Aunt Vadge: how do I treat vaginal Prevotella?

Hi Aunt Vadge,

How do I treat Prevotella?

From,
J
Age 29, NJ USA

_______________________

Hey J!

It looks like we’re dealing with a tough cookie bacteria called Prevotella. This tricky little bug is known for having some swagger with its natural antibiotic resistance.

But don’t let that spook you; we have non-antibiotic treatments for Prevotella that can put it back in its place.

When it comes to dealing with Prevotella, every ingredient in your arsenal needs to be a little warrior in its own right. Let’s chat about each of the combatants in Aunt Vadge’s BV-Prevotella Herbal Blend:

1. Sweet Almond Oil: A gentle, kind oil, with low irritant potential. Hydrating without the heavy feel. While it may not pack a punch against Prevotella by itself, it’s a lovely carrier for other more active ingredients that do have antimicrobial abilities.
2. Sida: This herb is often used in traditional medicine for its antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties, and it works against much more than just Prevotella.
3. Barberry: Barberry contains berberine, an alkaloid that has antimicrobial effects. Berberine has shown great promise against a variety of bacterial infections, and helps kill off both Prevotella and its nasty little friends that can cause bacterial vaginosis (BV).
4. Nigella: Also known as black seed or black cumin, Nigella sativa has been researched for its antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. Nigella is also in this blend for its biofilm busting action.
5. Coptis: A Chinese herb that also contains berberine, like barberry, and is used by My Vagina practitioners specifically for Prevotella overgrowth.
6. Mullein: To support vaginal mucous membranes, with its mild antimicrobial action and anti-inflammatory properties. Prevotella is very inflammatory, so having something soothing and restoring to the mucous membranes is an important part of treating this bacteria.
7. Lactulose: Now, this isn’t an herb—it’s a synthetic sugar used to treat constipation when taken orally because it’s a prebiotic – it feeds healthy bacteria in the gut. But, My Vagina’s practitioners use it in the vagina, for the same reasons. Lactulose can help make the environment less friendly to bad bacteria.
8. EDTA: Usually in your toolkit for chelation therapy, to bind metals – which are plentiful in bacterial biofilms! EDTA binds to iron, magnesium and calcium in bacterial biofilms, destroying the biofilm. In terms of Prevotella, we use it to disrupt biofilms, making the bacteria more vulnerable to your immune system and the other ingredients in the treatment.

If you are going down the antibiotic route, Prevotella species respond at least for now, to metronidazole, amoxicillin/clavulanate, ureidopenicillins, carbapenems, cephalosporins, clindamycin, and chloramphenicol. Oh, and Prevotella can get a bit rowdy with β-Lactamase activity, making some species resistant to β-lactam antibiotics【9†source】.

Some antibiotics, like aminoglycosides, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, and quinolones, might actually crank up the volume of a Prevotella infection, turning it into a full-blown rave. That’s what we don’t want!

Wishing you a smooth path to a calm and happy pelvic party zone!

Stay strong and fabulous,
Aunt Vadge 🦸‍♀️💕