Bacterial Vaginosis

[wildflower18]

I had posted a few weeks ago about a yeast infection. Well I tried some natural remidies and no luck, so I went for the prescription - Diflucan. Now, i have a bacterial infection for which they prescribed me an antibiotic cream. I'm still hesitant to take all these meds while BFing. I take probiotics daily and am not sure what to do a) for a bacterial infection to cure it naturally and b) what else I can do to help prevent future infections. I used to get them all the time for 20 years until I started taking probiotics daily over a year ago, but now the benefits of that seem to be wearing off. Maybe it's just hormonal fluctuations at this stage postpartum, but I'm afraid of constant recurrent infections again! HELP!

[tuhraycee]

Other than oral antibiotics I don't know anything about curing it, but for prevention the pharmacist recommended Acidophilus supplements. They kept them in the refrigerator because they contain the same good cultures yogurt contains. Each pill equals 10 servings of yogurt.

[amcal]

How about a tampon soaked in tea tree oil?

[Elipsisqueen]

I found the "sure cure" for this on a natural remedies website...

-take folic acid and acidophilus
-douche with hydrogen peroxide and water (half and half) every night for a week.

There was a study in Italy (if you search I'm sure you can find it) that found that hydrogen peroxide douching is like, 90% effective.

Dr. Weil talks about tea tree oil as a remedy, too, but he mentions douching with it.

Amcal... have you tried tea tree oil yourself? Did you use pure tea tree oil or dilute it with water? Does it hurt? I think the tea tree oil sounds a littlle more gentle than h. peroxide. I'm not big into douching (actually I've never done it), so the tampon idea sounds good to me.

[amcal]

I am currently doing the tea tree tampons to treat cervical dysplasia. It doesn't really sting - well, I guess there is a tiny tingly sensation for about 5 minutes after it's inserted but after that, I don't feel a thing.

I've done it two ways - mixed tea tree oil into a carrier oil (I used coconut) and soaked a tampon (in a plastic applicator so it doesn't swell too much to be inserted) and I've also done straight tea tree oil and I don't notice a difference at all as far as sensation goes - a bit of tingling for a few minutes and then it goes away and there is no sensation at all.

If you do the tampon, make sure you use a plastic applicator one so that the tampon doesn't swell too big to be inserted.

I would think you could do the same with they hydrogen peroxide - just soak the tampon in the mixture and insert???? I don't know - I haven't read anything about doing that but I have read several articles about doing a tampon soak with tea tree oil.

I have an appointment next week so I'll let you know if it did anything to help the dysplasia.

[Elipsisqueen]

Thank you so much for the details. I'm going to try this tonight.

[krissi]

I was reading about BV recently because I had to write an article about it and came across research that if you apply yogurt directly to your vagina (plain with no additives obviously) then it sometimes is successful in boosting the lactobacilli content down there and getting rid of the infection.

[wildflower18]

I was always told not to douche because it can disrupt the natural flora...I'm assuming this is if you don't already have any infections. My flora is already disrupted with BV, so douching may be okay? Thing is, I'm not sure how I would douche without an applicator...do they sell them at the drug store?

Also interested to hear from anyone whose actually tried this. I'm hoping that it won't push the balance over into getting a yeast infection...which is how this all started to begin with.

I think this is certainly worth a try since the vaginal antibiotic I was given is a class C drug...which states right on it that it passes through breastmilk and it is not recommended to be taken while BFing.

[inurl]

Originally Posted by wildflower18

I was always told not to douche because it can disrupt the natural flora...I'm assuming this is if you don't already have any infections. My flora is already disrupted with BV, so douching may be okay? Thing is, I'm not sure how I would douche without an applicator...do they sell them at the drug store?

Also interested to hear from anyone whose actually tried this. I'm hoping that it won't push the balance over into getting a yeast infection...which is how this all started to begin with.

I think this is certainly worth a try since the vaginal antibiotic I was given is a class C drug...which states right on it that it passes through breastmilk and it is not recommended to be taken while BFing.

Stop assuming stuff about your body and do some easy key-word research on google. You'll be amazed at the amounts of information you can find in just about any area of medicine. I'm not a specialist in vaginal infections per say but I know a thing or two about other areas where natural bacterial flora protects your body from other forms of bacteria that may be harmful to the body. The mouth and intestines contain a small amount of bacteria which fights off infectious agents. When you take a strong oral antibiotic you'll be warned that it causes diarrhea because it will eliminate those bacteria while fighting off the harmful infection (broader antibiotics in general suppress bacterial metabolism so all forms of bacteria may be affected at the same time).

Now hydrogen peroxide is the hydrogen bomb for bacteria if there ever was one - that is because when it comes in contact with fats on the skin it explode into releasing huge amounts of atomic oxygen killing all bacteria in the area.

Vaginal natural flora as you may refer to it acts up among many things against harmful bacteria (it also possesses anti-contraceptive qualities etc.). All this reminds me of some of the autoimmune disease treatments the harshest of which includes irradiating the body destroying the immune system completely.

In your similar case you might want to try some milder treatments before nuking your natural bacterial defenses even if they might already be compromised with a presented infection. Consult your local specialist and do some research of your own. Safety is always in knowledge and understanding of the problems you have.

[OakBerry]

My ob/gyn told me to try baking soda (diluted with warm water) douches once or twice a week to keep the ph at a good level for the flora to re-balance themselves. Also boric acid capsules inserted in the vagina are supposed to regulate ph to avoid overgrowth of bacteria.
I have not tried any of these, so I'm not sure if they work or not.

You should be able to find a drug store/pharmacy that sells a douching apparatus, otherwise you could ask them to order you one, or search online.

Here's a pretty good summary of bv from Wikipedia:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacterial_vaginosis

[wildflower18]

Originally Posted by inurl

Stop assuming stuff about your body and do some easy key-word research on google.

I've done the searches even before your suggestion and have found conflicting information about douching. As I've been told in the past, douching is not good for you and should not be done...however, many of the natural treatments for BV, some of those already mentioned here, suggest douching as a treatment. However, what I did find was that douching could push the bacterial infection further into the uterus or fallopian tubes. Therefore, this is not an approach that I feel comfortable with.

I've had problems with infections for over 20 years and they stopped for over a year once I started taking probiotics (which includes lactobacillus acidolphilus) on a daily basis. Now that seems to be failing me and I'm not sure how to best get my body back on track. I have the added consideration of the effects that the typical prescription treatments that I've used in the past may be harmful to my son who is currently BFing. In researching natural remedies, it is hard to sort out what is safe while BFing and what isn't as well. My post on this board was to seek out something that has been tried by others with similar problems and has worked for them. I understand the basics of vaginal flora, I just need a different strategy that works in my current situation.

I've decided to try garlic, as it has antibiotic and antifungal properties. If that doesn't help the symptoms subside within a week, I will try the tea tree oil. If that doesn't work, I may try another natural remedy, but most likely at that point will give in and take Metronidazole.

If anyone has any other suggestions or personal experience, I am still open to hearing alternative treatments. Thanks.

[amcal]

Wildflower - I too have heard that douching is not good for you. And, clearly you have done your research. That's why these forums exist. There is a lot of conflicting information out there so coming here to ask personal experience is very reasonable.

I'm dealing with cervical dysplasia and I too have read about doing tea tree douches. I too am not comfortable douching so I am doing tea tree soaked tampons. I wonder if you could do the same with the hydrogen peroxide?

[Elipsisqueen]

Yeah, I've read everything about bv, and I can tell you there's a lot of different and conflicting info. out there. This is one of the best places to ask for natural remedies... Don't feel bad for asking, Wildflower.
I did the tea tree oil mixed with some water soaked in a tampon... I only left it in there a minute or so because I figured I should start out slowly to see if there would be any adverse reactions. The next day, I was clearly better. It is coming back today, so I'm going to do it again and leave the tampon in longer. If this doesn't work, I'm going to try the peroxide in a tampon. Antibiotics will be my last resort.
Probiotics and folic acid have seemed to help quite a bit-- I only have a very mild case right now. HOpefully, the tea tree oil will knock it out completely.

[mint]

Hi Wildflower18,

Sorry you are going through this. Here are some places where women are sharing what they do naturally and/or what they have been through with physicians, etc.

Earth Clinic's section on BV:
http://www.earthclinic.com/CURES/bac...vaginosis.html

Bust Lounge - (very large thread with many remedies and experiences):
http://www.bust.com/lounge/index.php...pic=30850&st=0

Susan Weed's Wise Woman Forum has an old thread with lots of good info:
http://www.susunweed.com/weedforum/v...light=bacteria

What worked best for me was boric acid (increases lactic acid) in large capsules inserted (vaginally) each night daily for a week. (This was originally recommended by my midwife.) I got the boric acid from the pharmacy and the capsules in the nutrition section of my local store.

I also take B6, Folic Acid, & Acidophilus daily.

I'm inclined to believe that BV is related to hormones; however, I did just read an article linking mothers with BV to babies with eczema. The study mentioned that perhaps one third of all childbearing women now have BV! They speculate that the reason why has to do with the way we keep our food: "groceries are often heat-treated, and the food is kept in refrigerators." Not to mention the types of foods being eaten.

Foods that promote the existence of lactobacilli are soured vegetables, such as sauerkraut, marinated olives, capers, and salted pickles, as well as cheese. The industry has discovered that certain living microorganisms are good and therefore add them to certain products under the umbrella term of probiotica.

For the complete article:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0123175324.htm

BV really looks like a complex situation unfortunately affecting many women.

I hope this is helpful in any way!

[littlemizflava]

at first signs of BV i use a peri bottle with 50/50 hydrogen peroxide and water spray on after using the washroom use every pee till it clears up... works everytime

[wildflower18]

Thanks so much for the links, personal experiences and support!! Much appreciated!! It's nice to know that others are/have gone through the same thing!!

[Elipsisqueen]

Oh, I forgot to mention some other things that have helped me. Bathing in the morning and at night and going with out underwear as much as possible (especially at night) make the bv *almost* undetectable. But if I skip one of those baths or wear underwear at night or tight pants during the day, it will creep back up and become uncomfortable. Also, anything that traps moisture down there will make it worse. Pads/pantiliners will make it really bad.
If I were breastfeeding, I'd definitely do whatever I could to stay off the antibiotics since they're pretty hard core. My doctor wrote a prescription for me and I didn't even fill it after I read that it 1. caused cancer in lab rats and 2. made most people on a drug forum I was on sicker than dogs. I personally don't have 7 days to lay around nauseated.

Thanks to the person who put up the link to the Science Daily article!

[wildflower18]

Originally Posted by amcal

How about a tampon soaked in tea tree oil?

What is the ratio of tea tree oil to carrier oil that you used? I had read 1:2.
Also, how long do you use them? I had read until the symptoms vanish and in another article, 6 weeks.
How long do you leave the tampon in? Overnight?

[amcal]

I've done straight tea tree and diluted 1:2 in coconut oil. I've been using them for about 2 weeks but, I'm not treating anything with symptoms. I'm treating cervical dysplasia so I have no idea if it's working or not - won't know until I go to the Dr. later this week. I generally leave it in 6 hours if I'm doing it during the day or over night.

[wildflower18]

Does anyone know about how long it should take to see some improvement from the tea tree oil soaked tampons?