Article Medically Reviewed By:
Jack D. Sobel, MD
Professor and Division Chief Division of Infectious Diseases Harper University Hospital
Overview
What Is It?
Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a condition in which the normal balance of bacteria in the vagina is disrupted and replaced by an overgrowth of certain bacteria. Symptoms may include discharge, odor, itching or irritation, but often there are no symptoms.
Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common of three vaginal infections that fall under the category known as vaginitis. The other two infections are trichomoniasis, a sexually transmitted disease, and the fungal infection commonly known as a yeast infection.
BV is the least understood and most often ignored or misdiagnosed of these conditions. However, it is gaining more attention as more research shows that untreated BV can lead to significant health complications, including premature delivery, postpartum infections, clinically apparent and subclinical pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), postsurgical complications (after abortion, hysterectomy, cesarean section and other reproductive procedures), increased vulnerability to HIV infection and, possibly, infertility. As many as one-third of women in the United States have BV.
BV is not considered a sexually transmitted disease, although it is less common in women who have never had sex. There is evidence that it could be linked to having a new sex partner or multiple sex partners. Also, douching appears to increase the risk of developing BV.
BV has gone by different names in the past, including nonspecific vaginitis and Gardnerella vaginalis vaginitis. BV is simpler to remember, but there is nothing simple about this condition, and it is not harmless, as was once believed.
BV is actually a syndrome resulting from an imbalance in the different types of bacteria in the vagina (also called vaginal "flora"). A healthy vagina has numerous organisms that naturally live there. The vast majority—about 95 percent—belong to a type of bacteria called lactobacillus.
There are several kinds of lactobacillus, at least one of which is responsible for keeping the vagina's pH at normal levels. When these levels become unbalanced, certain microorganisms may overtake the normal flora leading to a low-grade infection that often produces an abnormal vaginal discharge.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis
With many negative outcomes now linked to bacterial vaginosis (BV), it is important that women get tested and treated. But surveys find that the majority of health care professionals don't routinely test for or treat BV. And yet an estimated 29 percent of women aged 14 to 49 and 50 percent of African American women have BV.
The most common symptoms include a discharge and an unpleasant vaginal odor. Women may easily mistake BV for a yeast infection, which is caused by the overgrowth of fungi called Candida albicans. However, BV requires a different treatment, so it is important you get...
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