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Personal Care Products for Bacterial Vaginosis

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Chelle (Alabama, US) on 11/11/2014:
5 out of 5 stars

I used to have burning for a week straight after my period and I would also get burning and pain with sex during that week and sometimes after. I treated myself with OTC yeast treatment. Shortly after that I developed BV but it cleared with one course of Flagyl. Next month burning after my periods again. What finally worked for me... Switching to reusable cloth pads. The disposible pads were either causing chemical burns with whatever they are made of or too absorbent drying my vagina out likely messing with my flora and pH. It's now been a year and no burning and itching!

Anna (Houston, Tx) on 10/28/2014:
5 out of 5 stars

I started washing my undies with some Borax, I believe that this killed off the BVD and Yeast that I had suffered from.

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Sophia (Kentucky, US) on 06/03/2014:
5 out of 5 stars

I am a 32-year-old woman dealing with bv for about a year, even since I needed a 3-week course of antibiotics. I finally realized I had a problem that wasn't going to go away on its own. I didn't want to ruin my entire body's flora in the process of healing this, so I decided to go the natural route. First, I used hydrogen peroxide douches, which worked only temporarily--at first. I think I left them in too long and irritated my vagina! Then I started to take folic acid (800 mg) and a vaginal probiotic with about 10 strains of bacteria in it each day. Still no change. I tried a garlic bulb, and that made it worse. It had been 2 weeks since my initial efforts.

Finally... I did one final douche with the peroxide, this time diluted to 1.5% strength, and let it go back out right away. I also bought 8 pairs of brand new underwear, and have been wearing those exclusively. Continuing folic and probiotics, I never douched again, but everything smells great, no weird discharge, and no burning or irritation! SO HAPPY!

I share this with emphasis on the new underwear since I haven't really seen that up on the site yet. Here's why I think it's important: I accidentally poured a little peroxide on my panties once. They were fresh out of the laundry, yet the spot where my discharge goes--and ONLY that spot--bubbled up furiously. In other words, my washing machine can't get rid of all the bacteria residue! I wash on cold with natural soap, as many of you undoubtedly do as well. The disappearance of bv happened right after I started wearing the new underwear. I'm not saying you need to buy new underwear--just washing it REALLY HARD might be enough--but consider testing you undies by pouring some peroxide on the crotch to see what you think. I look forward to responses to see in anyone else agrees.

Kelly (Los Angeles, California) on 04/21/2013:
5 out of 5 stars

Hi! I have been dealing with BV for years now. It's awful. I tried everything and nothing seemed to work. I recently decided to not use tampons and only use cotton pads through a period and miraculously the BV seemed to disappear. I have also been eating yogurt daily and taking a probiotic for safe measure. I just had my period again and did not use them this time either. We will see what happens. I have my fingers crossed!!

Ariann28 (Waynesville, Missouri) on 03/17/2013:
5 out of 5 stars

Hey everyone!! WHAT A MIRACLE! I just wanted to tell my experience with these two! I have been battling BV off and on for four years. My body is very prone to infections and so yeast has always been a big issue with me. For the past couple years it's been both yeast and bv. I came across this site and found complete hope! I prayed that this was the answer. And it was! I diagnosed myself this very last time. I could tell by a slight odor, occasionally I would feel irritated, the discharge, and recently I was so irritated and red that I broke out into blisters. (This wasn't an STD, bv/yeast can cause blisters when left untreated and I was diagnosed with bv by them before) so anyways I immediately went to the HEALTH FOOD STORE and grabbed Acidophilus. The REFRIDGERATED 14 billion count LIVE bacteria. It has about ten different strands. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Refridgerated probiotics. It's worth the money. I honestly don't believe it would work if it was shelved. So I took one pro-b in the morning and inserted one vaginally at night for about a week. I started juicing and somewhat followed an alkaline diet. Bad bacteria feed off acidic foods so stay away from most acidic foods as you can! So important! IF YOU DONT KNOW WHAT FOODS ARE ACIDIC, GOOGLE IT. Your vagina naturally fights off infections but if it is weak it causes your vaginal ph to rise. Anything above a 4. creates a breeding ground for bad bacteria. I abstained from sex with my husband for about 3 weeks while treating. I started taking folic acid 800mg and a vitamin b12 after a week of treatment. It's been three weeks and I only take one to two probiotics everyday and do not have to insert one vaginally. ALL my symptoms are gone! Probiotics are so healthy and a life saver! I only used folic acid to get me completely out of the loop. Use your best judgement on when to stop/start taking probiotics/ FA. I took b12 because folic acid has a tendency to deplete this vitamin.

*some very helpful tips I also do to prevent bv from reoccurring:

DO NOT WASH YOUR VAGINA WITH SOAP! I don't even wash with ph balancing soaps. None work for me. Wash with just water! And do not wash inside! Sounds gross but It's really not! My vagina has never been so clean!

DO NOT SLEEP WITH UNDERWEAR! Vagina is naturally warm and moist. Wearing underwear to bed also creates a possibility for reoccurring bv/yeast

BUY UNSCENTED BABY WIPES! These are AWESOME! After intercourse I clean up and also make my husband clean up with baby wipes. He is uncircumsized so bacteria easily hides in he skin folds on his penis. So I make him wipe very good before and after. Also, I use them after each bowel movement. Just to be safe! Sorry if TMI

TRY NOT TO WEAR TAMPONS! I know ladies, pads feel like diapers, but even if you wear a tampon for the heavy days and change FREQUENTLY and on the lighter days use pads, that will help. Use pads when you sleep! Many women don't know that tampons mess up the vaginal ph. When we menstruate, our ph rises to 7.4 because that is the ph of blood. So when we place a tampon inside it is absorbs the fluids that causes our ph to rise.

If you have anymore questions I would love to help as much as I can! Don't give up ladies, there is hope!! Feel free to comment or reach my by email ariann_jones [at] yahoo (dot) com

THANK YOU EARTH CLINIC!!!

Did Ya Know (Savannah, Ga) on 01/26/2013:
5 out of 5 stars

Hello, everyone! I too suffered from BV [bacterial vaginosis] and tried a few things. I kind of had to narrow things down, after it became more frequent. I had to step back and ask myself what was I doing differently. Well.... I was having sex! One day I put two and two together-- you're allergic to latex, silly! LoL I began buying the non-latex condoms (a tad bit on the expensive side) and the BV went away. No issues here.... Especially, since I could never get into the whole douching scene. I hope this helps someone else out there.

Erin (Staten Island, New York) on 01/07/2009:
5 out of 5 stars

Hibiclens is a soap used in hospitals.

I too thought that I had Bacterial Vaginosis. I had a yellow discharge with no odor, having to change underwear frequently. I went to doctor after doctor and finally discovered I actually had VAGINAL STREP B. It is very similar to BV and is a natural bacteria found in our bodies but can overgrow. I my case, the use of flagyl, diflucan and clindesse in excess to try to cure severe vaginal itching left me with no itching, but this strep and yellow discharge. This is something that often plagues pregnant women and can be dangerous to a baby. But I'm not pregnant and since it's not itchy or anything besides an ugly yellow discharge, the gyno really didn't want to treat it! Penicillen was tried and failed, yellow yellow yellow! Grr!

So after tons of reading I discovered Hibiclens. It is a soap found next to Iodine in CVS or any pharmacy. It is used in Europe as a douche to end Strep B in the place of Penicillen and I suspect it could work for BV too, since these are both bacteria. You simply add one part Hibiclens and 20 parts water. I just got a Summers Eve douche bottle and emptied it, added an inch of Hibiclens and the rest water. I douched, it felt extremely clean and so far one douche and I seem normal. I also shower with it and dilute it to clean down there a bit after regular soap every morning. This is used in Europe exclusively and has helped bacteria lessen for many so I've read. Seems to be working for me, I'll keep you posted Worth a try for BV sufferers!

Joyce (Joelton, Tn) on 08/12/2008:
5 out of 5 stars

To Sandy from Henderson: Yes, Sandy, applying ACV to itchy areas usually relieves the itching. My suggestion is to put a cup of ACV in his bath water (to relieve the itching & also protect from bug bites) and then try leaving off any soap, bubble baths, etc. because it may be the soap that is drying his skin and causing the itching. In most cases, the soap isn't really needed. All you really need for cleanliness is just some good old water and a washcloth. If he doesn't itch while you are omitting soap, you will know that you have found the cause. You will also find that you like the way he smells without the soap better than with the soap. I learned this from a little lady in her 60's about 30 years ago. She told me "My daddy was a chemist and he always told us that if you didn't use soap, you won't need deoderants because soap makes you stink. I stopped using soap (except for handwashing) in l982 and I found her daddy was right. Your sweat doesn't smell either, and you don't have that fishy odor all the EC users who complain of BV. Also decreases most of the foot odors too.

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