Home Remedies For Bacterial Vaginosis-simple Treatment For Bv

If you are suffering from BV, and are one of the many thousands of women who have tried using antibiotics and over the counter meds with no success, you may be considering trying home remedies for bacterial vaginosis.

For women who simply have had one isolated outbreak of this condition, conventional medication may well appear to be the answer-a quick course of antibiotic treatment and the condition has gone! The truth is likely to be that the BV would have gone away on its own, without any treatment as it was simply an isolated outbreak brought about by a unique, one-off set of circumstances.

For other women, the reality can be very different. Some suffer from bacterial vaginosis repeatedly, having a number of flare-ups throughout the year and no amount of antibiotics or over the counter meds will get rid of it. If this is what is happening to you, it clearly means that there is an underlying cause which neither of these options will sort out.

Bacterial vaginosis is caused by an imbalance of bacteria within the vagina. This causes the normally healthy, slightly acidic pH level to switch to an alkaline environment which encourages the formation of harmful bacteria. It is this bacteria which causes the symptoms of BV.

There can be a number of reasons why this occurs-including being generally under the weather, using perfumed products around the vaginal area, a new sexual partner-indeed the list goes on and on. More often than not, it is almost impossible to identify the exact cause. However, it is only be treating this root cause that you can be totally free of BV and home remedies for bacterial vaginosis are the way forward.

Antibiotics work by treating the symptoms of BV-i.e they will kill the bacteria caused by the imbalance, but will not correct the imbalance itself. What happens is that all bacteria-both good and bad is killed. This means that as soon as treatment is stopped, levels of harmful bacteria build up again, resulting in further outbreaks. Sadly, whatever caused the outbreak is still there, just waiting to reappear.

There are a number of home remedies for bacterial vaginosis. Some will work by giving symptomatic relief whereas other will strengthen and enhance the beneficial bacteria within the vagina, giving it the ability to kill off the harmful bacteria. Three well known remedies are tea tree oil, probiotics and cider vinegar.

Tea Tree Oil

This powerful natural antibacterial oil works by killing off harmful bacteria. It can be used in pessary form or a few drops can be added to your bath.

Probiotics

These are available from health food stores. Probiotics are also found in live, natural yogurt. As well as eating the yogurt, some women find it useful to introduce the yogurt directly into the vagina by way of a tampon.

Cider Vinegar

This is mildly acidic and a couple of cupfuls added to the bathwater can help to rebalance the pH levels.

There is no doubt that even using ad-hoc remedies in isolation can help to bring a little relief. However, to ensure that you eradicate this condition once and for all, it is necessary to use a systematic approach which robustly eliminates all possible causes of BV.

Prompt action is always a good idea if you have BV as although not dangerous in the early stages, if left untreated bacterial vaginosis can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease and even infertility.