Posted by | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on 10-03-2010
Bacterial vaginosis is the result of an upset in the vaginal flora balance. An assortment of over the counter bacterial vaginosis products have been made available to women on drugstore shelves.
According to a survey, 73% of women with recurrent vulvovaginitis, including bacterial vaginosis, resorted to OTC medications to relieve their symptoms, in hope to reduce health care cost and avoid expensive clinic visits.
What are the available over the counter bacterial vaginosis treatment options?
Vaginal anti-itch creams that are available in drugstores include Vagisil, Vagi-gard, Summers Eve, and Equate. They usually have very consumer-friendly price, and are usually found right next to the vaginal yeast infection items.
The main ingredients in these creams are analgesics, anti-pruritics (anti-itch agents) and anesthetics. But these creams don’t possess anti-microbial activities (i.e. not able to kill germs); the most they can do is to reduce the itchiness. They may reduce the severity of the BV symptoms (e.g. stop vaginal itching), but do not treat the root cause of infection.
If you use vaginal anti-itch creams, you can only expect temporary relief of the symptoms. To some women, these creams may even act as an irritant or worsen their symptoms.
The truth is, no over the counter bacterial vaginosis treatment alone can eliminate the condition completely. Most of the times these creams are used together with antibiotics; at the end the treatment cost is increased.
There are a few over the counter items that can help to relieve bacterial vaginosis by maintaining the vaginal pH and replenishing lactobacilli in the body. Some of these products include lactate vaginal gel, tea tree oil pessaries, and oral probiotic supplements.
Tea tree oil pessaries can be used inside the vagina and their natural antibacterial properties can help to control the harmful bacteria, which is present in the vagina when a woman has bacterial vaginosis.
Lactate vaginal gels work as pH balancing gel. One example of lactate vaginal gel is RepHresh, which is inserted into the vagina with an applicator.
Probiotic supplements are such as powder or capsules containing acidophilus or lactobacillus to be taken orally. One example of the over the counter bacterial vaginosis oral supplement is Fem-Dophilus. Another example is Femanol, which also contains additional immune system enhancing nutrients (e.g. vitamins B1, B2, B5, and B6).
Treating bacterial vaginosis with natural remedies seems to have better long-term success rates than antibiotics and conventional OTC treatments for bacterial vaginosis. You are able to find from the internet many tips and solutions to deal with bacterial vaginosis naturally.
However, if you didn’t use these bacterial vaginosis natural cures in the right way, for the right duration and frequency, you are unlikely to get rid of BV permanently. Only when the methods are employed through a systematic and strategic approach that the natural remedies will work optimally to get rid of BV permanently.
