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Hi Aunt Vadge!
I’ve had aerobic vaginitis (E. faecalis and E. coli) for a long time – four years. Antibiotics have no effect (doctors say it’s the strong biofilm), and I’ve tried many remedies – NAC, oral serrapeptase – to break down the biofilm.
I had unprotected anal sex with my partner, then vaginal sex, and we both became infected with E. coli and E. faecalis. There’s been no improvement for years – neither strong medications nor home treatments help.
I read that EDTA works on biofilms – can I use EDTA vaginally, e.g. diluted with oil or water? I’m very desperate, this makes me depressed.
Sincerely,
Depressed
Age 22, Poland
Dear Depressed,
Four years of this is a genuinely long time, and feeling worn down and low after it is completely understandable. Please be gentle with yourself – and if the low mood is heavy, it’s worth mentioning to your doctor too, because that matters just as much as the infection.
Now, the key insight: if antibiotics and biofilm-busters haven’t touched it in four years, the problem probably isn’t really in your vagina. It’s being refed from somewhere – and with E. coli and E. faecalis, that somewhere is almost always your gut.
Why it keeps coming back
E. coli and E. faecalis are gut bacteria. The anal-then-vaginal sex was likely how they first reached your vagina – but the reason they won’t leave is that there’s an ongoing reservoir in your digestive tract topping them back up.
That’s why treating the vagina alone never works for long. The real target is your gut microbiome and whatever is keeping it out of balance.
What actually helps
- Treat the gut, not just the vagina. Rebuilding a healthier gut microbiome is the lever here – a practitioner can guide this properly for your case.
- Stop reinfection. Use condoms with your partner while you heal, avoid going from anal to vaginal contact, and ask whether your partner needs treating too – otherwise you can ping-pong it back and forth.
- Feed yourself well. Protein at every meal, half your plate vegetables. If you suspect gaps, tracking your intake for a couple of weeks (an app like Cronometer is handy) can show where to fill them.
- The basics that genuinely matter while you heal: sleep, regular movement, and managing stress – they shape your gut and immune function more than people think.
About using EDTA yourself
Please don’t put pure EDTA, diluted with oil or water, into your vagina. EDTA is a chelating agent that’s been studied for biofilms, but concentration and formulation matter enormously – the wrong strength can damage your delicate vaginal tissue and disrupt the microbiome further.
It only belongs in a properly formulated, safe-concentration product, or under professional guidance – not as a home experiment. Honestly, given four years of this, the missing piece almost certainly isn’t a stronger vaginal agent anyway – it’s the gut.
In our clinic, four-year ‘untreatable’ AV with gut bacteria like yours is a pattern we know well, and it usually turns the corner only once the digestive reservoir and root cause are addressed.
You are not broken, and this is not hopeless – it just hasn’t been treated at the right level yet. If you’d like proper, tailored help to find and treat the root cause, you can book an appointment with one of our practitioners.
Look after yourself.
Aunt Vadge
This is general information based on current research and our clinical experience, not a substitute for personalised medical advice.
References
- Geng N, Wu W, Fan A, et al. Analysis of the Risk Factors for Aerobic Vaginitis: A Case-Control Study. Gynecologic and Obstetric Investigation. 2016;81(2):148–154.
