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Hormonal Contraceptives May Help Ward Off Bacterial Vaginosis

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You may have heard it before that there is a higher prevalence of bacterial vaginosis (BV) among Intrauterine device (IUD) users. While there is no full proof yet that says IUD is causing BV, there is a new good reason to switch over to other means of birth control.

If you are suffering from recurrent BV and are using IUD, it may be best for you to switch over to hormonal contraceptives as recent study shows it may help ward off BV.

A recent study suggests that if you are prone to common vaginal infection such as BV, then you are less likely to have a recurrence if you take hormonal contraceptives. It wouldn't matter if you choose birth control pills or Depo-Provera injections.

The findings of the study states that Depo-Provera contraceptive users are 58% less likely to get bacterial vaginosis reoccurrence than women not taking contraceptives. And to those who are taking estrogen-progestin combination birth control pill, they are found to be 34% less susceptible to BV reoccurrence.

The authors of the study, however, do not recommend to taking hormonal contraceptives just for the purpose of getting rid of BV.

Hormonal contraceptives may have somewhat influence the changes in vaginal flora and may have helped the balance of beneficial bacterial and harmful bacteria in the vagina making women less susceptible to bacterial vaginosis symptoms.

This recent findings still need deeper study to find out what elements in the hormonal contraceptives have lower the rate of BV reoccurrence. Further knowledge on this study once gained, may lead to the development of new generation of bacterial vaginosis cures that are more effective than the existing ones.