Natural Cures for Bacterial Vaginosis (BV)

The first thing doctors will tell you to take for BV are two different kinds of antibiotics. Antibiotics are fine in their place, but as any well-knowledged person will tell you, the more antibiotics you take, the more antibiotic-resistant bacteria you will have. Instead of using chemicals, why not try a more natural approach? Here are a few things you can do to treat BV.

1) Use garlic. There are two ways to do this. The first is to simply insert a clove of garlic vaginally, and leave overnight, or, if you are a little squeamish about this, you can wrap the garlic clove in cheese cloth, and insert that. Same thing, just with the cheese cloth added.

2) Use yogurt. Anytime you have a bacterial or yeast infection of the vagina, you should eat yogurt like crazy, which helps your body's environment become more alkaline, a state in which bacteria cannot grow. You can also use yogurt vaginally. You can douche with it, or, for surface yeast infections, smear the area with yogurt and let it sit for a while.

3) Use all natural, organic, unfiltered, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar, containing "the mother". This means you will see a sediment at the bottom which means the vinegar was made using a base, such as sourdough starter is used making a base (thanks for the analogy, Mom!). Drinking this mixed with honey can help get your body to that akaline state you need, and mixing it with yogurt and douching can help get rid of the bacteria or yeast in there.

4) Use Tea-tree oil on a tampon, and let it stay in overnight. For you pregnant mommies, don't do this. Tea-tree oil is an oil, and as such can make it through the body's membranes, including the membrane surrounding your little one, and has been associated with miscarriages and early births. For those of you not pregnant, Tea-tree oil is the way to go.

5) Use colloidal silver. I'm not sure of the mechanics of this, and I'll post it as I discover it, but the point of it is that taking C.S. promotes good health. Take it, and just see if you get sick! Basically it is almost a cure-all. It can be taken orally or vaginally in a douche

6) Use aloe or cucumber as a vaginal suppository overnight. This is a more gentle approach, and should probably be used after the more effective methods. The purpose of the gentleness of the aloe or cucumber is to heal up any roughened surfaces in the vagina. BV can be brought on by the aggrivation of the tissues, such as during sex, and the aloe and cucumber heal those delicate tissues, and help to prevent a return of the BV before the tissues have had time to heal. If you have a persistent infection, using the gentle method won't cure the problem, because it will take too long and the BV will overpower the aloe or cucumber. Using the garlic or vinegar/yogurt douches, and then the aloe or cucumber is good advice.

Most of all, and this is very important, ladies: if you think you have an issue with bacteria, and that it may be BV, absolutely be open with your doctor or midwife and let them know. If allowed to persist, it has been associated both with sterility, and during pregnancy, early membrane rupture, resulting in premees with low birth weight. It's important to be treated, but it is also important to know your options. I really recommend trying the natural remedies before taking the antibiotics suggested by doctors. One is not safe for first trimester mommies, and the other has high risks of kidney and liver problems, which means it is also not safe for pregnant mommies, since the medication will get to the baby, possibly causing kidney and liver problems there as well. Know your options!

Good Luck!