women s health issues
Bacterial Vaginosis (BV)
Treatment of Bacterial Vaginosis
Antibiotics Bacterial vaginosis is treated with an antibiotic (such asmetronidazoleorclindamycin).Metronidazoletaken by mouth is the preferred treatment for women who are not pregnant. Other treatments aremetronidazoleorclindamycingiven as a vaginal medication. Women who useclindamycincream should not use latex products (such as latex condoms or diaphragms) for birth control because the cream weakens latex. Another possible treatment is the antibioticsecnidazole. Its advantage is that only one dose is needed. Some vaginal antibiotic creams used to treat bacterial vaginosis weaken latex condoms and diaphragms. Doctors prefer to treat pregnant women withmetronidazoleorclindamycingiven as a vaginal medication. When treated, bacterial vaginosis usually resolves in a few days but commonly recurs. If it recurs often, antibiotics may have to be taken for several weeks or months. Treatment of sex partners is not recommended. 