Causes of Bacterial Vaginosis – Debunking the Myths
March 18th, 2010
You may thought that yeast infection is the most widespread vaginal infections in women. Actually, there is an even more common vaginal infection in women of fertile age, and that is bacterial vaginosis (BV) infection.
In the US, BV happens in about sixteen percent of pregnant women and up to sixty-four percent of the general women population. Medical scientists are still trying to determine the exact bacterial vaginosis causes. What is known so far is that some changes occurred in the vaginal environment in BV.
In bacterial vaginosis, the balance of the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ bacteria inhabiting the vaginal area is disrupted – there is now more bad bacteria, i.e. BV-causing bacteria, than the good ones, the hydrogen-peroxide producing lactobacilli. That’s the reason why most women find it difficult to permanently get rid of BV. However, nowadays many women successfully get rid of BV with natural BV cures.
Before proceed to understand the risk factors and causes of bacterial vaginosis, it’s important to separate the common myths from the facts about BV infection. Firstly, you must understand that you do not get BV through:
* Sitting on chairs or toilet seats.
* Beddings – mattresses or linens you sleep on.
* Swimming pools.
* Touching things around you.
So what are some of the things that can lead to bacterial vaginosis?
Known causes and risk factors of BV include:
1. Sexual activity
While bacterial vaginosis is not regarded as a sexually transmitted infection, medical studies observed a relationship between BV and sex activity. Yet, it is still uncertain as to how sex can cause a change in the vaginal flora balance.
The majority of women diagnose with BV are active sexually, but the infection can also take place in women who haven’t had intercourse. The BV-causing bacteria have also been detected in the rectum of virginal boys and girls. So far, sexual activity remains the greatest contributing factor of BV.
Medical observations so far are that:
* The rates of BV goes up when the number of sexual partners increases.
* BV may be associated with having a new sexual partner.
* The male partner does not get BV symptoms even if he may carry the same germs in his urinary tract as in the woman with BV.
* Not using a condom during sex may predispose women to BV.
2. Vaginal douching
Medical research have reported that vaginal douching is associated with an increased risk for BV because douching is likely to disrupt the vaginal flora balance. The proposed hypothesis for this is that douching causes either an imbalance to the vaginal flora or triggers inflammation due to the chemical or physical irritation from douching. This will then make the woman more vulnerable to BV infection. The majority of douche products on the market contain mainly acetic acid and fragrance, and certain products also contain surfactant detergents.
Surfactant detergents kill bacteria by breaking their cell structure. At the same time, it also removes important antibacterial elements on the vaginal cell membranes, leading to vagina irritation and increasing the susceptibility to infection.
3. Other known causes of bacterial vaginosis include cigarette smoking, use of intrauterine device (IUD) for birth control, and stress.
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