subject: Antibiotics In The Treatment Of Bacterial Vaginosis [print this page] Treatment options for bacterial vaginosis (BV) include oral antibiotics and vaginal gels. Normally BV clears up completely without complications after treatment, and no follow-up is required if symptoms are no longer present. But because identifying the exact cause of the condition has been difficult, it is a challenge to treat BV successfully. Current treatment for BV primarily aimed at reducing the severity of symptoms and restoring the normal vaginal flora. This article focuses on the standard bacterial vaginosis treatments with antibiotics.
Antibiotics are the main medicine for treating BV. The antibiotic routinely prescribed is metronidazole, which are available in the form of pill (taken orally) or vaginal metronidazole gel. Both are effective treatment for BV. Another antibiotic that are commonly used is vaginal clindamycin cream.
The oral metronidazole is known to be the most effective drug treatment for BV so far. However, it can cause some minor but horrible side effects. Using vaginal gels usually remove the worries of antibiotic side effects. However, there is a risk of triggering a secondary yeast infection. The internationally recommended treatments for bacterial vaginosis include 7 days of oral metronidazole (400 mg twice daily) or vaginal clindamycin (1 g at night). Tinidazole is a newer antibiotic that has been shown to cause fewer side effects than metronidazole. It is also effective for the treatment of BV.
Recurrent bacterial vaginosis is possible even after successful treatments. More than half of women treated with antibiotics experience recurring symptoms within a year. In fact, recent medical studies found that two thirds of BV patients failed standard antibiotic treatment for BV and have multiple episodes of recurrent BV. If 30% of the US adult population has BV, then there would be at least 20 million women suffering from recurring bacterial vaginosis!
It remains to be elucidated as to why recurrent BV happens. When that happens, usually another course of antibiotics will be prescribed to relieve the symptoms of BV. Deep down in the heart, however, most doctors and their patients already know that standard BV treatments with antibiotic often only provide short-term symptom relief. A second, third or fourth episode of BV can reoccur any time, and the symptoms may become more serious. To avoid the unpleasant side effects of long-term antibiotic use, it is not surprising that more and more women have turned to BV natural remedies and homeopathic solutions for help.
