some of other causes of vaginal discharge such as thrush, and the discharge from BV is normally a pale grey-white colour with a strong, fishy smell.
Bacterial Vaginosis is caused by the overgrowth of more than one bacteria, which occur naturally in the vagina and provide a vital defensive function against other more harmful germs such as candida (causes thrush). When these bacteria get out of balance they can multiply very quickly causing the acid levels in the vagina to change and discharge to occur.
What causes Bacterial Vaginosis?
The balance of bacteria in the vagina is very delicate and so the overgrowth of one form of bacteria over another is quite common, and BV will occur in every 1 in 3 women at some point in their lifetime. Doctors are not sure what exactly triggers outbreaks of BV, but it is known that it is more common in those women that smoke and also those that have an intra-uterine contraceptive device (IUD). BV is not a sexually transmitted disease and is not caused by poor hygiene, and in fact excessive washing of the vaginal area may actually result in BV, as this can disrupt the delicate balance of bacteria here.
How to you Treat Bacterial Vaginosis?
It is important that you get BV properly diagnosed, as there are also several other conditions that could cause similar vaginal discharge, and your doctor may need to take a painless sample (swab) from your vagina and send it off to be tested. Once BV has been confirmed then your doctor may not suggest any medication at all if it is just a mild case, as it is most likely that it will clear up on its own.
However BV can cause complications in pregnant women, and also those undergoing certain gynaecological procedures such as operations and biopsies, and so in these cases a course of an antibiotics like metronidazole will be prescribed in order to combat the overgrowth of bacteria and bring the balance back to normal. Also checkout this product 3 Days To Permanent Bacterial Vaginosis Relief .
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