Antibiotics for the Treatment of Bacterial Vaginosis
February 19th, 2010
Only women who are suffering from bacterial vaginosis knew how distressing vaginal symptoms are – the fishy vaginal odor that comes with the abnormal vaginal discharge, and sometimes vaginal itch and pain during urination. The symptoms are physical, but the effects can impinge deeply on the woman’s daily life, wrecking her sexual relationship and self confidence. Thankfully, several bacterial vaginosis treatments are available to get rid of those undesirable symptoms.
Treatment options for bacterial vaginosis include oral antibiotics and vaginal gels. Normally BV clears up completely without complications after treatment, and no follow-up is required if symptoms are no longer present. But because identifying the exact cause of the condition has been difficult, it is a challenge to treat bacterial vaginosis successfully. The main objecetives of treating bacterial vaginosis is to relieve the symptoms and to restore a healthy balance of the vaginal flora. This article focuses on the standard antibiotic treatment for bacterial vaginosis.
The standard treatment for bacterial vaginosis is antibiotics. The antibiotic routinely prescribed is metronidazole (commercially known as Flagyl), which are available in the form of pill (taken orally) or vaginal metronidazole gel (Metrogel). Both are effective bacterial vaginosis treatments. Another antibiotic that are commonly used is vaginal clindamycin cream (Cleocin).
The oral metronidazole is thus far considered the most effective drug treatment for BV. However, it can cause some minor but horrible side effects. Using vaginal gels usually remove the worries of antibiotic side effects. However, there is a risk of triggering a secondary yeast infection. The internationally recommended treatments for bacterial vaginosis include 7 days of oral metronidazole (400 mg twice daily) or vaginal clindamycin (1 g at night). Tinidazole is a newer antibiotic that has been shown to cause fewer side effects than metronidazole. It is also effective for the treatment of bacterial vaginosis.
Bacterial vaginosis may reoccur after antibiotic treatments. More than half of women treated with antibiotics have recurring bacterial vaginosis within a year. In fact, many medical research have found that 60% of women with bacterial vaginosis, despite treatment with antibiotic, continued to experience recurring BV. If 30% of the US adult population has BV, then there would be at least 20 million women suffering from recurring bacterial vaginosis!
It remains to be elucidated as to why recurrent bacterial vaginosis happens. When that occurs, usually you will be prescribed another course of antibiotics to treat the infection and ease the symptoms of bacterial vaginosis. Deep down in the heart, however, most doctors and their patients already know that standard bacterial vaginosis treatments with antibiotic often only provide short-term symptom relief. A second, third or fourth episode of bacterial vaginosis can reoccur any time, and the symptoms may become more serious. This is why natural treatments and homeopathic remedies for bacterial vaginosis are becoming increasingly used to avoid the undesirable side effects of long-term antibiotic use.
If you prefer fast natural cures for bacterial vaginosis symptoms, the 3-step attack plan in 3 Days to Permanent Bacterial Vaginosis Relief guide may be a good one to start with.
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