Cures for bacterial vaginosis are typically in the form of antibiotics. Sometimes bacterial vaginosis will go away on its own without any medical treatment. People who need cures for bacterial vaginosis are normally prescribed either metronidazole or clindamycin, which are two types of antibiotics. Both of these antibiotics come in pill form or in the form of creams that are inserted inside the vagina. Most bacterial vaginosis infections generally clear up within two or three days after antibiotic treatment is begun, but doctors usually advise women to take their antibiotics for at least one week even if their symptoms cease.
Many women who have bacterial vaginosis experience no symptoms, and for this reason they may not realize they have the infection. The fact that bacterial vaginosis does occasionally go away on its own means that there are some women who may not be aware they have ever had it, particularly if symptoms were not present. A woman should not put off treatment for bacterial vaginosis because she believes her infection will go away without treatment. Even though bacterial vaginosis occasionally does go away without treatment, it could get much worse before it gets better. It is typically considered best to see a doctor or gynecologist as soon as bacterial vaginosis symptoms appear so that the problem does not get worse.
A doctor typically evaluates a woman's symptoms in addition to performing a pelvic examination before prescribing cures for bacterial vaginosis. The symptoms of bacterial vaginosis are often similar to yeast infection symptoms, and for this reason many women may believe they have a yeast infection. It is often not until a woman attempts to treat her bacterial vaginosis with over-the-counter yeast infection cream that she realizes she has another problem because the yeast infection medicine is ineffective against bacterial vaginosis. Doctors can normally perform a pelvic exam and get a sample of vaginal discharge to check for signs of bacterial vaginosis. The sample a doctor obtains will show the bacteria present in the discharge if a woman does have bacterial vaginosis rather than a yeast infection.
Antibiotic cures for bacterial vaginosis are often effective immediately. Symptoms normally start to go away after the first day or two of taking antibiotics. The antibiotics are normally given in the form of creams or gels to be inserted inside the vagina. Pregnant women with bacterial vaginosis are typically prescribed antibiotics in pill form because inserting the medicine into the vagina while pregnant may not be safe for fetuses. If the antibiotics are not taken for the entire duration they were prescribed, there is a chance that the infection will return.
