BV, can make you go crazy, especially if it keeps recurring and doesn’t clear with antibiotics. In this article, I want to show you that drinking kefir for BV might just be your solution to this madness because kefir cleared my BV!
What is BV?
BV is the short form of bacterial vaginosis.
It is basically an infection where your vagina’s balance of good and bad bacteria is disrupted. Our bodies contain millions of bacteria.
We need this bacteria to keep our body functioning smoothly. Normal amounts of bacteria (known as lactobacilli bacteria) can be found in the gut and vagina. If you have an imbalance of this bacteria, it leads to problems.
BV happens when the healthy amounts of bacteria in the vagina rapidly increase and accumulate. It is usually caused by Gardnerella vaginalis, which is the most common type of bacteria in your vagina.
That’s why your doctor may tell you that you have Gardnerella, which is another term for BV.
Your doctor can also simply tell you that you have a bacterial infection, instead of saying you have BV or bacterial vaginosis.
Our vaginas are healthy when they are slightly acidic. When the pH rises and becomes alkaline, it causes an imbalance which becomes the perfect environment for bacteria to overgrow.
How would your vaginal pH get disrupted? Well, there are various ways:
- Using soap or feminine washes inside your vagina
- Having sexual intercourse with different partners
- Having sexual intercourse with a new partner
- Douching
- Having a limited supply of lactobacilli bacteria in your vagina
- After removing an IUD
- After your period
- Taking artificial hormones
Note that BV is not a sexually transmitted disease.
Even a woman who hasn’t taken part in sexual activity can end up with BV.
Symptoms of BV
According to research, about 3 in 10 people in the US have BV at any given time, though around 84% of participants had no vaginal symptoms.
However, if you do have symptoms, there is nothing to be alarmed or ashamed about.
BV is a common condition and many women suffer from it, some chronically! Here are some of the symptoms you may have when you suffer from BV:
- Thin, watery or foamy vaginal discharge that may be milky white. Your discharge might be white gray or greenish.
- ‘Fishy’ odour that may be more prominent after sexual intercourse
- Itching in the vulva or vagina
- Burning during urination
- Abdominal or vaginal pain
Everyone is different. You may have mild symptoms, severe symptoms, only one symptom, or more than one symptom. You may or may not have the fishy odour.
Treatment for BV
When you go to the doctor after experiencing BV symptoms, the doctor may take a vaginal swab test which is done to check the type of bacteria that grow from the samples.
It usually takes 2 to 3 days to get back results.
This test is done to rule out any other infections that have similar symptoms as BV such as yeast infection, urinary tract infection or sexually transmitted infections like chlamydia, gonorrhoea and trichomonas vaginalis.
Your doctor will prescribe antibiotics which you will take for 7 days to help clear BV.
But the problem is, some women report BV recurring after a few weeks or months.
This is because antibiotics may end up killing off all the bacteria in the vagina, including the normal amounts that must be present for a healthy vagina.
You can get frustrated having completed your round of antibiotics but still experiencing the symptoms, which is what happened to me!
I tried almost everything I could including garlic, apple cider vinegar, ginger, yogurt, sea salt sitz baths and other remedies but the only remedy that worked is KEFIR.
Why you Should be Drinking Kefir for BV
Why is drinking kefir for BV beneficial?
Kefir is a fermented drink made by adding kefir grains to cow’s milk or goat’s milk.
Kefir grains are a specific type of mesophilic culture composed of yeast and lactic acid bacteria (lactobacilli) that exist symbiotically.
There is water kefir and milk kefir, both of which use different kefir grains. However, note that many people with lactose intolerance can drink kefir without any issues.
Drinking kefir helps repopulate your body with high quantities of multiple strains of live lactobacteria.
Lactobacteria play a huge role in keeping our bodies well-functioning, they are especially needed for a healthy thriving gut and vagina.
Kefir is also much stronger and more powerful than normal yogurt, which is why it works faster and more effectively.
It contains thousands of live probiotics that quickly repopulate in your gut and travel to your vagina, which balances its pH and keeps infection away.
After finishing my round of antibiotics, I still had BV symptoms which is why I started drinking one cup of milk kefir every day without fail, for the next two weeks.
My symptoms just disappeared. I still regularly drink kefir, though not every day, as a preventative method for BV. In fact, not just for recurring BV, if you have a history of recurring yeast infection or UTI, try drinking kefir every day or regularly!
You’ll notice your symptoms will completely clear off within a few days!
Please try this remedy out and see if you finally find the solution to your BV!
This is a great way to deal with BV and other vaginal infections if they are recurring or appear without any clear reason!
Other Posts on Clearing BV Naturally
- 10 Tips for a Happier and Healthier Vagina
- How to Get Rid of BV without Antibiotics
- 5 Foods to Eat with BV (Bacterial Vaginosis)
- 6 Worst Foods to Avoid with BV
Have you tried drinking kefir for BV? Do you have any other remedies for BV? Please share below!
Hi I have recurring bv and I am desperate to try this kefir milk remedy. Could you please advise which brand you get and where to get it, like in bulk?
The best is to find milk kefir grains and do it yourself, just leaving the grains in milk for a day or two.