“How do I live with this?”

I am so sorry, you do need some help. BV is a bacteria that is a gynecologists nightmare, so I do understand. It is a chronic problem which there is still not one drug to totally irradiate the problem, there are some newer meds on the market not sure if you have been given theses products. What I do recommend is one boost your immune system up with supplements, probiotics and not sure if you get the boric acid from a compound pharmacy or the over-the-counter product, the compound product from my own patients works better. BV get worse with hormonal changes, i.e., when the cycle is coming because that when your system becomes more vulnerable also with increase stress this also drops the immune system and with decrease sleep poor diet these are things that affect our immunity and ability to fight these nuisance infections.
I hope this helps have a blessed day and stay safe!

BV or Bacterial vaginosis is an overgrowth of a common organism that is part of the ‘normal flora’ of every woman’s vaginal vault; it is part of the pH ‘balance’ that needs to be there to keep our vaginal vault secretions and tissues healthy. BV will usually not be a problem. However, when there is a more alkaline pH (semen) or if there is spotting and breakdown of blood (more alkaline), then overgrowth of BV occurs because it has more to ‘feed on’. This overgrowth will usually reset by itself with return to normal; not having any spotting/bleeding and having a regular timing of relations. Even having an increase in timing of relations can trigger BV; if relations were twice/wk and they go to every day can be a trigger for BV as it is an alkaline ‘overload’ or change. I have even had patients who changed to a heavily alkaline diet who noted a change in frequency of BV.



For those patients that have suffered with recurrent BV and are having breakdown of vaginal and vulvar tissues from wearing pads that are rubbing external tissues raw like a rug burn or just constant alkaline pH to a vaginal vault, there needs to be a ‘pH vacation’ from anything alkaline. That may mean relations can only happen with your partner wearing a condom and soaking AM and PM in Epsom salt baths to cleanse the vulvar tissues and allow them to heal. I tell my patients to go ‘commando’ and wear no underwear, wear cotton, breathable flowing clothing with good airflow, use a hairdryer on ‘cool’ setting after an Epsom salt soak and above all NO SOAP OF ANY KIND to the very sensitive tissues of your bottom. That means even squirt bottle hygiene vs dry toilet tissue with emptying your bladder and dab dry. BV is debilitating for some patients and you feel you are in this alone; but take heart, you have all of the tools to combat this, it just takes time and understanding the things that WILL HELP and the behaviors that WILL NOT HELP.

This may be due to a change in the ph of your vaginal flora. You need to take a probiotic with 25 billion cultures and get a consult from a good gynecologist!