You may thought that yeast infection is the most widespread vaginal infections in women. Actually, there is an even more common vaginal infection in women of fertile age, and that is bacterial vaginosis (BV) infection.
In the US, BV happens in about 16% of women during pregnancy, and 10%-64% of the general female population at any given time. The exact causes of bacterial vaginosis are still under investigation. What is known so far is that the vaginal environment has undergone some alterations in BV.
In bacterial vaginosis, the delicate vaginal flora balance between the naturally occurring good and bad bacteria is disrupted – there is now more bad bacteria, i.e. BV-causing bacteria, than the good ones, the hydrogen-peroxide producing lactobacilli. That is why BV is so hard to be cured permanently without recurring again. However, these days more and more women successfully get rid of BV with bacterial vaginosis natural cures.
Before continuing to take a look at bacterial vaginosis causes and risk factors, it helps a great deal to first remove some of the misunderstanding about this vaginal condition. First of all, you must know that you don’t get bacterial vaginosis through:
* Sitting on chairs or toilet seats.
* Mattresses and linens or other beddings you sleep on.
* Swimming pools.
* Coming in contact with things around you.
So what causes bacterial vaginosis?
Known causes and risk factors of BV include:
1. Sexual activity
While bacterial vaginosis is not regarded as a sexually transmitted infection, studies have found a link between BV and sexual activity. Yet, 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, though rare, 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, sexual activity remains the strongest contributing factor of bacterial vaginosis.
Medical observations so far are that:
* The risk of getting BV is greatly increased if the woman has more sexual partners.
* BV may also be related to having a new sexual partner.
* The male partner(s) of women with BV may carry the same bacteria in their urinary tract, but the male does not experience any symptom of BV.
* Having sex without using a condom may raise the risk of BV infection.
2. Vaginal douching
Medical research have found that vaginal douching is a contributing factor to bacterial vaginosis because it upsets the balance of the vaginal flora. It was hypothesized that douching causes either an imbalance to the vaginal flora or causes inflammation due to the physical or chemical irritation from douching. This then predisposes the woman to BV. Most commercial douche products contain mainly acetic acid and fragrance, and certain products also have surfactant detergents.
Surfactant detergents have bacterial and viral killing properties by damaging their cell structure. However, it also removes antibacterial factors on the vaginal cell membranes, leading to vagina irritation and increasing the susceptibility to infection.
3. Other recognized BV causes include use of intrauterine birth control device, stress and cigarette smoking.
