Bacterial vaginosis is a vaginal infection that is the leading cause of vaginitis, or inflammation of the vagina. This infection affects over 3 million women in the United States and is characterized by symptoms such as vaginal itching, inflammation, and foul-smelling discharge.
Bacterial Vaginosis Causes
Bacterial vaginosis is the result of an overgrowth of anaerobic bacteria. Anaerobes are considered the “bad” bacteria in your vagina, while lactobacilli are considered the “good” bacteria. When lactobacilli become outnumbered by anaerobic bacteria, this causes an imbalance that can lead to bacterial vaginosis.
There are many things that could cause this to occur. These include:
- Use of antibiotics: Antibiotics can decrease the amount of good bacteria in your vaginal environment, which can make you more susceptible to developing bacterial vaginosis or other problems.
- Taking hormones: This can also affect the normal production and growth of bacteria in your vagina, which can lead to bacterial vaginosis.
- Use of vaginal medications: Some medications have side effects that could lead to infections such as bacterial vaginosis.
- Douching: Douching is a practice that involves rinsing out the vagina using cleansing products. Since the vagina is self-cleaning, this practice can disrupt the natural bacterial balance and lead to problems such as bacterial vaginosis.
- Multiple sexual partners: Women who have higher numbers of sexual partners tend to develop bacterial vaginosis infections more often than women in monogamous relationships.
- New sexual partners: Sexual intercourse with a new sexual partner may upset the balance of bacteria in your vagina and lead to bacterial vaginosis.
- Use of scented vaginal deodorants: The use of scented chemicals in or around your vagina can mess with the bacterial balance and cause bacterial vaginosis to occur.
Additionally, if your body has trouble producing enough lactobacilli bacteria in the vagina, this could also contribute to frequent cases of bacterial vaginosis. If this is the case, you could try probiotic therapy, which involves eating foods like yogurt that are high in lactobacilli bacteria to boost the levels in your vagina.
