How Bacterial Vaginosis Is Treated

Bacterial vaginosis is a bacterial infection of the vagina caused by the imbalance of good and bad bacteria in the woman’s genitalia. Not many women know that they have this infection and the best way to find out is by going to their gynecologists to make sure if they have it or not. Once in the doctor’s office, a sample of the patient’s discharge will be taken as well as an ocular examination of the cervix. The sample is then taken to the laboratory to see if there is an infection or not.

What happens if one has bacterial vaginosis? Is it treatable? What are the treatments available for bacterial vaginosis?

Once diagnosed, the patient is usually asked to take antibiotics as treatment for the infection. Metronidazole is the type of antibiotic given to patients with bacterial vaginosis. Metronidazole can be taken orally or by gel form. Another antibiotic which can cure this infection is a vaginal clindamycin cream.

There have been findings that Metronidazole when taken orally may have some side effects but it is considered to be the most effective way to cure this type of infection. A milder type of antibiotic which doesn’t have that many side effects is Tinidazole. These medicines may not be given to women who are pregnant since they may have adverse effects on the fetus.

There have been studies showing that those who take antibiotics to cure bacterial infections experience a repeat infection just a few weeks after taking their antibiotics. This is why there are people who would rather take natural cures for bacterial vaginosis since natural cures work by strengthening and enhancing the body’ own resources ensuring that an imbalance of good and bad bacteria will not happen.

Some home remedies to cure bacterial vaginosis include drinking cranberry juice daily until the infection goes away. Taking 1-2 garlic capsules a day until the infection is gone is another alternative. Likewise, eating yoghurt and drinking fresh milk with bacterial culture may also cure bacterial vaginosis.

Compared to its medicinal counterparts, home remedies or natural cures for bacterial vaginosis may take some time to take effect. While antibiotics can offer relief within a few days, home remedies usually take twice or even thrice the waiting time for the effect to kick in.

The good thing about taking natural remedies is that it does not disrupt one’s system and it doesn’t harm one’s internal organs such as the kidneys. There have been studies showing an adverse effect on the kidneys of people who have been taking medications for long periods of time. Since taking in antibiotics is not a one-time thing, drinking antibiotics from time to time, the kidneys could possibly be affected.

Whichever type of treatment one chooses, the most important thing is to cure the infection that has been plaguing the person and make sure that the infection does not return. Avoiding activities which may result in the return of the infection must be avoided at all costs since a recurrence of the infection may result in further complications.