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References .....................................................................................................................................
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4
Chapter 1
An Overview of Bacterial
Vaginosis
Introduction
Bacterial Vaginosis or BV for short is a very common and uncomfortable
condition that causes the vaginal area to smell and itch. It is caused by an
overgrowth of Bacterial and fungus in vaginal area and it can make you feel
very unclean.
Furthermore, BV is a very persistent condition that is difficult to cure FOR
GOOD. Any type of affliction that is described by a word that has “osis” or
“itis” at the end usually implies that the condition is chronic and that
inflammation is present.
BV certainly fits that description as it is so stubborn and seems to never go
away once you get it. Even after many rounds of antibiotics it seems that
the infection lingers, waiting to rear its ugly head, and ruins everything
from your underwear to sex with your husband to your self-esteem.
It drives some women to tears because just as you think the infection has
finally left, you end up once again sniffing the familiar fishy odor or feeling
that discharge which means that you are once again at the mercy of
Vaginosis.
5
If you have suffered from BV like I have, then you know it never goes away.
You might get a prescription that provides relief for a day, a week, or two.
But after that, the whole vicious cycle just starts up all over again.
I call this the BV Medical Merry Go Round. It goes like this:
• You get the itching and burning
• You get the smell and the discharge.
• You try to treat it with douches and over the counter remedies.
• You powder and spray yourself to get rid of the smell.
• You can’t stand it anymore and go to the doctor.
• The doctor shrugs his shoulders, tells you it is chronic and writes you
a prescription for the antibiotic.
• You take the antibiotic. The BV goes away but now you have a yeast
infection and in some cases, a urinary tract infection to go with it.
• You are prescribed an anti-fungal or anti-yeast cream for the yeast
infection.
• Two weeks to three weeks later, the symptoms come back and you
start the whole cycle over again.
You probably picked up this book because you are fed up with the medical
system, but before we get any further into this subject you need to make
sure that you actually have BV.
There are sections in this book where you might think that I am an anti-
doctor. That is not exactly true. There are situations where lab tests and a
doctor can definitely perform some tests and diagnose you.
6
When it comes to BV, self-diagnosis can be a misleading thing! For one
thing not all BV is that innocent. It can be a symptom of having a sexually
transmitted disease. You need to make sure that is not the case, before you
decide to get rid of it by using natural methods only.
If you know that you only have a routine case of Vaginosis then by all
means treat it with this natural remedy.
So, before you decide that you actually have Bacterial Vaginosis there is a
few things you should know about the condition of Vaginosis in general.
Vaginosis itself is a disorder that describes the inflammation of the mucous
membranes that line the vagina.
There are two types – Bacterial or infectious.
Bacterial Vaginosis, which is the type of Vaginosis that this book deals with,
is caused by an overgrowth of Bacterial or fungus.
Infectious Vaginosis is caused sexual diseases with scary names such as the
trichomonas, gonococci or other sexually transmitted organisms.
The upshot is that you should NEVER ASSUME that what you have is
Bacterial Vaginosis. Get tested.
Make sure your doctor does the lab tests to make sure that your symptoms
are not caused by an underlying infectious