[anon2012]

Hi, I'd like to share my routine for managing my BV symptoms.
I haven't cured my BV but I now have it under control and it only flares up if I've been sexually active or when my hormones are off balance (right before or after the time of the month).

Cut out coffee. I noticed an instant flare up whenever I drank my favourite drink. I've had to give it up. Suprisingly tea does not bring on the symptoms.
Eat lots of plain yogurt. Not the fat free, aspartame stuff. I eat yogurt EVERY DAY. Just a small amount but the regularity keeps my stomach bacteria calm. I add 1 tsp of sugar or eat it with fruit.
Cut down fat and sugar. These are my weaknesses but I try to eat more vegetables and raw fruit. When I eat badly, I drink a shot of Apple Cider Vinegar diluted in a large glass of water. It tastes awful but I think it helps.
Cut down on stress. Sometimes I don't know I'm stressed until the BV flares up.

Whenever I have a flare up and I dont have the patience to bring my body back to normal, I eat spinach.
A large spinach salad will make the smell disappear within an hour.
Eating frequent amounts of raw spinach isn't healthy for you (something about kidney stones) so I alternate with cooked spinach as well.
Eating some spinach at the first notice of the smell helps tremendously.

Good luck and let's find a way to get rid of BV permanently.

[BeccaAnn]

Suffering from BV

Ive been suffering from BV for about 3 or 4 years now. I go to the gynocologist about once a month for antibiotics. My doctor tells me the same thing every time, that i will just have to keep comming back until it goes away. I was browsing on the internet for any information on how to cure my BV. I came across this site and the next day I went out and bought the folic acid 400mg pills, the peroxide and the Acidophilus probioyics (that was yesterday). I take three folic acid pills a day, two in the morning and one at night, and I take the probioyic once a day in the morning. I am hoping that this will help because the BV is literally ruing my life. I dont have any medical insurance and I can not afford to keep putting out money for anyibiotics that dont work.

If anyboby has any more information that they can give me that would helpI would really apptreciate it. Thanks

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.

[mimi79]

STOP TAKING ANTIBIOTICS!!! I truly understand why,however, it simply doesn't work.. I've stop taking antibiotics because I hated the way it may me feel.... and taking itfor long period of time makes it worse.......

I use Tea Tree Suppositories you can purchase them online, the cheapest I've found is (outbound link removed)

use them for 6 nights straight, once they arrive put them in the refrigerator, and use each night... when you insert into the vagina, you will feel a sensation.. to me its refreshing however some say its uncomfrontable...deal with it..... you will feel like its not doing anything but trust me it is....once you complete you 6 day ,you will still have the oil inside.... just allow it to flow out, about another 2 days... you will then notice the smell, discharge is gone..... I've since had my period and still refresh..no smell, no abnormal discharge...... now i use only ivory soap, only white towels, and i do take anprobiotics......... and also I did use 1 stick after period just to maintain...... try this it work for me...... if that doesnt work for you tryproskin candida mama nature.. read about it...... I havent tried that but Ive heard good reviews.......sorry for the fragments and typos..it 5 iin the morning......godbless.

[abbykins]

Hi BeccaAnn I saw your post, what antibiotics are you on?? did your doc run any tests? what kind of symptoms/bacteria are you dealing with??


I'm having a similar problem with recurring bv infections. basically I have been treated several times over the past 2 years, and now it seems to not really ever go away. I always test positive for high ph and garderella when I go to the doc, last time I took medicine was about 6 months ago, my symptoms are usually mild but are there every day.. What I've been doing is:

vitamin d, folic acid and multivitamin every day
yogurt and probiotics every day

for the week after my period i use boric acid suppositories and rinse with hydrogren peroxide water 1/4 -> ive done this the last 3 months, i think it helps but I still have symptoms they are just not as severe

I also use rephresh for 1-2 days if bv flares up.

I have an appointment with my gyno in 6 weeks, and I know im going to be positive for bv, so I plan to stop using anything down there leading up to that

just wanted to share what I'm doing, I'll post an update later one

[patrea]

Anon, I have had vaginosis for years never been able to get rid of it but just recently I started drinking more water ( filtered water) and I have found it is gone so whether I have stumbled upon a cure I don't know could it be that simple

[MsBubbles]

Thank you for the information, very helpful but I have two questions.
1. Does every single step need to be done? (I forgot to do the apple cider douche last night before inserting the liquid probiotics, but several hours had passed after the tampon with tea tree oil)
2. How many days should this routine be followed?

Thank you so much for sharing

[antoinetteT]

I was feeling some discomfort irritating pain inside my vagina &I knew something was wrong. . So I went to the hospital & they ran my blood, gave me an examine test & pelvic test & everything came back fine, except she said I have BV. . So she prescribed flayg &ibprufoen for the pain & i've been taking them for like 3 days now. . The itching is seeming to clear up but this unbearable pain I have at the entrance if my vagina is not seeming to go away. . Its like an aching, hurtful pain , she told me to take the ibuprofen for the pain but that doesn't really help. . its starting to affect the way I walk ,pee & everything, is this normal , what do I do ?

[PatriciaB]

Hello Everyone. I just registered to this site to share my painfully long time awaited discovery of how to conquer the awfulness of BV and similar vaginal negatives. I read almost every post on this site while I was suffering, and bookmarked just to come back, sign up and share what I knew would be the eventual cure I discover. So I need to start by saying that, as I'm sure many of you know, there are a few different ailments that can be causing a nasty smell and discharge down there, not just BV alone. I literally sat and did a full solid 6 hours of research before attempting to do myself what I am about to share. I ended up on this site ~> [link removed] and saw a list of different types of problems. Unfortunately for me, I discovered I had trich. Which is btw completely disgusting once you know what it is. BV remedies, especially the natural remedies, WILL NOT work for trich. They may offer very temporary relief, but not a true fix. I have had trich, bv, and candida issues. And having all 3 at the same time is, for lack of a better word, wack! I found a cure for trich, it is around $10 and you can buy it on walmart.com and have it shipped site to store so you can pick it up same day you order, depending on the time of day you place your order. This stuff is called tioconazole ~> [link removed] it is a 1 day vaginal antifungal treatment and you should use it when you're going to bed. If in fact you have trich, you will see the nasty result in the toilet the next morning. I am giving as little detail as possible since it is absurdly gross, but anyone dealing with this needs to know what they're up against. Also, in my experience, Trich will bring about a smaller amount of discharge than BV, but with a worse more horrific odor. My clue on having trich instead of BV was feeling strange in my upper inner thigh area. Since this is antifungal cream that will alleviate the trich or BV, there is still a good chance that a yeast infection will remain. To be safe, the day after the trich medicine, I started using a 3 day treatment of miconazole. This is the product I used, also from walmart and can be shipped site to store as well ~>[link removed] I was finding this product did not work for everyone, and/or made symptoms of yeast infection worse. After the 3 day treatment, I felt some relief but still had some symptoms of a yeast infection. So I went to a natural remedy, Garlic. Inserting garlic up there was the final step in my cure. I did this for 3 nights straight after the 3 day miconazole treatment, and my symptoms are gone, I am able to go back to my regular lifestyle worry free. Side note, for me I noticed symptoms of trich, bv and candida increase when I consumed caffeine or alcohol in any form, or ate any processed foods. To be safe and to keep this awful setback from reoccurring or not receiving the full benefit of these treatments, I would say avoid caffeine alcohol and processed foods while on the meds, and for as long after that you can stand - **** least a week, and to also increase your intake of insoluble fibers like the seeds in berries. Lots of fresh super-food fruit and veggies on a regular will help to maintain a stable vaginal environment once you get back to that point. I saw someone mention using garlic up there is extremely gross, well, I have used garlic in the past for yeast and it worked beautifully. I used it to help alleviate BV, and if the bv is caught early enough, it also worked well. But I tried it before realizing I had trich, and the result was a nightmare. The smell worsened and it did not feel good. But after trich is gone, the best way to insert the garlic is to get some gauze and make a holder for the garlic, letting some of the gauze hang out so you have no problems taking it out.

So to break this down, I got myself back to normal in 7 days,
Tioconazole - 1 day treatment
Miconazole - 3 day treatment
Garlic - 3 day treatment

Total cost: $17.

Please be cautious as we all have different vaginal settings and flora going on, do your research and pay attention to the warnings on any medicines. Follow your instincts, your body knows what it needs...

Best of luck ladies, I hope this helps you as well as it did me. And if it does, please spread the word. This is a very sad and awful thing to have to deal with, but thankfully as women we are strong enough to handle. Take care! And here's to living BV and other vag-issue free.

[njphills]

I have never posted on any online forum, but like almost everyone else, I have consulted this website in my attempt to deal with BV. Now that I'm feeling a LOT better, I felt obligated to share what worked for me. Before I could get to the doctors I tried the at home/natural approach. I soaked a tampon in hydrogen peroxide, inserted it & left it in for an hour twice a day - once at night, once in the morning. When I started doing this, I also started taking a bunch of vitamins. To be specific, once a day I took B12 1000 mcg, D3 2000iu, B complex. Twice a day I took 800mcg of Folic Acid. I'm not sure if the vitamins did it or the hydrogen peroxide but I started to feel relief within 24 hours of starting this regiment. I rarely eat sugar or carbs, but did find that on the rare occasion i ate them it aggravated the condition - so I made sure to cut these out completely.

I was able to make it to the doctor a few days ago, after about 4 days of this natural treatment. The doctor confirmed that I did in fact have BV, although she said i looked "very pink" and healthy & the lab only showed a small amount of "bad" bacteria. I was prescribed 7 days of Flagyl 500mg 2/day. I will be continuing my vitamin regiment with these antibiotics, although I have stopped the hydrogen peroxide treatment (it was very difficult for me to get up there).

So that is my story - hope it helped, and good luck ladies.

[wantacurefinally]

Hi kobirot I see you mentioned your doc put you on "other things" to boost your immune system....1) did they help? 2) what were they if you don't mind sharing. A few years ago I had dealt with an abcessed tooth and my dentist kept me on antibiotics for almost a year before I having decided to pull it (he wanted to save it was the reason he put off pulling it). Anyway my doctor said that being on the antibiotic so long killed all mt "good bacteria" so I was then diagnosed with BV and suffered from it for like the last 3 years????or so. I have tried sooooooo many things with no luck for more than a few days at a time,but you caught my attention when you mentioned boosting your immune system after gatorgal catching my attention with her post (that I am going to start over the holiday and being off work!!) Thanks