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    Cure Bacterial Vaginosis (BV)

    Most Recent Posts on this Page

    [YEA]  02/15/2013: Nicola from Raleigh: "To all the ladies who have tried evrything for bacterial vaginosis. You may want to have your Vit D serum level checked. My vitamin d was extremely low... I was given 50,000 iu of vit d for 12 weeks and after taking the first capsule..."
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    10/11/2012: Ana from Stockton, Ca/usa: "but her question was, can she use it during her menstrual cycle? I like to know too ..."
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    DISCLAIMER
    Our readers offer information and opinions on Earth Clinic, not as a substitute for professional medical prevention, diagnosis, or treatment. Please consult with your physician, pharmacist, or health care provider before taking any home remedies or supplements or following any treatment suggested by anyone on this site. Only your health care provider, personal physician, or pharmacist can provide you with advice on what is safe and effective for your unique needs or diagnose your particular medical history.

    POPULAR REMEDIES:

    Hydrogen Peroxide, Folic Acid, Acidophilus102 YEAS
    Hydrogen Peroxide86 YEAS
    Folic Acid and Acidophilus76 YEAS
    Acidophilus41 YEAS
    Folic Acid38 YEAS
    Multiple Remedies25 YEAS
    Boric Acid23 YEAS
    Probiotics16 YEAS
    Yogurt10 YEAS
    General Feedback7 YEAS
    Vitamin C6 YEAS
    Goldenseal5 YEAS
    Supplements5 YEAS
    Tea Tree Oil5 YEAS

    Vitamin C
    Ratings:
    6
    		 YEA
    1
    		 NAY

    [YEA]  05/26/2009: Monica from Los Angeles, CA: "First of all, my heart truly goes out to all BV sufferers. It is the worst thing I've had to deal with as a female. I've been dealing with it off and on for over ten years. When the antibiotics didn't work and only worsened things, I started looking to home remedies, which proved to be more effective. My first home remedy was a store-bought suppository for yeast infections that contained BORIC ACID. This really cured the BV infection prior to my most recent one. When I acquired my most recent infection, I went to purchase the product but learned that BORIC ACID was no longer an active ingredient as the FDA ordered the makers to pull it from the market. I tried the new formula, and it did nothing for me. So here are the steps I took to cure my latest infection.

    Made my own BORIC ACID pills: I used the suppositories every night for one week. This remedy cause LOTS of discharge as well. This did not work for me this time around. I have no idea why, but it just didn't work. It does work for many women, but all women are not the same, and it failed me this last time.

    HYDROGEN PERODIXE DOUCHE: I started out 50/50 water/hydrogen perodixe. This really helped with the symptoms and gave me some relief but did not stop the discharge. I then graduated to a full-strength hydrogen peroxide only douche. I do not recommend this for women who are experiencing buring or sensitivity as a result of BV. For me, it was OK and did not burn as I was not experiencing burning. This kept discharge and irritation under control, but it did not cure my infection.

    FOLIC ACID: 800 mg in the AM and PM. Did nothing for me.

    PROBIOTIC SUPPOSITORY: Did nothing for me.

    TEA TREE OIL DOUCHE: I did this for one night after the hydrogen peroxide douche did not work. This was OK, but I did not see any improvement. In fact, I felt more irritated after douching.

    TEA TREE OIL SUPPOSITORY: Smells awful, and it really did not work for me.

    WHAT FINALLY WORKED: VITAMIN C SUPPOSITORY! After hours and hours of research looking for remedies, I came across an excerpt from a book titled the Women's Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine. In it were some home remedies for "vaginitis." One entry was on the use of VITAMIN C 250 mg as a suppository for 6 days straight. After reading the entry, I did some further research and found studies online citing some great results with VITAMIN C suppositories. The research stated tha the ascorbic acid in a 250 mg tablet of VITAMIN C helps to acidify the vagina, thus lowering the PH and making it a favorable environment for lactobaccili and NONfavorable environment for nonbeneficial bacterial. I figured, what the heck, I've tried everything else. Here's what I did. I went to a popular vitamin store and purchaesed a bottle of straight VITAMIN C 250 mg. Make sure that you are using straight VITAMIN C. There are many Vitamin C combo pills that are buffered, contain rose hips, calcium, etc. You do not want to use any Vitamin C that contains other minerals. (((NOTE: Many drug stores did not carry Vitamin C 250 mg. I couldn't even find it in a popular natural foods chain store, which is why I went to a vitamin store. They carry more varieties.)))

    Once I purchased the pills, I went home and inserted one pill that night. The next morning, I had a lot of the typical white BV discharge but I continued. The second night, I did the same thing. The next morning. I did not notice any discharge except for the gritty discharge from the suppository PLUS no BV odor. I continued and did not notice ANYMORE white discharge or odor for the rest of the six days. You will notice the gritty discharge from the pill throughout treatment, but that's pretty much it. Also, the discharge is NOT even close to that when using boric acid suppositories. My theory was that the first night, the acid from the pill was causing my vagina to flush itself of the bad bacteria.

    As for women who have used this remedy and reported serious irritation, I wonder if they used too high of a dosage. I couldn't find anything lower than 500 mg at my local drug store, which is TWICE the recommended dosage. So if you are doubling the dosage, that's twice the acid. This is probably why there's so much irritation. Make sure to get the 250 mg. My bottle cost $2.99.

    Also noted in the exceprt I read was using supplementation as a means to maintain the vaginal mucosa. It said vitamin A was a good supplement to maintain vaginal mucosa as well as vitamin C.

    I hope this works for you. Remember, we are all different. What works for one woman may not work for another. I tried just about every POPULAR home remedy from Earth Clinic and shoved whatever I thought would work into my vagina until I FINALLY found some relief. This will be my go to method when I start to feel that all-too-familiar feeling of BV creeping up on me."


    [YEA]  12/11/2008: Bianca from Newark, Delaware: "Vitamin C works very well for BV. I used vitamin c vaginally for a week and 3 days. I discontinued use because it was too much acid it was irritaring my vagina but continued taken the flinstone vitamins with extra vitamin C plus a vitamin C pill plus an A&D supplement. After I stopped taken the vitamin C pill vaginally the smell went away but the itching and discharge continued but with in a week the discharge was gone but the itching was still there aweek later the itching was gone. After I got my period it itched alil bit and my pee smelled strong like ammonia. Which means that during my period my vagina is a bit more acidy then usual so drinking water will eleviate that from even happening. I now have a small case of BV but its goin away.. no more smell.. no more discharge...no more itiching.. only reason why i know i still have BV is because when I check to see if its still there my vagina is still sorta moist ...

    PS: I took 2 to 3 vitamin c pills a day.. 1 a&d supplement and 1 flinstone pill.. after 2 weeks decrease the amount of Vitamin C u take..too much of anything is bad.. I now only take 1 vitamin C pill a day along with my flinstone pill and my a&d supplement.."

     Replies
    06/28/2009: Mystica from Dallas, Texas replies: "I have been battling off and on with BV for two years now. Which has also seemed to come with yeast infections. I have tried many things, Tee Tree Oil (vaginally), Garlic (orally&vaginally), Acidophilous targeted for women needs, etc. Some of these gave me the desired results for a couple of days and then it always returns. I am curious about this post of Vitamin C vaginally. What were the steps? What was the mixture? How was it administered?

    Also I am curious about douching. I was told not too, b/c BV comes from anything being in the vagina that changes its natural ph. ANYTHING. So was advised not to douche. But I am thinking about making up my own douche water with GSE (grapefruit seed extract). this stuff is so powerful and great for many things.

    In the stink boat with the rest of you Queens!
    Pray for healing, demanding it now!"


    [NAY]  01/17/2008: Liz from Sun Valley, CA: "I'm a bartender who has been suffering from BV for the last six months. You can imagine the "fishy" comments I've been getting from my drunken male patrons. For months I have searched the internet trying all sorts of remedies. I even came across an article published in a medical magazine that suggested a "medical study" has shown that woman with BV who had taken Vitamin C for seven days had shown no signs of BV after the treatment. Well it's been ten days and I still have signs of BV. So today I went and bought the Folic Acid and Acidophilus. I pray that this works. I'm at my wits end. I just don't know what else to do."



    Vitamin C, Garlic
    Ratings:
    1
    		 YEA

    [YEA]  06/21/2009: ZZ from Fairfax, Virginia: "Cure Bacterial Vaginosis or Candida:

    After days of suffering and going to the doctor (I got antibiotics and Diflucan, which didn't seem to help at all) I was really pleased to find this site. Inserting 2 acidolphilus pills and taking 2 capsules of oil of oregano / day helped, but I still felt sick and very uncomfortable! I was also taking supplements to boost my immune system, like zinc and deodorized garlic pills and echinacea, but I still felt horrible. What finally seems to be helping the most is drinking more vitamin C and actually eating garlic in my food (instead of just taking it in supplement form.) I'm also going to try ginger and a little bit of raw unprocessed honey. If your immune system isn't up to speed, the other things won't work, and in some cases you might need to actually eat and drink differently in order to help it, instead of just taking supplements!

    Also, for me, coconut oil relieves pain or itching temporarily when it is applied topically."



    Vitamin D
    Ratings:
    3
    		 YEA

    [YEA]  02/15/2013: Nicola from Raleigh: "To all the ladies who have tried evrything for bacterial vaginosis. You may want to have your Vit D serum level checked. My vitamin d was extremely low... I was given 50,000 iu of vit d for 12 weeks and after taking the first capsule there was a calming, soothing sensation in my vagina. Vitamin D plays a big part in overall immunity. So definitely ask for that next time u visit the doctor. I think it will help in the fight against reoccurring bv"


    08/29/2012: Iamnotsam from Soca, Ca, Usa: "I've used vitamin D3 50,000 IU capsules 3x a week orally with great benefit, but no relief from BV. As such, I found a study that showed benefit for using the capsules as a suppository for dysplasia, HPV, and BV. I've begun doing this and after one dose, I am 50% better. I mixed in a 00 capsule the powder from a 50,000 IU Vitamin D3 and from a Lactobacillus acidophilus capsule and used coconut oil on the outside for inserting. For resistant BV, dysplasia, or HPV, it is worth a shot!

    Read this, http://scienceindex.com/stories/1563216/Chronical_cervical_infections_and_dysplasia_CIN_I_CIN_IIvaginal_vitamin_D_high_dose_treatment_a_new_effective_method.html#.UD58JBw7jww

    It should be noted, I get my blood levels tested every 6 months and I've never once had an excessive level or adverse reaction from doses at 150, 000IU's per week. In fact, some times my levels are still below 50 ng/ml! I don't know why folks are so scared of high dose vitamin D, as there are few cases of adverse reactions and NOBODY has ever been documented dying from excess amounts, ever!

    In addition, when I am sick my doctor instructs me to take 1,000 IU's per body weight for 3 days. I've done this on numerous occasions without problem and with great results."


    03/07/2012: 2004trice from Miami, Florida: "I have been suffering from bv for 1 1/2 yr already.... and at first my bv was awful but after I have change the way I eat and what I wash my clothes with and wash my body with thing have gotten better for me if anybody listens to what some of the woman on this page say about femodophilus doesn't work because it works. You just have to change the way you eat, don't drink soda all the time, at least have eight cups of water everyday because it keep you energized. Also it cleans your body. Try to stop eating food that have sugar, you could eat it sometimes but, if you eat too much sugar, you not going to do nothing but cause the bacteria to grow more. Try eating salads, snack on carrots and celery stick for a snack with maybe peanut butter or ranch dressing however you like it, make tuna sandwiches instead of greasy hamburgers, etc., bake your chicken instead of frying it, bake your food, try going for walks or working out if you could but, it's best to do that to get your body back. Take vitamin D3 1000. It was a study about bv where these doctors have found that vitamin D3 is somewhat connected to bv. This is the website http://womenshealth.about.com/b/2009/05/26/bacterial-vaginosis-linked-to-vitamin-d-deficiency.htm about it and you could go there and read up on it.

    I have a friend who try vitamin D3 1000 Iu and she said it works. Plus she was taking femodophilus and she say she was cured for 6 months and it hasn't came back yet she said that she feels better. So whoever said that femodophilus doesn't work is making a big mistake or they are doing something wrong which causes their bv to get bad.

    But I also try taking one teaspoon of apple cider vinegar right when I wake up early in the morning to find that it works for the itching.

    I went out today and purchase femodophilus and the vitamin D3 1000 IU. I will let you know what happen in a week.

    I hope this helps bye :)"


    02/12/2012: Nat from North East, Australia: "Has anyone else looked into the link with Vit D Deficency & BV? I have found from personal experience that when I don't keep the raw milk up the Hypoglycemia & BV flares up again. Also treating it with outside remedies is only temporary if your gut bacteria is unbalanced so you need to commit to a full diet change (like treating Thrush, No sugar, yeasts ect) for a period of time to get lasting results."


    [YEA]  09/21/2010: Amanda from Toronto, Ontario: "Ladies start taking 3000IU of vitamin D daily. I tried 1000IU a day years ago and it wasnt enough, quit and forgot all about it. I suffered itchy discharge mid cycle, before and after period, after sex for 7 years. I tried everything like most of you. All tests came back negative. After two days on 3000IU vitamin D3 doses it went away overnight. I have been free of it for 6 months. There are studies done on vitamin d deficiency connected to BV and yeast infection. Just google it. Being in the sun is NOT going to provide sufficient amount of this much needed vitamin which most people are deficient in. According to Dr. Mercola, it is the angle of sunlight that makes the difference, and the further north you go, the less likely you are to get the right rays to make adequate vit D3. If you are in the right place to do so, just a half an hour in the sun is good enough, 15min won't do it."


    [YEA]  12/23/2009: Sunriselady from Sunrise, Florida: "Hello fellow lady members...on this forum: I have not been a poster here. But I've learned tremendously from other's comments/questions and trials. I take probiotics regularly. And then stopped. Right I still take regular multivitamin.

    I tried the Hydrogen Peroxide douches, this worked but only temporarily. The next thing are the boric acid capsules inserted twice a week vaginally. The boric acid worked a bit longer. But as soon as I stopped inserting them vaginally, the vaginosis returned.

    Here is the only thing that worked for me... MY CURE. I am a very studious person, love to research in the library. Doctors always told me my labwork came back normal. You will not believe how simple it turned out to be. I increased the amount of Vitamin D. I added Vitamin D3 to the regular multivitamin that I take daily. I went to WholeFoods Supermarket and purchased VITAMIN D3 (IT MUST BE D3). I take 2000 IU of Vitamin D3. And I also still take the multivitamin. LADIES THIS WORKED for me. We american's dont get enough sunshine cause we drive everywhere and wear sunblock, etc. Also I have always worked fulltime in a desk job. NO SUNLIGHT. EVER. Only get sun during the minutes I drive. Also I've stopped drinking milk due to intolerance, so I don't get vitamin D from milk either.

    I researched at a medical library, the effects of being low on sunshine (or vitamin D)....and BV (vaginosis) is a side-effect of not getting enough vitamin D !!!! The medical article said that women with this BV (fishy odor) condition should be taking at least 2000 IU per day.

    Warning is you should not take over 5000 IU. THE GOOD NEWS is, I've been BV free ever since. No odor, not even after sexual relations, NO ODOR at all. One thing is to take it religiously along with a multivitamin and a probiotic. And wait at least one month to see results. Also I stopped douching anymore. But this did it for me! Try it it's worth a try! I was desperate and Ifinally found this CURE for me personally after having this awful BV for almost one year and a half....have a happy holiday! Spread this solution to other ladies suffering unnecessarily."



    Water
    Ratings:
    1
    		 YEA

    [YEA]  03/03/2011: Tae from Landover, Md: "Hello I had bv for over 5 years and didnt reach this site until sometime last year, so I tried everything that everyone listed but it kept coming back. I went to a church service and went up for prayer sometime last year and the woman just said God told me to tell you to drink water. Now I said ok and left it alone, recently it was really getting bad and I was praying and God brought that back to my mind. So I started drinking water and didnt do nothing else that everyone else told me to do.. ITS GONE! I know that it sounds weird and its again the norm that only water would cure it but you tried everything else why not just drink water, I stoped drinking everything else and drink water all through the day and after 5 years I am free. Just thought I would give you guys what God gave me.."



    Wrong Antibiotics

    02/03/2012: Finally Free Of Bv! from Newark, De: "I'm 42, 5'4" and 170 lbs. Five months ago I thought I had a yeast infection, but the OTC meds did not work so I went to see my gyno. I was diagnosed w/ BV. I was prescribed Metro-gel, Flagyl, and Tindamax one after the other. Nothing changed, in fact, my discharge got worse. It was a raging case. Fortunately, I did not have a fishy smell. Unfortunately, I had to buy pantyliners in bulk and wear them 24/7. The worst of it was the raw irritation and swelling.

    I was really discouraged after reading blogs (this site is my favorite) and finding that so many women are having the same problem. So I started trying many of the home remedies. I went to my local nature food market and bought Garlique, Cranberry, Vit. C, Vit. D3, Beta-carotine, Vit. E-400, B-Complex w/ 400 mg. Folic Acid, Zinc, tea tree oil suppositories, and the most helpful (I believe) was the Fem-dophilus. I even took baths with 2-3 cups of organic apple cider vinegar which gave me relief only for a day. I NEVER douched. I also tried RePHresh gel, but I was leary b/c of the parabens in it. Five months was long enough... I didn't want to be one of those women who suffers with BV for years. I've seen 11 different doctors and NPs about this. The last one I saw was an NP at my Gyno office. She told me that my vagina was not just irritated - it was ANGRY!!! So true!

    She gave me one more antibiotic thinking that maybe my infection was coming from higher up than the vagina and this a/b would be better at reaching it if that is the case. The name of the a/b is Doxycycline. I took 100mg capsules 2x/day for 10 days. I have another day and a half to go, but the discharge is GONE!!! I think it is key to take Fem-dophilus b/c yes, ABs will kill the good and bad bacteria so the Fem-Dophilus keeps feeding the vagina the good while the bad is being knocked down by the AB. I will keep taking the Fem-Dophilus 2x/day for several months and then wean myself to hopefully one/day. I will also wean myself off of the supplements except for the B-Complex w/ 400mg Folic Acid. (I also threw away all of my old underwear and bought all cotton new undies. ) I use to mix my undies in 'Lights' and 'Darks' in the washing machine, but from now on I will wash my undies separately with Woolite in hot water. Also, I gave up coffee and have severely limited my sugar intake. I think this is extemely helpful as well. Best of luck, ladies... I know how frustrating this is... Never give up!"



    Yogurt

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    Yogurt Treatment for Bacterial Vaginosis

    Holistic Treatment: Internal

    • Plain Yogurt with no added sugar, or
    • Acidophilus tablets

    Plain Yogurt can be eaten regularly to increase the body's supply of beneficial probiotics, to suppress yeast overgrowth that cause bacterial vaginosis. Acidophilus supplements can be taken to the same end.

    Holistic Treatment: External Application

    • Plain Yogurt with no added sugar
    • Tampon applicator

    Yogurt can be applied directly to the vaginal environment (try filling a tampon applicator with yogurt) to restore your supply of healthy bacteria and stop the odor and discharge.


    05/29/2012: Kat from Fort Worth, Tx: "Hi Ladies..... So glad I've found this site with all your comments/questions.

    I have been fighting this now since December and have been VERY upset over the whole thing.... Thankfully I have a loving partner who has so far been very patient and supportive.

    The DO that I've been seeing first had me insert plain natural live culture yogurt (this is messy and did not seem to work). I next tried probiotics (poked holes into the capsules and inserted).... This helped a bit but did not get rid of the BV.

    Side note... Be sure to get tested at a doc to ensure that you really have BV as there are a few other things with similar symptons that are not bacterial.

    I have tried hyrdogren peroxide douches (1/4 cup mixed with 3/4 cup distilled water).... This works instantly for the odor but along with that I take probiotics orally.

    The one link (and my DO is now confirming her suspicions) is that my boyfriend has not done anything on his end.... We notice that if we have un-protected sex or if he does not pull out, I get the odor back almost immediatley. The DO advised that semen changes the ph of the vagina but she also had a theory that maybe he has the bacteria as well.

    I have also found a product that is a combo of a boric acid sopository with an oral probiotic (it's a 14 day treatment) and really seemed to work (until we had unprotected sex. I was odor free for one month with a combo of two hydrogen peroxide/water douches, the Natren "Gy-Na-Tren" vaginal health kit (oral probiotic & sopository) and protected sex with my boyfriend using condoms all the time.

    We are now going to try "Flagyl".... Both my boyfriend and I will take these antibiotics as the DO prescribed.... But I will also plan to continue the Gy-Na-Tren for the 14 day cycle. Then I will begin to take Natren's "Healthy Trinity" which supposedly balances the ph in the vagina. After one month of this we will see what happens when we have unprotected sex.

    I will post again with our results. Good luck to you all.

    PS... last but not least.... I'm perimenopausal and I'm going to now investigate this angle as well. As our bodies change their hormone levels, I'm wondering if that throws off our ph... No doc as advised this... Just another angle to follow up. AND I just had a period after 8 months without and that made my BV symptoms 10 times worse.... so obviously a period throws off the ph."


    12/29/2010: Margarita from Sacramento, California: "Can I use a tampon with yogurt during my menstual cycle and will it be affective at stopping the awful odor from bv?"

     Replies
    [YEA]  11/28/2011: Strwbryltr22 from Windsor, Ct replies: "The yogurt has been the best treatment for me. It has been a godsend. I stuck a tampon in low fat vanilla yogurt, which is what I had on hand, I will try no fat next time. It worked the first time around and on the same day. I've used it for three days thus far and it has worked. I have tried those antibacterial creams, the over the counter BV treatments. Give yogurt a try. If you are not sexually active right now, try it for a few nights straight. I had minimally discharge, because I don't soak it. Just dip and you know the rest. I have left the tampon in for a few hours. I haven't kept it all night. Good luck. Definitely worth a try."
    12/28/2011: Maria from Ponce, Puerto Rico, Estados Unidos replies: "I've been having BV since a few months ago. In October I think.... The gyn prescribed me with Metronidazole pills which were really difficult to swallow. It did nothing to me, nothing. Then she prescribed me with the Metronidazole gel. A week of treatment for nothing, my BV was as strong as ever. I had no symptoms before treatment except some occasional itching, after it the itching got worse and had various discharges in the day.

    After I finished my menstruation I decided to try with the gel again, and this time I really got better but it was NOT gone. I really didnt wanted to waste money again so I checked some natural remedies. I used tea tree oil for some days, helped me but too slow then I used yogurt and got really better. Had sex and ruined it all. Right now I'm using tea tree oil and putting plain yogurt with an applicator at night. Symptoms are slowly getting better, I'm having like one discharge a day or nothing at all. The itching is killing me, but that is also slowly decreasing and it may be that I irritated it by having sex. I'm afraid to try other stuff because I'm really, really sensitive down there. I'm still wondering if there is some other safe remedy that is suitable for me but I do encourage to use yogurt and tea tree oil (diluted of course) it helps but it requires patience."

    [YEA]  07/29/2012: Junie from Atlanta, Ga replies: "I use a turkey baster and insert about half way full of plain yogurt before going to bed at night. I do not soak it in a tampon I put the yogurt directly inside, put on ugly underwear and a sanitary napkin and go to bed for 8 hours. Then I take 1 probiotic pill a day, sometimes two and by the end of the week, it is cleared."
    10/11/2012: Ana from Stockton, Ca/usa replies: "but her question was, can she use it during her menstrual cycle? I like to know too :)"



        
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