hello my name is dr. Nicholas Cohen and
I'm here to share with you a top 10 list
of tips for women with bacterial
vaginosis tip number one no one to
suspect that you have bacterial
vaginosis fact bacterial vaginosis also
called BV is the most common cause of
vaginal discharge in women of
childbearing age it cause a fishy odor
and it can be most noticeable after
sexual intercourse however many women
with bacterial vaginosis have vaginosis
have no symptoms at all bacterial
vaginosis is important because it can
lead to increases your risk of getting
HIV gonorrhea chlamydia and herpes tip
number two see your doctor if you are
having increased vaginal discharge or a
fishy odor after intercourse it's
important to see your doctor to make
sure of the diagnosis of bacterial
vaginosis and to make sure you don't
have another type of infection tip
number three don't smoke smoking is one
of the proven risk factors for bacterial
vaginosis so there are many reasons not
to smoke and reducing your risk of
bacterial vaginosis is another reason
tip number four avoid douching douching
or applying a liquid to the into the
vagina is actually a risk factor for
bacterial vaginosis many women will do
just to make themselves feel feel fresh
or clean but actually douching can
disrupt the bacteria that are normal in
your vagina particularly lactobacilli
which produce hydrogen peroxide in which
i
protect your vagina from bad bacteria so
it's important not to disrupt the good
bacteria by not putting douche into your
vagina tip number five is limit the
number of sexual partners you have
multiple sexual partners is a risk
factor for bacterial vaginosis as well
as sexually transmitted diseases so it's
important to only have one sexual
partner at a time tip number six is to
treat bacterial vaginosis so your doctor
will prescribe new treatment for
bacterial vaginosis and there are
generally two types of treatments one is
by mouth and one is a gel that's
inserted into the vagina a recommended
treatment is metronidazole 500
milligrams twice a day for seven days by
mouth an alternative treatment which is
just as effective is a vaginal
metronidazole vaginal gel which is
inserted into the vagina once daily for
five days whenever taking metronidazole
it's important not to drink alcohol
because you can have a serious reaction
which will involve chest pain dizziness
and can low blood pressure kampang can
be dangerous another tip about taking
metronidazole or any antibiotic is to
make sure you complete the entire course
of your antibiotic that we prescribe
even if your symptoms go away it's
important to finish the treatment course
of your antibiotics so that you don't
cause the bacteria that you're treating
to become resistant tip number seven
sexual partners of women with bacterial
vaginosis generally do not need to be
screened or treated for bacterial
vaginosis the exception is is women who
have sex with women women who have sex
with women their partners should be
dying to be screened for bacterial
vaginosis and treated if they have it
tip number eight
if you have recurrent bacterial
vaginosis which is more than three
episodes of VV in a year it's
recommended that you be treated with
prophylaxis prophylaxis or protective
dose of metronidazole for six months
your you can discuss this with your
doctor but in general you take seven
days of Metro metronidazole by mouth
twice a day 500 milligrams along with
boric acid vaginal insert 600 milligrams
for a total of 21 days that starts on
the same day as you start the
metronidazole and then after you
complete the vaginal boric acid your
doctor will test to make sure that the
bacterial vaginosis has cleared and then
prescribed a vaginal gel of
metronidazole twice weekly for six
months
this can help women who have repeated
episodes of bacterial vaginosis tip
number nine treatment and pregnancy and
nursing women women who are pregnant and
are having symptoms of bacterial
vaginosis should be treated and in
general the recommendation is
metronidazole the oral form 500
milligrams twice daily for seven days
women who have symptoms women who are
nursing with bacteria and have our vet
and have symptoms of bacterial vaginosis
in other words women who are
breastfeeding and have symptoms of
bacterial vaginosis should also be
treated but they should be treated with
metronidazole vaginal gel for five days
and tip number ten is to believe in
yourself bacterial vaginosis is very
common it's not a sexually transmitted
disease and there are effective ways to
prevent and treat it I hope these tips
have been helpful and thank you very
much for listening have a great day