It is a fact that lots of women actually do not know very much about the condition called bacterial vaginosis and even less when it comes to what the bacterial vaginosis causes are. And while the medical science hasn’t come to a definitive conclusion as to what the true cause is they are pretty sure that they are beginning to truly understand its causes and why it occurs. Once we know the true causes then it will be easier to the right bacterial vaginosis treatment as well as prevent them in the first place.

What most physicians and other medical professionals can agree on is that it is most likely that one of the main causes of this condition is an imbalance in the bacterial levels in the vagina. The vagina normally contains what is referred to as both ‘good’ and ‘bad’ bacteria; the bacterial vaginosis condition occurs when something happens to let which allows ‘bad’ bacteria to overgrow and overwhelm the good.

The next question is obviously what makes the ‘bad’ bacteria overgrow? What we’re asking is; what causes the bacterial vaginosis causes? Like we have already said, medical professionals haven’t come to a definitive consensus yet, however, research that was recently published points to the imbalance happening because of a change in the pH balance of the vagina.

For example, one of the ‘good’ bacteria is called Lactobacillus. This specie thrives in the optimal vaginal pH balance of about 3.5-4.2, which is slightly acidic. Gardnerella vaginallis is the ‘bad’ bacteria that we think is the main cause of bacterial vaginosis symptoms, thrives at about pH 4.3 or higher, in other words in a more alkaline environment is what the medical experts think is the main cause of this condition.

You can’t tell what the pH balance of your vagina is just by looking at it, or by the way you feel it. There are two ways to find it out; go to your doctor and get your pH balance checked or check it yourself with strips specially made for measuring pH balance. These strips you can buy at any pharmacy or health supplies store.

The reason why doctors hesitate to come out and definitively state that this is the true reason behind bacterial vaginosis is because, the causes themselves can sometimes be very hard to prove.

In this case, doctors have neither been able to prove that the pH imbalance causes bacterial vaginosis, nor that the bacterial vaginosis causes the pH imbalance, according to the strict criteria such proof requires.

by Gerd Petersen & Ellen Dilga

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