u/Pristine_Business

i’ve gotten BV 4 times now, from 3 different partners. This most recent time, I am currently with a partner and we are exclusive so I had him take antibiotics as well. My only trigger is sex, but i’ve also changed the following to try to prevent a recurrence
- ive installed a removable shower head so i can clean as thoroughly as possible afterwards
- we will not be doing any activities involving my or his saliva down there for some time. when we do, i have a hydrogen peroxide mouthwash to use beforehand
- when i treated with antibiotics this last time i used boric acid alongside it to try and break down biofilm.
- he never had and will not be finishing inside me
- after discussing with my doctor, we opted for no condoms since my partner has been treated and i’ve gotten it with condoms before since i’m sensitive to them
- i changed his soap to the same one i use
- i will be skipping the placebo week of my birth control to avoid pH changes as much as possible and stabilize estrogen levels

after sex routine now:
- immediate pee and shower (i already did this before as well)
- boric acid insert with lactic acid gel night of
- probiotic suppository the night after (vitanica)

does this sound like it might do the trick? i’m willing to do anything. My chief and only BV symptom is burning on the vulva and vaginal vestibule that sets in 10 days after intercourse.

I’ve had BV four times in the last year, and i’ve had five different partners in that time. I always get it 10 days after sex, and two of the five did not cause these issues for me. I was trying to correlate the differences. Of these two, one we did not use condoms and one we did. One went down on me and one did not. The one that did, i asked him to brush his teeth and use mouthwash before. Neither of them received oral from me beforehand, so none of my saliva made it down there. Of these partners i’ve gotten BV from, 2/3 I gave oral to immediately before the put a condom on for PIV, and the third we did not use condoms but i went down on him before so my saliva went straight inside me. I’m wondering if it could be my oral hygiene? its overall very good and i brush my teeth right before intercourse, but i do have two small cavities that i haven’t yet filled.

I did not get BV with my last partner, and i thought it was in the clear. I only hooked up with him once before we ended things but i didn’t have a recurrence. However, i’m now seeing someone and we are exclusive. I unfortunately developed BV symptoms about 10 days after we first had sex, and in between that we did have 2-3 more times. I have a feeling i’m going to be someone that this happens to no matter what I do. i do think my period is contributing to
it as the symptoms really took off as my period progressed, so i’m going to talk to my ob about skipping my period while on birth control. Does anyone have any other tips that were your holy grail for prevention? we wash and brush teeth right before sex, i shower and clean between everywhere down there right after, and i take a very strong oral probiotic. Should i go for boric acid after sex from now on? lactic acid? vaginal probiotics? unsure what to try next. my chief symptom is always burning/irritarion, rather than smell or discharge.