r/BacterialVaginosis_

So I was diagnosed with BV for the first time, prescribed metrogel but first did a boric acid suppository, followed by 5 nights of metro gel. My urethral symptoms died down a lot but didn't go completely away and I developed the famous yeast discharge so I rescheduled an appointment and requested to be tested for urea/myco and retest for BV and yeast. My OB said my cervix looked fine but that it definitely appeared that I now had a yeast infection. I've been dealing with BV symptoms for a month and now I've got a yeast infection 😭 like geez can I catch a break? And I'll add that anytime I've ever had a yeast infection it's always been vulvar and never in my vaginal canal. I just want to feel normal again.

Full Text (since paywalled):

Farrah was fed up with her vagina.

For the past two years, the 29-year-old dancer from Ohio had been dealing with severe pelvic pain and vaginal odor. “It was like 8/10, horrible core pain,” she says. “I couldn’t lie down. I couldn’t even work an office job. It was bad.”

When she visited doctors, she told them what she thought the culprit was: an allergic reaction to soy oil in a vat of water she’d swam in during a pirate-themed dinner theater performance. But they didn’t believe her. “They attempted to fix it with antibiotics,” she says. “And they just did nothing.”

So Farrah (who requested we withhold her full name to speak freely about health matters) started Googling her symptoms. That’s how she stumbled on NeuEve, a vaginal health company that provides supplements, suppositories, and at-home vaginal microbiome testing kits.

She ordered a test from the company for $150, and it came back with a diagnosis: aerobic vaginitis (AV), a bacterial infection caused by an overgrowth of E. coli or streptococcus. She ordered supplements the company recommended, and she says the pain abated almost immediately. “I was just so glad to actually know what was wrong,” she says.

Farrah is one of a growing number of women who have used at-home tests to self-diagnose issues with the vaginal microbiome—an ecosystem of bacteria growing inside the vagina; the presence of “good” bacteria correlates with lower risk of STIs and other types of infections, according to numerous studies. The industry got a shoutout when the Silicon Valley entrepreneur Bryan Johnson recently posted on X that he had just given oral sex to his girlfriend, Kate Tolo, then followed up with a screengrab of her Tiny Health vaginal microbiome report. He proclaimed that she scored “100/100” and that hers was in the “top 1% of all vaginas” due to the dominance of Lactobacillus crispatus, a type of “good” bacteria found in the vagina.

Johnson’s thread garnered widespread mockery, with many questioning why Johnson would publicly quantify his partner’s vaginal health in such a fashion. But it also received replies from women online who are tracking their own vaginal microbiomes to treat their bacterial infections, to boost fertility, or just out of interest. Some even posted their results.

The market for at-home vaginal microbiome tests is growing—Tiny Health, the startup Tolo used, claims vaginal health testing sales spiked 2,000 percent within the first 48 hours of Johnson’s post—and similar companies include Juno Bio, which partners with Neueve; the UK-based Daye, and Evvy. But some experts believe there’s not yet enough research to support the long-term validity of such tests. None of the at-home kits on the market are approved by the FDA. There are also questions as to whether they empower women to take their health care into their own hands or simply create more anxiety for them.

Twenty-eight-year-old Samantha (she also requested a pseudonym given the sensitive nature of this topic) developed an interest in vaginal microbiome testing after experiencing a bout of bacterial vaginosis, or BV. She ordered a testing kit from Evvy upon the recommendation of the Facebook group Beyond BV, which offers support for women with recurring vaginal infections, and where they often post their own results.

Samantha found her test results useful, but she also noticed a distinct strain of paranoia within the group. For instance, when many women receive their results, they tend to focus on whether they have enough Lactobacillus crispatus, or “good” bacteria, in the vagina. “I'll read posts where women are freaking out if they have like 97 percent crispatus and then they'll retest and they'll have like 60 percent and be really disappointed and scared,” she says. The opposite also holds true. “Women will post about having 100 percent crispatus and other women in the comments will just be like, ‘Oh, I'm so jealous, I'm having so many issues, I hope to be you one day.’”

In internet communities like the subreddit r/Healthyhooha , which has more than 100,000 members, women regularly discuss their ratios of “protective” to “destructive” vaginal bacteria, often trying to optimize the former. Some take vaginal microbiome tests multiple times, as a preemptive measure to avoid future infections. Research indicates that 50 to 80 percent of women who get BV once will get it again.

Longevity researcher Kayla Barnes-Lentz tests her vaginal microbiome about twice a year and publicly posts her results. (She also uses Evvy and acts as a paid adviser for the brand.) She started testing it not because she has any underlying health issues, but because she wants to do everything in her power to try to boost her numbers—for instance, she says she got her 97 percent protective bacteria score up to a 100 percent by taking vaginal probiotics.

“We know that decline occurs as we age, and I want to be as protected against that as possible,” she says. “I’m always striving, and I’m always in competition with myself.”

Evvy founder and CEO Priyanka Jain says the company has served more than 100,000 patients since its launch in 2020. She says that while the vast majority of her customers struggle with preexisting vaginal health issues, 10 percent take the test out of “curiosity,” and more than 50 percent are regular subscribers, taking the test every three months, either to track their fertility or prevent recurrence.

There’s a paucity of research surrounding the vaginal microbiome in comparison to the much better-known gut microbiome. This is in part due to gender bias within the scientific research community, says Hana Janebdar, the founder and CEO of the vaginal microbiome testing startup Juno Bio. Historically, “there has been this huge amount of research and commercialization into every aspect of microbiomes except how it pertained to women's health,” she says.

But even though recurring BV infections among women are a legitimate issue, some researchers say the utility of taking an at-home vaginal microbiome test is debatable—especially when one is asymptomatic, as Barnes-Lentz and Tolo were.

The vaginal microbiome is ever-fluctuating and can vary depending on factors like diet, sexual activity, and whether someone is pregnant or menstruating, says Jacques Ravel, a vaginal microbiome researcher at the University of Maryland. (Ravel is also listed as a scientific adviser to probiotics company Seed.) “It’s a very dynamic system,” he says. “Knowing what happened at one point in your life won’t really tell you much about what’s going to happen even two weeks from now.”

Vaginal microbiome diversity also varies by race and ethnicity: Black women, for instance, are statistically more likely to have less Lactobacillus crispatus, the protective bacteria, than white women of European descent, but that doesn’t necessarily indicate a problem with their vaginal health. And some women can have little to no lactobacillus and be perfectly healthy.

The tests also typically suggest treatment protocols like antibiotics or probiotics, some of which can disrupt the bacteria ecosystem in the vagina if introduced unnecessarily. “You're going to maybe end up with something that might not be optimal for you, and all of a sudden you're going to start having problems,” such as worsening irritation or discomfort, Ravel says. “I think that’s dangerous.”

When asked about such critiques, the CEOs I spoke with take issue with the idea that the tests provide zero insight into long-term vaginal health, arguing that results fluctuate far less than Ravel suggests. While Kimberley Sukhum, the chief science officer at Tiny Health, agrees that unnecessary treatment such as antibiotic intervention “can be harmful,” she says biomarkers such as lactobacillus dominance are “not fleeting signals. They reflect the underlying character of a woman’s vaginal community at a given point in time and are associated with real health outcomes.”

Regardless of the long-term utility of the tests—or, at the very least, the ludicrous idea of a woman having a “top 1%” vagina—their popularity undoubtedly points to a larger issue within the women’s health space. Until 1993, researchers were not legally required to include women in clinical trials, contributing to a massive gender gap in data. The women who regularly test their vaginal microbiomes are trying to find their own answers within a medical system that has largely failed them.

“We have not done extensive research or funded enough for extensive research to come up with new medicine to solve this problem,” says Ravel. “For almost 50 years, we have not come up with a solution to help women. And I think that’s very, very sad.”

I (27 F) got my first ever BV diagnosis after experiencing urethral burning, frequency/urgency, and like a stabbing pain that would shoot into my urethra. Initially thought it was a UTI but after a round of nitro and it didn't clear I went and got an STD panel and it came back as BV. I've been sexually active for 10+ years and never have I ever had BV. I'm on metro gel right now and it does seem to be working, my symptoms have decreased a lot but not gone away completely (Day 4 of tx). My question for you guys is, did metro get rid of your symptoms within the timeframe of treatment? I've been doing research and I'm a tad worried. I know that BV can actually be a symptom of Ureaplasma and Mgen and seeing as I've never had BV before, that idea is in the back of my mind. I've got another extended STD panel to swab for the two in 2 days but just wanted to know some of you ladies' experiences.

Bless whoever decides to read all of this and tries to help lol

I’m getting a second swab done for BV in a few days because the initial treatments last month didn’t seem to make it fully go away. I will say that before I first got checked out, I’d been dealing with the infection for probably a year with it progressively getting worse (I was just hesitant to get checked and it was also hard to find a gyn that was fully covered and also had good patient reviews), so I kinda didn’t expect the treatments to work but I still hoped for a miracle lol.

However, I feel like the symptoms have kinda tapered off since I contacted my gyn about it and now I feel kinda embarrassed going in knowing that I’m not having as much of an issue anymore these last couple of days, even though it felt much more real and torturous in the previous week? I will say sometimes the irritation or itching makes a brief visit but it tends to be mild/manageable, nothing compared to what I’d experienced during the relapse of symptoms. And tmi I guess, but there is a smell, though I don’t know if that’s just my baseline or something close to it because I haven’t been normal down there in a long time.

Not only that, but the discharge is pretty minimal now, so I’m worried that’ll affect specimen collection. She’s gonna do a blind swab and also a speculum exam, as well as a urine collection because for the past few weeks I feel like I’ve been having urgency/incontinence that might be related to the infection. It’s just weird because it kinda feels like the urgency has also been pretty tame the past few days and now I just feel like I’m going back for testing for no reason, even though the signs were very evident just a week ago.

The different symptoms have been coming and going as they please but they’ve all come to a standstill within the last two days or so which makes it harder for me to gauge the whole thing. Part of me hopes that they return before my appointment even though it’s torture to deal with because it would make me feel more validated in my visit.

I’m still gonna go get checked out because I’m afraid that if I don’t then it’ll come back in full force again (like it was before I got treated) and I’d have to go in again anyways. Aside from voicing my paranoid concerns I’m also trying to ask: will the specimen collection be compromised if I’m not having tons of discharge like I was just before? Like, would the amount of fluid they’re able to collect significantly affect the results?

Do I need an infectious disease consult? Here are the details:

-BV symptoms for over 6 months. Before this, never had it in my life!

-note I have had two vaginal swabs, both just showed “bacterial vaginosis”, no details about what bacteria actually grew or sensitivities
-signs: white/yellowish and sometimes brown/pink discharge but no odour
-occasional cramping
-“strawberry cervix” but not in the usual way… more like a pale pink petechiae on the cervix
-cervical exam otherwise normal
-two courses of metronidazole po (appropriate dosing, both courses for 7 days each)
-no symptom change after either course of antibiotics
-also tried a course of po NAC before the last course of metronidazole but again, no change
-tried vaginal probiotic suppositories, seemed to help a little but symptoms came back as soon as probiotics stopped

Other potentially related things:
-I am in 40s, but the women of my family usually don’t have menopause symptoms until their fifties so this seems early?
-I’ve had a mirena iud for about three years
-uterine fibroids present
-I am on a glp-1 that I started about one year ago for weight loss- and this has been well tolerated and efficacious
-only other med is an ssri (been taking x ten years)
-no other medical history
-have replaced my whole underwear drawer and changed detergents… still no change
-very sexually inactive since this started at Christmas and I miss my husband
-was tested for every other sti too, all negative

Help. I’m at my wits end with it and I’m removing the iud this week, and planning for a course of topical (PV) clindamycin thereafter.

Is it possible this isn’t even an infection but a hormonal issue?

I’m 26F and I’ve been with the same guy for 2 years. For the first year, everything about our sex life was completely normal.
Then around March 2025, we used a warming lube for the first time. After that, I started getting recurring BV constantly.
I’d treat it with 7 days of Metronidazole and it would completely clear up. But every time we had unprotected sex again (especially when he finished inside me), the BV would come right back. This became a MONTHLY cycle.
I saw multiple GPs, booked a gyno appointment, and kept getting prescribed Metronidazole tablets and sometimes clindamycin vaginal cream over and over again. I was exhausted and honestly miserable.
I also tried:
> Pinc brand Boric acid suppositories
> Pinc brand Probiotic suppositories
> Greek yogurt/probiotics daily
> Even vinegar douching at one point (don’t recommend lol)
Nothing actually stopped it from returning.
Then one day I was staring at my partner and noticed I still had some clindamycin cream left in my drawer. I randomly thought:
“What if the bacteria is staying on him and just getting passed back to me?”
So I put a small amount of clindamycin cream on his penis externally (in and around the foreskin too) and he went home.
A week later, we had sex multiple times.
and days later, NO BV.
I genuinely can’t believe it. After an entire year of recurring infections, this is the first time I haven’t felt symptoms afterwards.
I know this isn’t medical advice and I’m not telling people to self-treat their partners, but I honestly feel like his penis was holding the bacteria and reinfecting me repeatedly.
I decided to post this because during the last year I searched Reddit and Google constantly looking for answers from women going through the same thing. Recurring BV is mentally exhausting and makes you feel hopeless.

this is my 2nd time on metronidazole, ive gotten bv twice in the past 8 months, and whenever I take metronidazole I develop thrush. obviously this medication makes me exhausted and drained, nauseated and dizzy, plus the thrush. what kind of things can I do for my partner and I to avoid this again? I hate being out of commission.

I drink kombucha, lots of water, try and avoid processed foods, I take vitamins and supplements

(haven't taken any since the metronidazole)

cranberry supplements

ACV supplements

calcium magnesium zinc supplements

vitamin d

vitamin b12

oregano oil

raw garlic

and I got probiotics for a healthy vaginal flora

im just stumped on how to prevent this again. I talked to my doctor about how I read online about how men can carry extra bacteria and keep giving it back and he shut me down. the gynecologist I saw about 6 months back was also a shit show, she shot down every question I had and just tried to shuffle me out as fast as possible. so I kind of feel on my own.

any advice would be welcomed and helpful, im 23 and struggle with mental illness so I dont get taken seriously in the doctor's office. thank you guys:)

My boyfriend and I got into an argument after I went to the doctor and got diagnosed with BV. Before going, I didn’t really know much about it and had tried treating it at home first because that’s what I saw online. When I told him about the diagnosis, I explained that I was embarrassed and uncomfortable too, especially because of the smell, and that I had never dealt with this before.

He responded by saying he’d noticed discharge/smell for a while, brought up my underwear and even pictures he took of them, and basically said he’s tired of not having sex and dealing with my moods lately. He also said things like “it’s not my pussy” and hinted that if someone can’t have sex in a relationship then what’s the point.

I understand him being frustrated, but I feel really hurt and embarrassed by the way he talked to me about it. Am I overreacting for feeling disrespected?

I hope someone can help or share a positive experience similar to mine!

About a month ago I got BV (never had it before) and did a 7 day round of oral metronidazol. still had symptoms. went back and got tested and still had it. I then did. 10 day round of oral metro. still had when tested after. so now I’m on day 6 of clyndamy in and still having symptoms. she called on another 7 day supply but I read online clynda shouldn’t really be used for longer than a week except for weekly maintenance, which for that she prescribed metro gel to be inserted weekly.

should I do another week of clynda then switch to metro once a week? I am also taking a vaginal probiotic. I bought boric acid suppositories but haven’t used them yet. also haven’t had sex in over a month.

this is a nightmare I don’t understand it!

i did 10 consecutive days of metrogel, then twice a week for 6 weeks and i was recommended to do two additional weeks of boric acid.

i'm (finally) done with the metro gel portion of treatment. i'm coming off my period and i am RAW, like some sort of dermatitis.

is this a side effect of metronidazole? perhaps a sign that the BV wasn't properly eradicated? im so done with this 😭

i still haven't started doing boric acid so i'm technically not done with treatment but im sooo worried i've spent so long treating this issue.

Went to er for horrible smell and when I say horrible I mean horrific. I have extreme burning like very intense (my major symptom along w the smell). I have yellow discharge and also Urgency and slight itch. This itch has been ongoing since I tested positive for chlymydia back in March (got cheated on) when doxy thru me off so I did a 3 week fluconazole treatment (1x/week, for 3 weeks)

I had sex last April 17 (new partner) and noticed this smell and horrible burning may 6th

Some key points form my labs:

1. ⁠leukocytes are HIGH/abnormal
2. ⁠- Urine dip was negative/normal for rest
3. ⁠Urine culture negative — no overnight growth
4. ⁠No yeast
5. ⁠Negative for urine STDs — trich, gon, chlym (test done 25 days after sex)
6. ⁠BV swab — “Microscopic findings consistent with bacterial vaginosis” (test done 24 days after sex) — started metronidazole today

also tested for mycoplasma and ureaplasma but won’t but getting that for a few weeks and unfortunately ill be away until July so I can’t treat it till then if it did come back positive.

As the title says is extreme burning and high leukocytes normal for BV?

Hello all,

I am currently in a situation where I am wondering if my diagnosis of bv is correct. Here’s what’s been going on.

About a month ago, i started with vulva itching. It was a prickly feeling and it was itchy and burning. I went in to get checked and the doctor said I was red and irritated. She did the usual swab and gave me some steroid cream to use. My swab test came back negative for everything the next day. I was still have the issue so I went to see my pvp who took a look and said I was very dry and irritated and gave me a script for estrogen cream, as I am the age for perimenopause (40) I used it as directed but wasn’t feeling much relief in the course of a couple weeks. A few days ago, my whole vaginal area became very swollen and beat red. It was like 2 times the size as it normally was and I was having trouble walking and sitting. I went back to my pcp and she thought I could have a yeast infection. She gave me the pills for that and told me to take them for several days, she also swabbed me again.

Later that afternoon my vaginal area became so swollen I could not longer walk. My husband told me I needed to call the doctors back and explain what what happening because it was clearly not normal. The nurse I spoke with told me I needed to go to the emergency room to be seen because she suspected PID. The pain and swelling was unbearable so off to the ER I went. They did a multitude of tests, several swabs, urinalysis and she did a vaginal exam with the speculum. She noted that my cervix was covered in yellow spots and she agreed that I was extremely swollen and red.

My tests came back and I was positive for BV. I was surprised because I have no discharge or bad smell. She said it happens sometimes and gave me the antibiotics.

The swelling has gone down significantly but I am still very itchy and irritated inside my vagina mostly. I am still waiting on the results from my pcp from that day as well which will be interesting. Does this sound like normal BV? While it is definitely not as bad as it was the day I went to the hospital, I’ve been on the antibiotics for two days and still have symptoms. Is there a long healing time for this? I’m just confused as this is the first time I have been diagnosed with BV.