Bacterial vaginosis antibiotics.

If you are wondering about whether it is worthwhile using bacterial vaginosis antibiotic treatment, like most women you will have had the stark realization that antibiotics do not seem to cure the condition altogether in the long term. Indeed most women find that once they have the condition, they simply cannot seem to shake it off and find that they have repeated outbreaks throughout their adult life.

Antibiotics work by killing off bacteria, and this is a job which they largely do very effectively. If successful bacterial vaginosis treatment was nothing more than the killing off of bacteria, then there would not be a problem. However, there is more to it than that!

BV is caused by an imbalance of the naturally occurring bacteria within the vagina. Under normal circumstances, various strains cohabit in harmony, with beneficial or "good" bacteria exerting a protective effect, killing off any strains of harmful bacteria which begin to overgrow. When this job is not being done efficiently, the symptoms of BV will begin which include a foul, fishy smelling discharge and some irritation or burning around the vagina. Antibiotics kill off all bacteria, including the beneficial strains, leaving the vagina with no protection once the antibiotics have finished working.

The second issue with using bacterial vaginosis antibiotic treatment is that the only way to successfully eliminate the condition is to use a range of strategies, and killing harmful bacteria is just one of these. When the bacteria is killed, there is no doubt that symptoms will be temporarily relieved, but as the underlying cause remains, recurrent outbreaks are likely to happen.

To be successful, treatment needs to incorporate the following elements:-

* Symptomatic relief
* Elimination of common root causes
* Enhancement of levels of good bacteria
* Killing of harmful bacteria
* Strengthening of the immune system

When you look at the list above you can see why bacterial vaginosis antibiotic treatment can be ineffective in the long term.