What could be the cause of recurring bacterial vaginosis?

What could be the cause of recurring bacterial vaginosis? It has recurred at least 12 times over a time frame of about 18 months.

A: Bacterial vaginosis (BV for short) is a very common vaginal infection, especially among sexually active women in their reproductive years.

First, some questions for you. Are you certain of your diagnosis? Have you been tested for STDs (sexually transmitted diseases)? Have you been thoroughly examined and tested for other possible conditions? If so, and you do indeed have recurrent BV, did you take antibiotic, and did you take them exactly as prescribed? Do you have an IUD?

The simple answer to your question is that BV is caused by an imbalance of the bacteria in your vagina. Good bacteria, called lactobacillus, rule the roost under normal conditions and help keep the bad guys in check. When the bad bacteria predominate in the vagina, BV is the result. Antibiotics usually kill the infection, but sometimes it comes back. It is not really known why BV periodically recurs in some women.

The antibiotics wipe out the good bacteria along with the bad, and sometimes the pr! oper balance is not restored for awhile. Eating yogurt that contains live cultures of the lactobacillus acidophilus bacteria seems to help prevent yeast infections and may be useful for BV as well.

In your case, there may be a reason why this keeps coming back. If you have been on antibiotics and they didn’t work, your sexual partner may need to be treated. IUDs seem to increase the chances of developing BV. If you didn’t finish your antibiotics, the bad bacteria may not have been entirely wiped out. Or maybe you need a different antibiotic.

Throughout all this, if you haven’t continued to see a gynecologist, it is time to go back now to talk about the different options for treating this stubborn infection.

Date Published: 1998
Date Reviewed: April 17, 2000

Nancy Snyderman, M.D., F.A.C.S