[BVsufferer]

Hello Gatorgal,
I just want to share my experiences with you. It's been a month now that I suffered of BV (that's what I believe). I underwent vaginal swab culture and the result was no significant growth. My gyne gave me antibiotics, it was gone but after having my period, itching and foul smell is back. I read your blog and tried it. It actually works for me but I was worried for one thing, my outer part of vagina is getting swollen and it is like rod-shaped. It scares me and can't helped but went back to my gyne. She told me its normal. She checked inside and told me that my body develop a fungus on its own. I had my lab test for HIV1 & 2, chlamydia, PH and all (it was general checked) and the results was all negative. I was glad but she gave me a huge set of antibiotics which I am taking now. I really have a doubt on this. I would prefer the natural remedy as it was working with me. Now I am going crazy to which is which? By the way, I have been spending all my salary for doctors, lab and medicine and I do not know if it will work for good. Then my gyne want me to be back after 15 days and she said if the fungus is still there, I will undergo another vaginal swab culture. Please advise me, I will really appreciate:-)

_desperate BVsufferer_

[BVsufferer]

we have same problem here, hope u can get the answer and share whit us soon..

Hello soupoutraging,
I will finish my antibiotic medication this 23rd November, whatever the outcome I will surely get back to you. I would be glad to be of help as I know how it ruin our life. Keep in touch!

[BVsufferer]

Hello Gatorgal,

I am really sorry I keep coming back to you. But I just need more clarification, Folic Acid is not available in 800mg and 400mg instead they come with 5mg and 400mcg which is absolutely far from what you mentioned. Could you please clarify this? Another thing, Acidophilus is not available in liquid but rather in capsule, what is the best option for this? Ohh, your response is highly appreciated.

I am posting this on as many forums as I can that deal with BV

This is long, but I hope VERY helpful.
The reason I listed the subject as I did is because this post is based on weeks of research on various websites, forums and personal experimentation. I have tried my best to condense all of the best and most useful info I could find on this subject.

I DO encourage anyone suffering from this to do as much research as they can, but if you are not good at research or do not have the time, I think this post will be helpful to you.

First,my story/symptoms- i am 40 and have had yeast infections from time to time during my adulthood. Have always treated them with OTC treatment that has worked well for me. A few weeks ago I felt that unmistakable itch that has always, for me, signaled a yeast infection. I tried the usual OTC. Didn't work...hmmmmmmmm. tried it again, didn't work again. That's when I realized I'm dealing with something else this time. Begin with the research and reading- I'm 99.9% sure I have BV. Looked at the "official" info websites on the subject. They give great info on the causes but all treatment suggestions send you to your Dr, where they promptly give you a pelvic and a dose of antibiotics. After reading hundreds of posts from ladies that followed that course-went to Dr, got antibiotics, got temporary relief and BV keeps coming back; I decided to try and treat myself from the get-go. If you make that choice also, please do it carefully. I am NOT one of those folks who doesn't believe in going to the Dr. But after all I've read, it is my strong opinion that the general medical community has really dropped the ball on this problem. All they seem to do is throw antibiotics at you; which at best gives you temporary relief only to have BV return. At worst, temp relief of BV, but a lovely yeast infection in it's place.
OK, Off the soapbox and on with the info....

First I'm going to talk about the WHY. If you've been to other sites you may know this already, so skip it. If not read on.

The vagina is an interesting little ecosystem. Basically you have "good" bacteria that live there and keep everything happy. The environment of the vagina needs to be acidic (3.5-4.5) Just a little primer on the PH scale...0-14, 0 is extreme acidic, 14 is extreme alkaline. If your PH gets off and moves toward the higher end, your Good bacteria die and bad bacteria take over-thus BV. Or a yeast infection. Either one lives at the more alkaline. The acidity/good bacteria is a circle. The good bacteria help keep the acid right and the acid keeps the good bacteria alive. If you need more info on whether you have a bacterial infection or a yeast infection, that is pretty easy to find here and all over the web. My info is designed for gals that pretty much know they have BV.

OK...what now??? Another gal put the treatment process very succinctly and I'm basically repeating her thoughts.

1. Kill bad bacteria
2. Make environment in vagina more acidic.
3. Re-introduce good bacteria.
4. Find out what is causing yours and prevent. This is a mystery, I think there may be more to BV than what we currently know. There are Soooooo many ways your ph can become unbalanced and cause this. Educate yourself as much as possible and try to figure out your why.

The tools I have found that seem to work the best for the most people are these:
(I will tell you how to use each) You can find all of this at a health food store.

1.Hydorgen Peroxide
2.Folic Acid
3.Tea Tree Oil
4.Apple Cider Vinegar
5.Probiotics

1.Peroxide-Good all around cleasing agent. The bad bacteria are anaerobic, meaning they thrive in the absence of oxygen. The good bacteria are aerobic, the opposite. Peroxide floods the vagina with an environment that the bad stuff hates.
2.Folic Acid-I don't know why or really if this actually works, but a LOT of women swear by it and it can't hurt you-so why not.If anyone has more info on why Folic acid works please let me know.
3.Tea Tree Oil- This is a great natural TOPICAL antibiotic. There are others also, but Tea Tree is easy to come by and inexpensive and goes a long way.
4.Apple Cider Vinegar-This is a natural, inexpensive acid. Some gals insist on getting the kind with the "mother". You can find this at natural food stores.
5.Probiotics- I cannot (because this would be unbearibly long) go into all the details of the various strains of bacteria that should be living in your vagina. There is soooo much info out there to read on this(and I suggest you do)So I'm going to be VERY basic. Lactobacillus Acidolphis is one of the strains you need and can be easliy bought and administered.

OK, now for actual treatment. Other tools you will need other than the ones listed above are-
1. A small syringe. Get the type that has a bulb on the end. Designed for giving children medicine. Looks like a large eye dropper or a tiny turkey baster. Found mine at Wallgreens.
2. Tampons- get the kind that have different sizes. You will use the small tampon in the large applicator.

How to use these tools for treatment:
Take 800 mg of Folic Acid in the morning and 400mg at night.

You can rinse with the Peroxide first or anytime the discharge is bad. I found no problem with using it full strength. You can dilute if it bothers you. Draw it up into the syringe, insert as you would a tampon and squeeze it out while the syringe is inside. You can repeat this a couple of times.

Tea Tree Oil. This is where you use the tampons. Take out a small one and a large one, remove both tampons from their applicators. Throw out the small applicator and the large tampon. The reason you are doing this is(duh) a tampon swells when it is wet, so you have to get it saturated with oil THEN insert. Use the syringe to draw up some of the oil. saturate the small tampon with the oil. place the tampon in the large applicator and insert. leave in for up to 3 hrs. This is the A-Bomb for the bad bacteria! Take out and wait a few hours before the vinegar.

Vinegar. I found that the vinegar will burn if you do not dilute heavily. Find a level that is comfortable for you. You can either use your diluted mixture to rinse inside as you did with the peroxide or can saturate a tampon as you did with the oil. This will bring your Ph over to the acid side and make it a nice place for the good stuff to grow.

Acidophilus. This one has the most latitude. Probiotics come in capsules, tablets, "liquid", and in various foods. Most strains cannot migrate from your digestive tract to your vagina. Sooooo, the best way to adminiser these babies is to put them right where they need to be. i found that the capsules didn't disolve in the vagina as they would in the stomach, so I found an Acidophilus that is in a kind of liquid form. It actually looks like a runny yogurt. This is an easy method to get the little guys where they need to be. Use the syringe and insert a couple of teaspoons inside.
I found it best to use the Peroxide, Oil, and Vinegar during the day and the acidophilus in the evening before bed. That way it's not so messy (put on a pair of COTTON undies) also allows the whole night for them to multiply.
As for taking probiotics orally, certianly can't hurt and may help a lot. So take them orally in conjuction with vaginally.

I had results from this treatment plan in one day. I hope to get some feedback with others experiences. Sorry this was so long, but I hope it helps. This is such an awful problem and there aren't that many real answers out there.

[BVsufferer]

Hi soupoutraging,
Unfortunately, after all my medication, all was fine not until my period is finished, my BV is back. Im in right now and keep searching for the right medicine.

we have same problem here, hope u can get the answer and share whit us soon..

[BVsufferer]

Maybe I can help!

Hi Poppytall,

I suffered BV for 3 months now, it's so awful. Upon doing a lot of research, I am doing hom remedies. Tea tree really works for me. Using a small tampon with large applicator, I saturate the tee trea oil into the small tampon and insert it inside th vjay using the large applicator. I have been using this method and I have no problem using it full strength though lately I mix vitamin E with tee trea oil in the tampon. Good luck!

Questions about tea tree oil.

What's the best method of inserting this stuff? Most people say to dilute it and some say to do this with Vitamin E oil. The jar of Vitamin E that I have is extremely thick. Is tea tree oil a similar consistency? It seems weird to put that inside your body.
Would it be effective to dilute the tea tree oil with water and squirt it in?

[Orangetulips]

Is WATER the answer???

I'm 41, and have never had BV until three months ago. I took 3 different anti-biotics and, like many ... still searching for the cure. I've been feeling very dehydrated lately and have decided to give up my coffee for while. I read on another forum that a girl went to a 'healing mass' at her church and someone came up to her and said she had this 'message' to give her to simply drink more water. I'm wondering if this really is the answer. Simply focus on drinking more water.

i used to have the same problem for many months and the doctor said it was most likely a chronic case of bacterial vaginosis. He gave me Metrogel and it would go away but then come right back. I didn't want to keep using Metrogel so I tried a more homeopathic approach and started douching with 1/5 cup of distilled water and 1/5 cup of peroxide once a day and upped my folic acid intake. It actually got remarkably better, however, when I would stop the douching it would come back. I finally realized that this is a ph balance issue and that maybe my water intake during the day wasn't sufficient enough to keep my vaginal ph as it should be. I started drinking 4-5 bottles (the 16.9 fl oz size) of water a day and saw an immediate improvement. I even stopped the douching altogether and am now just making sure I drink the 4-5 bottles of water a day and that alone has taken the problem away completely.

[sweetmelissa40]

Do NOT put hydrogen peroxide in your vagina! That must hurt like crazy. There are good bacteria in your vagina that it would kill; on the other hand you could have a yeast infection instead of BV and killing the bacteria would make that MUCH worse. You need to see a doctor to diagnose your problem if your mother can't help you. There is a BIG difference between the treatments for these two problems, and until you learn to tell the difference in your own body, you shouldn't self-treat.

Sorry to disagree with you but it is completely safe and pain-free to douche with hydrogen peroxide. It is nothing more than water and oxygen which is what's needed to balance the normal flora of the vagina. My GYN recommends it and I have done it for years, with incredible results.
The antibiotics prescribed for BV are far worse than the hydrogen peroxide, providing only temporary relief and making subsequent visits worse because they kill not only the bad bacteria but the good as well.
Gatorgal's homepathic treatment is spot on!!!

[mztanya]

I too have suffered with the infamous bug for many years, I will be trying Gatorgal's treatment this week and see if I have a better outcome. I have read over the posts and felt compelled to share my personal story and thoughts. One previous blogger mentioned she thought her husband was cheating on her and then dismissed it. Another mentions her BV did not arise until after a threesome with her husband...no red flags? My first bout of this ugly bug was in my early twenties with a lousy ex-boyfriend. BV has various hypothesized causes, but what many people overlook is the issue of monogamy. I am now a widow and single again. I know for me there have been two culprits of BV; 1). A cheating partner and 2). Spermicides/lubricants etc...

Unfortunately, since I am back on the dating scene, I struggle with which condoms will not cause too much chaos "down there", so far Durex is the only brand I can tolerate. Back to my point, I learned to listen to my body rather than my heart or anyone else. Since my husband, I have had a couple long term relationships and must say, those that BV seemed to be an active participant also seemed to have been with the Prince Charmings.

This is not to dismiss anyone else's theories, this just happens to be my very personal one. Many of my girlfriends who know of my belief, began to believe it themselves but unfortunately hind site is always 20/20 vision.

[960texasgrl]

Always causes your BV to return after you cycle.

I signed up with this site after reading through this thread (desperately dredging for something I didn't already know about BV as a life long sufferer) and seeing so many people saying that the stupid bad bacteria over ran things once again after each cycle. I had a great doctor where I used to live and she told me this dirty little secret about Always. She is absolutely right! I stayed BV free for the longest time after learning that little tidbit. Unfortunately though, it is back 3 years later. I am convinced that this is due to my diet and Dial bar soap. I think I am going to find me a new doc, take the yucky antibiotics that has a name staring with the letter M, and start taking probiotics afterwards, along with changing to dove soap... Wish me luck. I Hate BV!

[Kelsyn]

Okay so I had bv about a year ago n went to the gyno n they gave me antibiotics and it went away until a few months ago and since it started again I have been researching everywhere to get a solution and I finally came across this thread yesterday. I tried the treatment yesterday and didn't notice any signs of it today ! I'm doing the treatment today again just to be sure. But thanks for the post!