For those who are suffering from bacterial vaginosis, the usual approach to treatment is to use antibiotics. Antibiotics work by killing all the bacteria that are present in the vagina. This approach can only provide temporary relief from this infection, because as soon as you stop using antibiotics the infection is likely to re-occurs. That is why most women who are being treated with antibiotics often experience recurrent bacterial vaginosis.
Bacterial vaginosis is as a result of imbalance bacteria that are present in the vagina. A normal healthy vagina is acidic in nature with low pH value, and this is suitable for beneficial bacteria to thrive. But when the ph level rises due to various factors and changes from acidic to alkaline, then this condition will enables the bad bacterial to grow rapidly. When the bad bacteria multiply rapidly and outnumber the good ones, this imbalance then triggers bacterial vaginosis to occur. Common symptoms of this disease include excessive vaginal discharge accompanied, foul fishy odor which is more obvious after sexual intercourse, vaginal itching, swollen vagina and in certain cases painful or difficult urination.
The exact cause of this imbalance in many women is still a mystery to medical professionals. However, certain risk factors can facilitate the development of this infection in a woman. Some of these factors include excessive vaginal douching, excessive vaginal spraying, engaging in unprotected sex especially with a new partner, having multiple sexual partners, wearing thongs and use of IUD for birth control.
In order to treat this condition, doctors usually prescribed antibiotics. Metronidazole is the most commonly prescribed antibiotic for bacterial vaginosis which is normally available in tablet form or as a cream. Generally, what antibiotic does is to kill all the good and bad bacteria that are present in the vaginal and provide a temporary relief. But once you stop the treatment and the body is trying to replenish all naturally occurring bacteria in the vagina, there is always a tendency for the bad bacteria to outgrow the good ones and the cycle of infection starts all over again. This is one of the main reasons why most women who use conventional treatments often experience repeated attack of bacterial vaginosis.
It is obvious that treatments using antibiotics can only cure the symptoms temporarily. Therefore, it is advisable to treat the root cause of this condition in order to prevent it from returning again. For those women who experience repeated attack, it is imperative that you look at other options other than antibiotics for treating this infection.