Bacterial vaginosis

[whatsallthisthe]

Went to gynae last week, they took a smear. got a phone call this morning from drs. nurse. I have BV! Is this an STI? I have noticed a discharge etc. not sure what it was. My husband and I had sex 3 weeks ago. our sex life is intermittent due to ongoing gynae issues for me. endometriosis and ovarian cyst.

I have also been noticing mentionitis of a colleague of his at work. How do I get BV if I have not had sex with anyone else? Do I get BV if he has had unprotected sex with someone else.....

calm me down folks. I am not really sure what to think

[ArlingtonStringhamm]

Pretty sure it's not an STI! Don't panic!

[whatsallthisthe]

I looked at a couple of things on wiki and wasn't sure one way or the other. anyone hae any experience of it.

[gamerchick]

No its not an STI don't worry. It's a pain in the arse though. You can either get the evil antibiotics or you can ask for the cream you put up with an applicator.

[susiedaisy]

No it's not a sti. Do a bit of googling if you can you will find any answers on the web.

[handfulofcottonbuds]

Can be caused by soap, bubble bath, washing powder etc.

Don't look at wiki it's rubbish, look on the NHS website.

[susiedaisy]

Yes I had bv. A course of antibiotics sorted it out.

[whatsallthisthe]

got the tablets. thanks everyone. I don't soap down there. is it hard to get rid ad keep rid of?

[Frogisatwat]

Me too. Think it was the copper coil that did it for me.
I wouldn't let anyone within a 10 mile radius of me!

[trappedinsuburbia]

Apparently its more common than thrush and defo not an sti.

[Daisypops]

Ive had this. Its ghastly. I wanted to lock myself in a room until it cleared up. My friend told me it can be caught through unwashed willy. Its caused by bacteria getting in your bits that upsets the ph balance.

[butterflygardens]

It's not caused by an unwashed willy and it's not a STI. All women have good bacteria in your vagina. Think of it of having your own built.in cleaning system down there. When the balance of this good bacteria (that is meant to be there) is wiped out by cleaning your vagina too much by soaps, too much hot water, rubbing too hard with flannel, using douches etc. Can knock the natural balance out so in simple terms, the bad bacteria can take over and cause an infection and thrush can sometimes form as well. So it can't be given to you by men. Being too clean is a bad thing in this case. If you want to see how to prevent it check the nhs or Google it xxx

[whatsallthisthe]

i am certainly vigourous with the hot water in the shower. not soap but a good blast of hot water. so just let mother nature be and embrace her natural balance. does an adjusted Minnie smell of nothing or something ifyou know what I mean. LIke, things are only out of balance when there is a smell?

[HerdyHerdwick]

I've had BV and I really dont understand some of the drama on this thread. It's no big deal at all. The worst thing about it for me was the bloody awful antibiotics.

[Fontella]

I've had it too and I haven't had sex for seven years so it definitely ain't an STI!!

I just noticed a slight smell. It was weird. I kept washing, having loads of baths, changing my underwear two or three times a day, but I could still smell it. Putting it bluntly, it wasn't the usual smell you might expect from down there, it was just odd - hard to explain really.

I told my GP and she said 'I can't smell anything' and I said 'well I bloody well can' and I insisted they take a swab. When they rang me with the results and said 'you were right' - and it was BV.

Apparently all my excessive hygiene was just making it worse.

[BeforeAndAfter]

My gynae compared the vaginal environment to a garden and said that sometimes when the balance is upset one of the plants in the garden can take over and it just needs a bit of treatment to get your flowerbed back in order I've no idea what caused my garden to go a bit wild...

[Daisypops]

When I had it it smelt terribly.

I got it a few times after sex with exp. Had all the sti tests but it was only ever bv. I was convinced it was sexrelated for me

[whatsallthisthe]

Herdy there is no drama love. I just don't know much about the topic, was worried it might be an STI and wanted to talk with people about it. But now that I understand I am maintain a flowerbed, all is well. Just wondering about composting though

[LayMeDown]

I've had it. Not an STI, although the student doctor told me it was. That caused some big rows with my bf at the time. When I went back for my check up after the ABs the nurse put me right. We still ended up spitting thought. Pretty sure he was cheating actually....

[MyChildDoesntNeedSleep]

You don't need antibiotics. Just Bioactive gel.

[MyChildDoesntNeedSleep]

Sorry, Balance Activ

[Sunflower49]

I have had it. It smelt like bad breath!Gross, PITA, but easily sorted.

[Frogisatwat]

Herdy, drama? Goodness it was like billingsgate market! Esp after sex

[lettertoherms]

Not an STI at all. However, it can be caused by sex... as pretty much any little thing can cause a disruption in bacteria balances. Butterfly explained it well upthread.

Eat lots of yogurt/probiotics to rebalance the good bacterias. You may feel rather ill on the antibitoics they give you for it, and make sure you don't drink any alcohol.

It has a tendency to reoccur. Once you've had it you can generally recognize the signs though, and sometimes eating lots of yogurt can be enough to combat it... hydrogen peroxide also fights it off, so a wipe with a diluted solution can help if you're comfortable with that.

[gotagoldtoof]

I had it after having my ds. I'd been bleeding for about 4 weeks, which although normal after giving birth, changes the ph (or whatever) of your vagina and caused the BV. Had had recurring infections as a teen so was well aware of the foul dustbin-like aroma it has. Antibiotics are a pain, but you'll need them (or maybe give the OTC gel a try?)

[susiedaisy]

Herdy. There's no drama. Just people calmly explaining to the op that bv isn't an sti and that it's actually quite common and easy to rectify.