What are the symptoms of bacterial vaginitis? These aspects should not be ignored

Both "good" and "bad" bacteria live in your vagina. If the delicate balance between them is disrupted, you can get bacterial vaginosis , or BV. You may not have symptoms, and you may not need treatment. Most of the time, BV doesn't cause any other health problems. But BV can lead to other problems, especially if you're pregnant or trying to get pregnant.

reason

Bacteria called lactobacilli keep your vagina slightly acidic, so bad bacteria can't thrive well. If your lactobacilli levels drop, more bad bacteria move in and you get bacterial vaginosis.

Any woman can get bacterial vaginosis, but some things can increase your chances, including:

Smoking

Sexual activity

rinse

Douching disrupts the natural balance of bacteria. Soaps, bubble baths, and vaginal deodorants can have a similar effect.

A new sex partner, or having more than one sex partner, can make you more likely to get BV. It's not clear why, but women who have female partners are most at risk. You can also get BV through oral and anal sex.

Intrauterine devices, which are birth control devices that fit into your uterus, have been linked to bacterial vaginosis, especially if you have irregular bleeding. But we need more research to know for sure if this is actually a cause.

You may have heard that you can get a vaginal virus from swimming pools or public restroom seats, but that's not true.

symptom

About half of women with bacterial vaginosis have no symptoms. But if you do, you may notice a:

Thin white, gray, or green discharge

Burning sensation when urinating

Fishy smell is stronger after sex

It's not like a yeast infection.. those often itch and have a thick, white discharge that doesn't smell.

diagnosis

You need to talk to your primary care doctor or gynecologist.. She will ask about your symptoms and do a vaginal exam. She may take a sample of your discharge with a cotton swab and examine it under a microscope for BV.

Taking a sample may also help your doctor or a lab rule out other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) like gonorrhea or trichomoniasis, which share some common symptoms.

treat

If you don’t have any symptoms and aren’t pregnant, you probably don’t need treatment. Your BV may go away on its own.

When you do have symptoms, your doctor can prescribe antibiotics to get rid of your infection. This may be a pill you take orally or a cream or gel you apply to your vagina.. You'll need to take most treatments for 5-7 days. You should finish all of the medicine, even if your symptoms are gone. If you stop early, your infection will come back with a vengeance.

Since BV can be spread sexually, avoid all sexual contact until you're better. If your partner is another woman, she may want to see her doctor so she can get treatment, too.

If you use an IUD and your BV keeps coming back (recurrent BV), you may want to talk to your doctor about a different type of BV that you might want to take on birth control instead.

It's common for BV to return even after it's been treated and gone. If this happens, you may also need to take antibiotics longer.

Other infections

Having BV makes you more likely to get an STI like herpes, chlamydia, or gonorrhea. If you already have HIV, BV increases your chances of passing it to your partner.

If you have bacterial vaginosis when you get a hysterectomy or other surgery on your female organs, you are more likely to develop a bacterial infection later.

Some of the same things that cause bacterial vaginosis can also cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), an infection of the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries.

Pregnancy

When you undergo fertility treatments like in vitro fertilization (IVF), you may have less success if you have bacterial vaginosis.

Pregnant women with BV have a higher risk of premature birth (before 37 weeks) or low birth weight (less than 5.5 pounds). Since BV is the likely cause, you should get treatment.

prevention

To lower your chances of getting BV, use only water — or even soap — when washing your genitals. Don't be silly. When you go to the bathroom, wipe from front to back, vagina to anus.

Put a condom in front of his penis and touch your vagina, mouth, or anus. Clean sex toys after each use.

Limit the number of sexual partners you have. Get tested for STDs, and have your partners get tested, too.