Recurrent Bacterial Vaginosis: What are we missing?

Rosemary Guerguerian, MD
14 min readOct 9, 2019
Photo by Imani Clovis on Unsplash

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is an imbalance of vaginal bacteria that can cause a foul odor and increased discharge. Women who experience frequent recurrences of BV are not just inconvenienced; they are tormented. It impacts their self-esteem, as well as their health. Researchers have recently discovered bacteria that better diagnose BV than the bacteria detected on traditional tests. Screening swabs are already available to detect these newly recognized bacteria. However, these bacteria offer more than a new way to diagnose BV. They help explain why certain women have recurrence and why typical antibiotics for BV fail. The bacteria are also found in male partners, which may contribute BV recurrence in those women. The new screening swabs provide enough information for some to have more targeted treatment. The CDC guidelines used by most physicians have not yet caught up to the forefront of this BV research.

The basics about bacterial vaginosis and its treatment:

Symptoms:

Symptoms of BV include a foul or fishy odor, a thin or milky grey-white discharge, vaginal irritation, cramping, or spotting.

Cause:

Normally several types of healthy bacteria, mainly Lactobacilli species, populate the vagina. Lactobacilli keep the vagina healthy by producing acids and…

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Rosemary Guerguerian, MD
Rosemary Guerguerian, MD

Written by Rosemary Guerguerian, MD

“Dr.G” is an ER physician and media consultant. She has a passion for empowering patients, healing not only the body but also the human soul.

Responses (3)

What are your thoughts?

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!!! After searching the web, for what seemed in eternity, for info about A. Vaginae only to up with "clinical", not meant for the general population to understand, based studies/medical journal articles, I recognized…

Are there any new antibiotics now for treatment of Megasphaera1 and BAVB2? Is it likely that Moxifloxacin will treat these as it will Atopobium Vaginae? I have these 3 bacteria and am negative for Gardnerella.

Thanks for writing and sharing, this is really useful and I see a lot of this!