Causes of Bacterial Vaginosis – Debunking the Myths
Many women assume that vaginal yeast infections are the most common vaginal infections, but the truth is that the prevalence of bacterial vaginosis (BV) infection is higher than yeast infection among women of reproductive age.
In the US, BV occurs in about 10-64% of the general women population at any given time, and 16% of women during pregnancy. Medical scientists are still trying to determine the exact bacterial vaginosis causes. What is known to date is that some changes occurred in the vaginal environment in BV.
In BV, the delicate vaginal flora balance between the naturally occurring good and bad bacteria is disrupted – the number of ‘good’ hydrogen peroxide-producing lactobacilli is reduced while the concentration of multiple ‘bad’ anaerobic bacteria is increased. That is why BV is so hard to be cured permanently without recurring again. However, nowadays many women successfully get rid of BV with bacterial vaginosis natural cures.
Before going further to read about other bacterial vaginosis causes or risk factors, it is important to debunk some of the common myths about BV infection. First and foremost, you must understand that you do not get BV through:
* Sitting on toilet seats or chairs.
* Mattresses and linens or other beddings you sleep on.
* Swimming pools.
* Touching things around you.
So what are some of the things that can lead to bacterial vaginosis?
Identified bacterial vaginosis causes and risk factors include:
1. Sexual activity
While bacterial vaginosis is not regarded as a sexually transmitted infection, medical scientists found an association between sexual activity and BV. However, 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, sex activity remains the strongest contributing factor of bacterial vaginosis.
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 studies have found that vaginal douching is associated with an increased risk for BV because douching is likely to disrupt the vaginal flora balance. It was suggested that douching causes either an imbalance to the vaginal flora or causes inflammation as a result of the chemical or physical irritation. This increases the risk of getting BV infection. The majority of douche products on the market contain a lot of fragrance, water and acetic acid, and certain products also have surfactant detergents.
Surfactant detergents kill bacteria by breaking their cell structure. However, it also washes away important antibacterial elements on the vaginal cell membranes, causing irritation of the vaginal wall lining and increasing the susceptibility to infection.
3. Other recognized BV causes include use of intrauterine birth control device, stress and cigarette smoking.
